I'm conflicted on the whole RX-8/MS3 thing. I'm considering both of them for my next daily driver/kid hauler/autocrosser.
The Speed3 has more HP, more TQ, more head and legroom all around, more cargo room, gets better gas mileage (both cars require Premium, I think), seats one more person, and costs less!
The RX-8, on the other hand, is RWD, and a rotary... That's kind of a short list of advantages, but...
I miss my rotary, I miss RWD, and when I drove an RX-8 recently, I still kind of loved it. It's more of a pure sports car than the Speed3 is. It sits lower, revs higher, pushes instead of pulls, and just feels more like a sports car! It costs more new, but then it's been out longer, so I have a better chance of finding one used. Buyers skew a bit older, too, so I think I'd have a decent chance of finding a used one that's un-abused.
No doubt the MS3 would fit my son's kid seat better, but the RX-8 would fit it in a pinch, and he'll be in a booster seat soon, so it may be a moot point as that should sit him back further.
The real deal-breaker on the RX-8 may actually be the transmission tunnel vs. my wife's legs! When I test-drove one recently, the salesdrone drove it off the lot with me riding shotgun, then we switched at a parking lot down the road. I noticed in the passenger seat that the tranny tunnel was so wide in the foot well that I had to sit angled with my feet toward the outside of the car. It wasn't very comfortable, and would drive me insane on a long road trip! My wife wasn't with me that day, so she hasn't tried it, but her legs are as long as mine, so I suspect she'd be just as unhappy as I was over there. If we take one for a drive and confirm that problem, the RX-8 is out.
I'd love to get a white Speed3, and it would be really cool to have a brand new car for the first time in my life, but by the time we've finished school, moved back to VA found jobs and a house and actually have our finances sorted out enough to do something like that, there probably won't be anymore MS3's on lots, unless they continue in to '09 models.
The Speed3 has more HP, more TQ, more head and legroom all around, more cargo room, gets better gas mileage (both cars require Premium, I think), seats one more person, and costs less!
The RX-8, on the other hand, is RWD, and a rotary... That's kind of a short list of advantages, but...
I miss my rotary, I miss RWD, and when I drove an RX-8 recently, I still kind of loved it. It's more of a pure sports car than the Speed3 is. It sits lower, revs higher, pushes instead of pulls, and just feels more like a sports car! It costs more new, but then it's been out longer, so I have a better chance of finding one used. Buyers skew a bit older, too, so I think I'd have a decent chance of finding a used one that's un-abused.
No doubt the MS3 would fit my son's kid seat better, but the RX-8 would fit it in a pinch, and he'll be in a booster seat soon, so it may be a moot point as that should sit him back further.
The real deal-breaker on the RX-8 may actually be the transmission tunnel vs. my wife's legs! When I test-drove one recently, the salesdrone drove it off the lot with me riding shotgun, then we switched at a parking lot down the road. I noticed in the passenger seat that the tranny tunnel was so wide in the foot well that I had to sit angled with my feet toward the outside of the car. It wasn't very comfortable, and would drive me insane on a long road trip! My wife wasn't with me that day, so she hasn't tried it, but her legs are as long as mine, so I suspect she'd be just as unhappy as I was over there. If we take one for a drive and confirm that problem, the RX-8 is out.
I'd love to get a white Speed3, and it would be really cool to have a brand new car for the first time in my life, but by the time we've finished school, moved back to VA found jobs and a house and actually have our finances sorted out enough to do something like that, there probably won't be anymore MS3's on lots, unless they continue in to '09 models.
