PistolPete-RX8

I just bought an RX8 on Friday and will be picking it up tomorrow. I thought about the STI because it has great performance but my brother already has a modded WRX so I didn't really want the same car. They are AWESOME cars with GREAT performance. I never even considered the EVO for even a second though. Again, they make awesome performance BUT I could never pay $30,000 for a $13,000 Lancer. No matter how many mods you add at the end of the day you're still driving a Lancer. I've owned 2 Mitsu. in the past and have had nothing but bad luck with them. Mitsu has prob. the worst build quality on the market right now.

I've also owned about 10 Mazdas (well myself and my family) and we've all had great luck with them. Yes, the RX8 isn't as powerful! But, it is hands down the best looking car out of the three. It is so much more unique yet prob. the most impractical. But, I have my practical car so that doesn't really matter. The AWD would have been great esp. since living in New England but the car won't leave the garage during winter anyways. So all are great cars but I chose the RX8 because it best fits MY needs just as the EVO best fits YOUR needs.

You can't go wrong with whichever car you buy it's all a matter of preference.

Pistol

TODreamer

You're never gonna have the best car in the eyes of "everyone" so all you should do is just worry about your own game..... They aren't the ones getting into debt over the vehicle... you are, so its all on you.

V8Killer
Objectively speaking from a car enthusiasts' standpoint..... I can clearly see why you chose to go with the EVO. However, personally speaking the EVO is just not for me..... The car enthusiast in me gives it mad respect but the consumer in me will never purchase it for many of the reasons mentioned in prior posts.

I don't own an RX8 yet, but I've done all my homework and test driven it. my mind is made up.... its just a matter of when i can make the purchase.

BasenjiGuy

I have no regrets. I've owned many great cars, all of them at one time or another were on Road and Track's Ten Best list. I learned how to drive a manual trans car when I was 12. As an adult, my first car was a '84 RX-7 GSL-SE, then a '90 Civic Si, '89 Mustang LX 5.0, '85 944, '94 Integra GS-R, '98 F-150 Flareside SuperCab 4.6, '94 BMW 325is, and now the 8.

The 8 is most fun car to take up thru the gears as I've ever owned. It's the most fun to toss around corners and hang the tail out. It's very quiet and smooth for a sports car; almost as quiet and smooth as my beloved 325is. It's reasonable practical. It doesn't get great gas mileage and gets hot in the summer until the AC has had a chance to cool down the interior. I wish it had more low end torque but it's adequate and more fun than anything else as you thru gears. I briefly considered a WRX but ultimately it's an econobox feeling and looking platform and AWD is unneccesary most of the time and inhibits fun and the challenge of balancing a RWD car with the throttle.

VikingDJ

OK. I admit I had regrets buying the rx8. I am a performance kind of guy, but the looks of the rx8 drew me in so much I was at the time willing to accept it's lack of power for it's refinement. It's just so sleek and smooth, but that part of me that wanted real sports car power was just disapoointed in the rx8. I was considering waiting patiently for Mazda to actually make a performance version of this car, or trading it in for an STI, which was my second choice when I got my rx8. I couldn't bare to part with the rx8, or wait for the MS version to come out, so I just bought the sti, and now own both. Problem solved. I know for many of you the rx8 has plenty of power. From an enthusiast standpoint, the rx8 is just not fast at all. V8Killer makes so many valid points. Mazda's intention is to make the rx8 a mainstream car, like mitsubishi made their Eclipse. They want a ton of them on road, and every type of person to own one, which sells more cars and makes more money. The EVO and STI are different. They are much less practical for your every day person, so there are less made, and they only appeal to a certain type of driver. Owning both STI and rx8 , I see just how different these cars really are. One lacks what the other one gives. After driving my sti for 5 days, I hopped in rx8, and wondered, where's the power. I was just so stunned by the rx8's lack of grunt. AT same time after driving rx8 for a few days and hopping in sti, I wonder, where's the refinement?. The rx8 is so smooth, yet the sti so bumpy and loud. It will be nice when the rx8 can get some more power out of it, especially in the automatic. Either way, they are different cars appealing to different people, so it's understandable why it's easy to chose the rx8 over sti. Hell I did, but then I just said to hell with this, and got sti to end any regrets. Now I absolutely love both cars. it's a true treat.

danielk015

iTrader: (1)

Viking... Thats a good situation having an STI and a Rx8 to get the best of both worlds.. but having plunked down 60K, did you consider getting an m3? That wouldve been an easy choice for me...

