Pretend I'm Just Talking To You About It
This car is fun! It seats 4 adults comfortably and man does it grab attention. Freestyle doors come in handy, the audio system (GT Package) is very easy to tune and use. Navigation becomes fairly easy to use after a short learning period and the car gets pretty good acceleration. With 4 people seated in the car, the handling remains unchanged while driving. Feels the same! Trunk space is fair and overall the compartments and such are quite adequate when you are talking about sports cars. All in all this is a great choice for those who look for sport with practicality.
Car Reviewed:
Lighting Yellow 2004 RX-8 Manual Transmission Grand Touring
Sport Package, Spoiler, Aero Flares, Rotary Accent, Wind Deflector
The Finer Points You May Miss While Shopping
Only once you've owned the car for a short while will you notice the little things you wish they had done. Maybe at first it doesn't seem like it will bother you, but some of these items will irritate you in the long run. I won't get into the good because most reviews cover it. Generally speaking its easy to figure out the good. Here is what I have so far:
1. Automatic door locking/unlocking.
When you get in your vehicle and begin to drive it would seem logical for the doors to automatically lock. Even lower priced economy cars such as the Ford Focus feature a simple items such as this. When you park your car, the doors could unlock as well, or unlock as you pull the handle. This seemed like a detail that was overlooked.
2. Auto up/down on both windows
You notice how power windows have a "one-click" deal for rolling the window all the way down, but never one for up? Also never for the passenger window? This is something that could've been included.
3. Heavy blind spots while driving.
Checking over your shoulder is a difficult task with the RX-8 because of the body design. You will probably find if difficult to look in your next lane so becareful.
4. Power seat available for driver side only.
If you go for the GT Package and get power seats, you only get one. Power seats for the passenger are not available by any means. I found this out at the dealer, but just thought I'd mention it.
5. Digital speedometer.
This is nice but There are times I'd like to seem the analog needle just for easy reference. This is more preference then anything. Most people over look the digital speedometer. My father asked me, "How do I know how fast I'm going?" and I had to show him where to look.
6. Poor gas mileage.
I believe this is RX-8's biggest flaw. Gas mileage is posted as 18/24 yet from a 15.9 gal tank I can only go 200-215 miles. That's 13mpg using a combination of city/highway driving and I shift very "economy-like" because I am in the break in period and I am conciously saving gas. That's terrible! Fuel costs are a major consideration on this car.
7. Sunroof rather small.
Honestly I think the sunroof opening is rather tiny. The opening is approx 75% as large as that of my BMW325 and other average cars with sunroofs. Also, when using the tilt, the wind noise is very loud. I drive with a wind deflector, which doesnt make a difference in tilt but dampens a little sound on the full open mode.
8. No Auto Sunroof Close
Another small point, you have to hold the slide button to open the sunroof completely or close it completely. This seemed like a simple and logical place to put the auto feature.
9. Big Empty Gap in the Radio Display.
I have the 6-Disc changer and below the volume control is a black transparent looking area. It doesn't light up or display any information and so it looks slightly out of place. I would think they could've used it to display something, maybe a rotary operating? =) This is nitpicking now.
10. Windshield Fogs Easily In Rainy/Cold Weather.
The RX-8 seems to fog much more quickly and frequently than most cars. I recall the manual mentioning something along those lines also.
11. Sunroof Is Prone To Wind Noise.
When the sunroof is open or on tilt there is a considerable about of wind noise entering the cabin. Even with the wind deflector I find it somewhat above normal wind noise expected from an open sunroof.
12. Air Condition is Weak
The air condition at full power is only good enough to take the temperature down to a cool and breezy room temperature. It never feels ice cold like most air conditioning from other cars I've been in. Try it out, you'll see what I mean.
This is all I've got after owning the car for 4 days. Make careful considerations on the mileage issue mostly. All other things are minor annoyances but the car moves quick and has a great engine sound. I will update my review after owning the car for much longer but for now I wanted to get those little points out while they were fresh in my mind.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 35128
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: Grand Touring, Manual
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