And, I thought the IS300 looked sweet.....

[AGR]

I always thought Lexus nailed it with the IS300 (especially when they began offering the manual tranny) Then; I took delivery of my Black Mica Mazdaspeed tonight. Talk about gorgeous! I honestly don't believe there is more bang for the buck than this. This car is sweet!! I traded my '99 Nissan SE Limited, and a year ago, I was considering the new Spec V Type R. For a $1,000 more, I believe this is King.

My 2 cents.....

 

[FASTSPECV]

the spec v type R??? do u mean the se R?? the mazdaspeed was a very good choice, but the spec v ser isnt either..

 

[AGR]

the spec v type R??? do u mean the se R?? the mazdaspeed was a very good choice, but the spec v ser isnt either..

(Indeed Type R = Integra. It's been a long week!!) Make no mistake,,,, I really like the SE-R Spec V . It's a nice car.
Yes,,,,,,the original SE-R was a nice offering. I always wanted one of those. And; I always really liked my Sentra SE Limited (same engine as the SE-R). Nissan is great quality, but the Mazdaspeed has a more refined suspension, etc...

I would like to have an SE-R Spec V too, however. It's a very cool car!

 

[AutoXer]

The Spec-V was at the top of my car shopping list for quite a while, and I'm still considering it instead of an MSP, because it's $4100 cheaper. (I'm in Canada)

There's no real question in my mind that the MSP is a better car all around...it wins for styling, handling, interior, audio, etc. Basically, if I were to buy an MSP there would be nothing that NEEDED adding.

If I buy a Spec-V I would have to add stiffer suspension (probably coilovers) for sure, and probably some bolt-ons (10 whp for a header can't be ignored).

Factor in the cost of coilovers, and the price discrepancy is only about $1500. Hmmm...

 

[Grimace]

I was considering a Spec V too, but if you add the "sport package" to the price of a base Spec V (+$2900) the price is too close to the Mazdaspeed to not choose the more refined car.
(The sport package includes ABS, alarm, the good 300W stereo, sunroof, and split folding rear seat.)
I'm also not crazy about the rear suspension set-up, the rear-end styling, and the shifter feel could use work. But at least you can choose it in a wider variety of colours, and buy one anytime.
Surprisingly, with my insurance company, the Spec V is more expensive to insure than the MSP.

 

[APEXistud]

The Spec V's stereo doesn't even cmoe close to the MSP or the MP3 for that matter.