HeelnToe

My purchasing decision did indeed come down to an Evo or an RX-8.

I have no regrets on choosing the RX-8. Being able to out drag V8s and getting the "biggest bang for the buck" no longer interests me very much. I wanted a car I could dance with, one that prioritizes driving pleasure over driving statistics.

In addition, one of the nicest attributes of the RX-8 is it's willingness to adapt to the occasion: sports car when desired, or sporty/luxury sedan when needed.

Having said that, I still love the Evo. It's an absolutely amazing car to drive, and I admit I do miss being slammed into the back seat by the AWD acceleration. But, in the end, it's no-compromising approach was something I wasn't willing to live with on a daily basis.

But I wish I was rich enough to keep one in my garage for weekends

Rotary Nut

No regrets about which car I chose, just over the timing of my purchase.

The contratct I work on was rolling over from one company to another and although they said the pay was going to stay the same it dropped $400 a month.

Ouch!

This I found out three days after I took ownership of my beloved 8. So things have been I bit tight. And to add insult to injury the price of gas shot up right after I bought it! So my monthy gas bill has effectively doubled and insurance went up also so.....



In the Army they tell you to "Suck it up and drive on" so I do!

Silver04RX8

No Regrets here, but I would have a few suggestions to Mazda. Overall I love the sound of the Rotary Engine and the high RPM's. The Manual with a few Mods has more HP than I will ever need or use on any street or Highway, plus I like the fact that I can fit the wife and the kids in the car if needed. I as well think the interior is very well laid out however some of the plastic parts are cheap and can break easy if your not aware of them, but many imports have that same issue.

irish8

V8Killer...

I think youre in denial!!! Trade in your Evo and come hang with a more sopisticated crowd.

All the FUN is after 5k RPM's.....zoom zoom



- Irish

PistolPete-RX8

Viking: if you've dropped that type of cash for 2 cars then you should have just gone all out and bought a used GTS Viper. Will spank both cars in every way and get twice the attention. For that kind of cash that is what I would do. To each his own...

mysql101

He bought two cars, each with 4 seats. What makes you think he'd want a gas guzzling 2 seater?

Not everyone is a 14 year old with only themselves to think about

_JL

well you don't get any aston martin feel in the EVO am I right? And doesn't it only have 5spd?

dean2900

I have no regrets on buying the RX-8 myself. However, the RX-8 is the slowest sports car I have owned. I am actually amazed by the lack of power between 7k - 9k. I guess I miss my VTEC from that aspect.

However, the RX-8 is a sporting car that is fairly fast. It is not a 135hp Mitsu Eclipse marked for everyone.

I maybe completely off on this but I think Mazda is trying to get the late 20s to late 30s crowd with this car. A lot of us who have had true sports cars now need a car that is still a sports car but with more room and the creature comforts that we desire.

I will add that if Mazda had made the RX-8 about 280hp, it might be the best selling sports car of all-time.

I did test drive a STI and I have seen enough of the EVOs to know they are just plain ugly IMO. No offense to anyone who has one or likes one. I can tell you that the local dealer had told me one time that most people who are wanting to buy an WRX need someone to cosign for them. I think that tells you the market for the STI, WRX, and EVO. Don't get me wrong, they all have great performance but I am not single minded enough to buy a car for one aspect only.

Dean

Brendan

Not a single regret here from someone who is coming from the world of power (320HP, 4.9 0-60, Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo) to the world of very good power and world-class handling.

I’ve had my RX-8 for nearly 2 months and I couldn’t be much happier. All cars, no matter how great, especially in their first year of production, can be improved and I’m hoping that Mazda really understands what a great car they have on their hands and that they will continue to work towards making it even greater.

And I hope that the 2006 or 2007 models will have a turbo-charged option that will push this car into the world of the super car. Because right now in terms of handling, revving and styling I think it’s already as good or better than any production car out there under $100,000.

To me, a sports car first and foremost is about how it makes me feel when I look at it. If it fails that test, I don’t even investigate further. There are a lot of very nice looking cars out there, but less than a handful (Viper and Corvette being the only other two) that can stop me dead in my tracks and give me that “wow” feeling.

