Looking to buy my first Mazda (RX-8) (1 Viewer)

[Shane Martin]

The company's been near bankruptcy for a while. I think it's hurt their overall appeal.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Hey, if we're moving on to anything goes-

I've got an '06 Acura TL 6spd manual. This car is ... awesome. It does everything well- outhandling its RWD competition, solidly mid-14 sec 1/4 mile times from the free-revving 3.2l V6 (258hp), plenty of room for 4 6'+ adults (5- if they don't mind thighs touching in the back seat), 5.1 DVD-Audio/dts system. The car feels sure-footed in virtually all situations, and the torque-steer is not a big deal at all- I'm sure the limited-slip differential helps this.

They all come loaded like this, so your choices are Auto or stick (through '06, auto only '07-'08, unless stepping up to the Type-S), Navi or non, and color. The car even does that VW windows-down when you hold the unlock button thingie.

The driving experience does not disappoint. I get 22mpg on my 6 mile commute, and 29-30mpg highway at 75mph.

I also have an '02 TL-S Auto. I used to love that car, but now, not the same.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Exactly. I first bought a Mitsubishi Lancer in June 2000, used it for nearly 5 years and the only thing I ever had to replace on it was the motor of the power window. I got another in January 2005 which to date has been trouble-free.

 

[Ron-P]

Hmmmm, maybe they'll be more hard-up to sell, work a better deal then.

Although, that does raise a good question. If I buy a new Mits with a 5 year warranty and they do file for bankruptcy in 2 years or so, what happens to my warranty coverage?

 

[Clinton McClure]

I can't speak for the new generation Eclipse, but my wife had a 2001 Eclipse when we got married and it was a POS. Less than 35k miles and it was falling apart. We traded it for a new 2005 Mazda 3 which is an ok car, but I wouldn't buy another Mazda again. A very uncomfortable car on long drives and it gets less than stellar gas mileage. (My 2000 Toyota Celica GTS with 187k miles on it gets better mileage than her Mazda and she only has 38k miles on hers.) If I can help it, I'll only buy Honda, Toyota or Nissan from now on.

 

[Ron-P]

The older Mits were farily poor but in the last 4 years or so they've come along way. I've read many good reviews and CS gives them an overall soild score, a half red dot for reliability. Car and Driver also has good things to say. Their long road test (40,000 miles) turned up no problems, only 3 scheduled stops for recommended service.

 

[Robert_eb]

If you havn't lost your job yet, don't buy american.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Which brings me to [drum roll] the V8 Mustang convertable. It has much of the 4 seat sports car aura you crave. CR gives all red dots and a check-rating in the 2006 buyer's guide (last copy I own). Yes I know it's common.

 

[Ron C]

the eclipses are nice. I personally don't like them because they are FWD coupes. Someone made a suggestion of a g35, great cars with lots of torque and rwd. Also check out the Mitsubishi evolution. If you loved the handling of the eclipse, the evo will wet your pants with AWD Turbo.

 

[Ron-P]

New test drives (01/01/2008)

Honda Civic Coupe
Not a bad little car, roomier then the others in the back, not near the handling or performace either and very plain looking. This car reminds me of the MINI, a tinny feeling car without much weight. No real get up and go and the fit and finish is quite cheap looking. Not much car for the price. I sat in their Si version, nicer seats and a bit more horse power but not enough of a jump in quality for a price that's several thousand more then the Eclipse.

Eclipse 4-cylinder
I first drove the V6 so this time around I drove the 4, I liked it better. Slightly better handling, stiffer ride and about $4k less with better MPG. This car had some serious get-up-and-go, more so then I remember of the V6. I imagine the weight of the V6 hampers things a bit. Not as many bells and whistles but still a very refined car with a very impressive fit and finsh, a lot of car for not a lot of coin.

- Not sure what's next in the $20-25k catagory. I pretty sure Toyota and Honda are out, not a lot of car for more coin, nothing really performance oriented with them either. Subaru's are too expensive and look ugly and most everything else that's decent is a two seater.

 

[Jay H]

Have you seen the new Nissan Altimas (2008), the 3.5L v6 version seems pretty peppy on paper... It might be somewhat of a sleeper G35...(same company)

Jay

 

[Philip Hamm]

Have you considered the Scion TC?

 

[Jason Merrick]

Hey Ron,

Long time no see man! Hope the holidays were good...

Have you considered the Mazdaspeed 3? It's won every comparison test in the recent car magazines that I've read.

$24-$26k, about 270hp. 0-60 times in the mid 5's. Hatchback (is that a deal-killer?).

Here's a quick YouTube video showing the look of the car and a view of the gauges as the owner runs from 0 to about 95 or so... It looks like he has a few mods, but nothing extravagant.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

^^Beat me to it on the Mazdaspeed 3, though the regular 2.3 liter model with a manual is also very nice. Considerably more refined than the Civic with buttery smooth shifter and clutch and amazing engine flexibility--very wide power and torque bands not at all peaky like high performance Hondas.

 

[Ron-P]

"It's a mystical bond between man and machine", what can I say, I love this car. It's a great fit for me. I love just about everything about it. My only beef is the bubble butt it has but I can live with that. With it's small windows and low seating it's like being in a car of the future, best way to put it. The interior is very refined, the seats are very comfortable, realibility is not in question and it's a hell of a fun car to drive. I took it out tonight and put a bit of fear in the wife and salesman, it was a blast. Does it handle like a MINI, no, but I don't expect it to. It is also nice being in a bigger, heavier car, feels much safer.

No more test driving, this is the next car for me. The only thing now is to wait to get the MINI back, hopefully early next week.

Oh, added bonus, 5 years 0% financing through Mitsu, can't beat that.














I test drove just about everything that I saw that I liked, sorry to you Mazda guys but I find their cars (other then the RX-8) ugly and if looks don't please no matter what's under the hood won't help. The Honda Civic Coupe and Toyota Corolla have a lot to be desired, not much car for quite a bit more money. The GTI is out because VW's relibility is for not and I'm not going down that road again.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Enjoy! Hopefully your Mitsubishi ownership experience will be better than mine was. - Are you getting auto or stick?

 

[Ron-P]

Thanks Philip, I'm going 6-Speed manual. I love driving stick, auto's are a bit boring. Although they do offer a sportronic where you can go auto or into a manual shift type mod, not sure I like that but I might test drive one before I sign.

As with every brand of car out there, problems exists and there are unhappy owners. I belive I did a fair amount, if not more, research before making my decision. But, until you're behind the wheel for awhile you never know. This car I really like, it's sporty looking, very comfortable, fun to drive, very refined interior and reviews are good.