Help! I think I love both of these cars and can't figure out which one is really the best fit for me. I want a decent sports car for under 30k and have pretty much narrowed it down to these two. I'm not the type of person who races or goes to drag strips, but I'd classify myself as an agressive driver who enjoys performance in a vehicle. I've test driven both the RX-8 and the Mustang GT and was really impressed with the ride in both of them. I guess I'm looking for more reasons why I should get a Mustang if I'm posting on here, but here's what I've gathered so far from my experiences with both vehicles:
RX-8:
Handling: The Mazda dealership let my friend and I test drive an RX-8 by ourselves, so we really got to put it through it's paces. I was amazed at how well it took curves....I won't even mention the speeds at which we conquered some very windy roads but WOW! Definitely the best attribute of this car.
Build Quality/Fit and Finish: The 8 seemed rock solidily built, well designed and very intuitive when it comes to the driver interface. Nothing seemed cheap and plasticky even with the cloth seats.
Four Doors: I rarely have more than one passenger, but I do carry quite a bit of luggage and it's very convenient to be able to open a door and stow it in the backseat than lift it into the trunk. In addition, I will definitely be putting at least one subwoofer in the trunk which may cut down on cargo space.
Transmission: Hands down the easiest manual transmission I've ever had the pleasure of operating. Buttery smooth shifting, me likey.
Top speed: I would never drive the RX-8 this fast, but I believe it tops out at around 150 mph, which is 5 or 6 mph faster than the Mustang according to Road and Track.....I know this is probably the most meaningless performance spec in existence for a daily driver vehicle, but somehow it still seems like an advantage, if only in braggin rights.
Looks: I give the mazda the slight edge on looks, but the mustang is a beauty too.
Mustang GT:
Power: No doubt about it, this stang accelerates quite a bit better than the 8, which is nice, but I think the size of the car negates the sensation of speed to an extent. It really didn't feel THAT much better in the corners than the Maxima I currently drive and the RX-8 was in another league as far as handling. Then again.....the power really is what it's all about.
Customizability: I'm a HUGE stereo guru.....I love putting aftermarket systems in vehicles but unfortunately it's impossible to put so much as an upgraded CD player in the RX-8 without thousands of dollars in custom work or dozens and dozens of hours of my own labor (the climate controls are hardwired into the stock CD player). For me personally, this is a huge drawback for the 8 and huge plus for the mustang, although I realize it doesn't matter to 95% of potential customers.
Trunk/Rear seats: The rear seats of the mustang fold down, making it much easier to store a lot of cargo or large items.
American Made: I know it's goofy, but I somehow feel guilty about buying a foreign made car, even if mazda is a ford subsidiary. Something about the mustang just makes you want to salute the flag and sing the national anthem, and I guess I'm the type of guy that likes that.
Gas Mileage: This really bugs me about the RX-8......it gets significantly worse gas mileage than the GT (by 6-7 MPG from what I read on here) without even matching the performance numbers! The GT looks like it could realistically get 20-22 MPG highway while 16-18 MPG is more accurate for the RX-8 from the info I gathered online. I could tolerate this without any problem if the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times were close but they really aren't. Stories about the weak AC and the renesis stalling in hot weather also make me give the Mustang serious thought. I'm not saying these problems are a deal breaker, but they're very disconcerting about the RX-8 and make the Mustang look like that much more of a better value.
I can buy either car with the X-plan/S-plan, way so price on the two cars is about equal. Right now I'm admittedly leaning toward the 8. Every time I go to work I take a detour to the Mazda dealership so I can gaze at the 8's they have on their lot. Then I'll see a Mustang driving down the road and I'll think about how nice that power would be. I admit, the interior of the Mustang I test drove looked very cheap and plasticky, on the other hand it would be easy to work with audio-wise. Any advice or opinions are appreciated (flame suit on). Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to read this. Convince me that the Mustang is the better car.
RX-8:
Handling: The Mazda dealership let my friend and I test drive an RX-8 by ourselves, so we really got to put it through it's paces. I was amazed at how well it took curves....I won't even mention the speeds at which we conquered some very windy roads but WOW! Definitely the best attribute of this car.
Build Quality/Fit and Finish: The 8 seemed rock solidily built, well designed and very intuitive when it comes to the driver interface. Nothing seemed cheap and plasticky even with the cloth seats.
Four Doors: I rarely have more than one passenger, but I do carry quite a bit of luggage and it's very convenient to be able to open a door and stow it in the backseat than lift it into the trunk. In addition, I will definitely be putting at least one subwoofer in the trunk which may cut down on cargo space.
Transmission: Hands down the easiest manual transmission I've ever had the pleasure of operating. Buttery smooth shifting, me likey.
Top speed: I would never drive the RX-8 this fast, but I believe it tops out at around 150 mph, which is 5 or 6 mph faster than the Mustang according to Road and Track.....I know this is probably the most meaningless performance spec in existence for a daily driver vehicle, but somehow it still seems like an advantage, if only in braggin rights.
Looks: I give the mazda the slight edge on looks, but the mustang is a beauty too.
Mustang GT:
Power: No doubt about it, this stang accelerates quite a bit better than the 8, which is nice, but I think the size of the car negates the sensation of speed to an extent. It really didn't feel THAT much better in the corners than the Maxima I currently drive and the RX-8 was in another league as far as handling. Then again.....the power really is what it's all about.
Customizability: I'm a HUGE stereo guru.....I love putting aftermarket systems in vehicles but unfortunately it's impossible to put so much as an upgraded CD player in the RX-8 without thousands of dollars in custom work or dozens and dozens of hours of my own labor (the climate controls are hardwired into the stock CD player). For me personally, this is a huge drawback for the 8 and huge plus for the mustang, although I realize it doesn't matter to 95% of potential customers.
Trunk/Rear seats: The rear seats of the mustang fold down, making it much easier to store a lot of cargo or large items.
American Made: I know it's goofy, but I somehow feel guilty about buying a foreign made car, even if mazda is a ford subsidiary. Something about the mustang just makes you want to salute the flag and sing the national anthem, and I guess I'm the type of guy that likes that.
Gas Mileage: This really bugs me about the RX-8......it gets significantly worse gas mileage than the GT (by 6-7 MPG from what I read on here) without even matching the performance numbers! The GT looks like it could realistically get 20-22 MPG highway while 16-18 MPG is more accurate for the RX-8 from the info I gathered online. I could tolerate this without any problem if the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times were close but they really aren't. Stories about the weak AC and the renesis stalling in hot weather also make me give the Mustang serious thought. I'm not saying these problems are a deal breaker, but they're very disconcerting about the RX-8 and make the Mustang look like that much more of a better value.
I can buy either car with the X-plan/S-plan, way so price on the two cars is about equal. Right now I'm admittedly leaning toward the 8. Every time I go to work I take a detour to the Mazda dealership so I can gaze at the 8's they have on their lot. Then I'll see a Mustang driving down the road and I'll think about how nice that power would be. I admit, the interior of the Mustang I test drove looked very cheap and plasticky, on the other hand it would be easy to work with audio-wise. Any advice or opinions are appreciated (flame suit on). Thanks so much to anyone who takes the time to read this. Convince me that the Mustang is the better car.