I also must admit that my preference tends more towards a mid-size sports car. I think the 1970s was an incredible decade for American cars (it’s been downhill ever since), and I love a lot of the muscle car looks of that era. I love the styling of the RX-8 because it to me is a near-perfect blending of the Japanese sports car aesthetic with the 1970's American muscle car.

I also really appreciate the adaptability of the styling. If you prefer you can keep the RX-8 looking like a very sharp and mild-mannered sports car by forgoing all exterior options. Or if your tastes are more like mine you can take its styling up a few notches and make it look like a fairly aggressive/exotic sports car, using just OEM parts (appearance package, Mazdaspeed spoiler, fender strakes, rotary accents, etc.). And then there are the more race-car oriented body modifications if that is your cup of tea.

I was flipping through the channels a couple of weeks ago and I came across the Speed Channel. There was some guy on there showing off his specially built $85,000 Camaro. This car had 600 horse power and its owner was just beaming with pride.

I was truly happy for him, because he obviously loved his car. But I couldn’t have been less inspired by the modern-day Camaro looks. I suspect that the only time this car would have made me happy was during acceleration. And that’s just not enough for me.

We all have different tastes and interests. And frankly you could strap a jet engine on most cars made today and pull a 0 to 60 in 1.5 seconds and for me it still couldn’t overcome the fact that it doesn’t “wow” me when I walk up to it, when I wash and wax it, or when I’m inspired to turn back and look at it after parking.

On top of that it “wows” me even more when I drive it than my last car, even though it’s a full second slower in its 0 to 60 time and has 80 less horses. There’s nothing quite like shifting at 9,000 RPM. And there’s nothing quite like hitting a curve with great speed and feeling like you’re riding safely on a rail. Adding more power to the RX-8 would for me take it from being a great car to my dream car.

Heck, just shifting through gears in city traffic at low RPMs up to 45 mph is fun. My Stealth may have had a top speed of 162 mph, but when are you going to use that? 5th and 6th gears were pretty much for fuel economy on the freeway only. Use of them in the city would lug the engine. On the RX-8 you can use 5th and 6th gears in most normal city driving.

And if it’s any indication, I’m not alone in my feelings towards the aesthetic beauty of the RX-8. It’s almost impossible to go out driving or fill up with gas in my 8 without getting some amazed looks and compliments. I’ve noticed a little bit of jealousy and envy coming from some, but it’s like 100-to-1 ratio of positive to negative encounters.

I categorize it as jealousy and envy because if I were driving a 240 horse power car with plane-Jane looks, no one would feel the least bit threatened by my car. They’d probably ignore it completely or compliment me on it being a pretty fast car. But add in the attention this car gets and suddenly you’ve got insecure people trying to show everyone who really has the biggest *****, while ending up only proving who has the smallest brains.

But I didn’t buy my last sports car or this one to get attention. That’s just been a natural byproduct of both cars. It took me a few weeks in my last car to get over the feeling I had of driving around in a fish bowl. I didn’t like the attention much at all. It actually took practice to learn how to deal with the attention and not let it bother me or let it go to my head, and to just have fun with it and answer people’s excited questions.

You’ll always run into the occasional nut. When I had my Stealth, once or twice a year I ran into the odd extremist (usually a rally person) who would have to go out of their way to inform me how much my car didn’t interest them and now with the RX-8 I get the occasional horse power junkie who needs to remind me how much power I don’t have. By switching cars, I merely switched which extremist group loves and hates my car.

All that should matter is how happy each individual is with his or her car. If your car makes you feel good every time you get in it, then you’ve obviously made a great choice. Everyone else’s snide remarks be damned.

---

MTLbroker

Regrets? You gotta be kidding. The 8 is probably one of the most unique cars on the planet - at any price. Even yesterday, getting out the the parking at the local mall, this couple was all over me with questions about the car.

You know, I bet if you slapped on a Ferrari badge or a Lotus badge on the car, raised the price of the car by say 100%, you would have the entire automotive press, and all your buddies drooling over the car and talking about how mechanically unique it is and how it represents the company's new styling direction, world class suspension, 50/50 weight, 60-0 stopping in 113 ft, etc.. Hell, you could probably put in a 3-rotor engine give the car 10 mpg slap on a gas-guzzler tax and everyone would still be raving. Funny thing about perception.

The car isn't perfect. Hopefully, continuing interest in the 8 will let Mazda evolve and refine the car. Nothing wrong with the track numbers of the car, it runs with some very good company (according to TopGear). If you want supercar performance, get ready to pay for it because it currently represents an outstanding automotive bargain.

