So after the first 1k miles, the vibration in the middle seats is almost unnoticeable. Probably because the engine mounts settle in, as someone said in another thread. Shifter loosens up a bit, making it very enjoyable. Front seats have great support, both cushion and back. Engine sounds so smooth and willing every time I pull it into 4k range. And the mileage is great when I don't push it hard - 1st tank 27mpg, 2nd tank 25mpg, and the 3rd one almost 29. Needless to say, I love this car and plan to keep it a long long time. Until they come out with SkyActiv-D Mazdaspeed5 with even slicker 6spd stick 
Here's the first "mod" I did - a $25 shift knob. It's a Mitsubishi part# MR263906 that I found mentioned on a couple forums when searching for leather weighted shift knobs. This thing weights 379g, while the stock knob is 300g. It's a bit bigger too, so to me it's more comfortable than the stock one. Shifting feels smoother too. Down side, wrong shift pattern, and there's an issue with installing - while thread size M10x1.25 is correct, the hole is high up inside the knob, and without removing the plastic colar on the boot, the knob won't screw on. I had to replace the colar with a metal washer - went to Home Depot with the knob to find a size matching one - glued on top of the one attached to the knob. Then glue the boot to that washer. Once on it's secure enough, so overall I'm happy with it. Doesn't look as cool as Nurburgringer's Miata knob, but I wasn't paying $109 either
Here's the first "mod" I did - a $25 shift knob. It's a Mitsubishi part# MR263906 that I found mentioned on a couple forums when searching for leather weighted shift knobs. This thing weights 379g, while the stock knob is 300g. It's a bit bigger too, so to me it's more comfortable than the stock one. Shifting feels smoother too. Down side, wrong shift pattern, and there's an issue with installing - while thread size M10x1.25 is correct, the hole is high up inside the knob, and without removing the plastic colar on the boot, the knob won't screw on. I had to replace the colar with a metal washer - went to Home Depot with the knob to find a size matching one - glued on top of the one attached to the knob. Then glue the boot to that washer. Once on it's secure enough, so overall I'm happy with it. Doesn't look as cool as Nurburgringer's Miata knob, but I wasn't paying $109 either
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