AQA101

The two last points pretty much express my point of view too.

If you love your car you can impossibly regret it and the RX-8 is so outstanding that many people instantly love it or become instantly and completely addicted like me after my test drive.

I also hope that Mazda improves this car even more and gives us some further options to chose from. But for a new launch of such an "experimental" vehicle, the 8 shows amazing qualities.

Last wekend on the autobahn, I got into a coincidental "convoi" with a red Ferrari Testarossa and a silver Porsche Turbo, all three of us driving in a row at mild 120 mph. Funny thing was, I knew the other two machines really outmatch mine big time concerning power and price, but it felt like perfect company anyway. A german, an italian and a japanese sports car, all three of them very special in their own way and in three different colors, all drivers smiling - I'd love to have a photo of that scene.

Rob Tomlin

I don't have an RX-8 yet (I have a 3rd gen RX-7 that I am selling) so I can't respond to the specific question about regretting the purchase of an RX-8, but I can tell you this: I wouldn't buy the EVO even if was the fastest car in the world.

Sorry, but looks DO count in my book. The EVO would get a 2 out of 10 (and that's giving it the benefit of the doubt). Most people will think you are simply driving an econo box that you slapped some aftermarket parts on. No offense, just the way I see it. There are people that don't like the looks of the RX-8 either, just a matter of preference.

The STi isn't horrible, but nothing particularly special either.

All IMHO!

VikingDJ

I drive a lot of miles each year. It came down to four choices basically because of my lifestyle. A) I could have not gotten STI, and bought a set of rims and snow tires, swapped them twice a year, and put over 25k miles a year on the rx8. B) Traded in RX8 for STI, then either swapped tires on STI for winter and summer so I wouldn't lose performance, C) Buy an econo car like VW TDI or Toyota Corolla to use in as daily/winter car (BORING). or D) Just buy the STI as my daily beater fun car for winter and slap some year round tires on it and keep rx8 as my fun car. In my case two 30k cars is better then any 60k car. I can get some good use out of rx8 daily in summer, then park it in winter and use the sti full time til spring. It's a costly situation, and not exactly common to use an STI strictly as a winter commuter car, but i consider the RX8 to be a much better car, so that's the one I will treat like gold, and the sti is the one I'll beat the hell out of. As far as performance, I have good enough handling out of the rx8, so downgrading the sti with all seasons doesn't bother me at all. It will still fly in the straight aways, and it gets 25-26mpg highway to boot.

skc

I love my RX8. Only regret is that I chose black which requires a lot of attention to keep it looking good. I still think it is a good color however the weekly washing is bugging me.

skc

skc

By the way the lack of power did not worry me at the time as it is the most powerful car I have driven. However I look forward to developments with supercharging and I reckon the RX8 will be super quick...I cant wait.

skc

Rxdriftingaction

no regrets! but just feel my 8 need more torque to kick ***.. i am waiting for the turbo. let's drive our 8 to kick 350z's bigfat ***!! i mean straight road. xi xi .. i already kick their *** in the down hill racing..

VikingDJ

Ditto on the black thing. I love the look of black, but it is downright annoying keeping it looking good, and a day after I wash it every speck of dust and dirt are clearly visable. I purposely got a silver STI, because any type of swirl mark is unnoticable and even when it's dirty it looks clean. Today I got lazy and I hosed it down and it looks good. I try that with the black rx8 and it looks worse.

gsdev

Abolutely no regrets. When the full potential of the rotary comes out after turbo/super kits come out, there will be no match to the 8.

Mario

first off, love the design, love the handling and feel of the car, but the reason why the 8 is not selling is its lack of power. i know i can add an aftermarket turbo, but then I have to upgrade the brakes, reprogram the computer, swap out the clutch and transmission, replace the exhaust, you could easily end up with a bill worth $15k over the cost of the car (been there done that) and most of that money is not easily recouped when you sell it. So mazda, please come out with a mazdaspeed 8 that will make 0-60 at least in the low 5's, then i'll hand over the check.

dwill9578

Mario, do you have an 8? no one would EVER buy an 8 and do all that stuff to it,it's not an average econo-box that you bolt useless loud parts too---buy a vette if you want the much straight ahead snot.,slow selling??? from what I heard Mazda is doing very well with the car.