Mazda fanboi - what car?

secretariata wrote:

alleykat wrote: I need to haul up to 4 people... FRS/BRZ might work...

Are these human people? Full sized? FRS/BRZ rear seats don't permit anything near a full sized human with actual legs to sit in the rear seats. I have a 29" inseam and anyone who isn't in a Sally Struthers commercial couldn't fit their legs between the front and rear seats...

This. Unless you're into S&M, avoid these back seats. We put a 12 year old boy into the back seat of my buddy's '13 FRS. He loved how cool the car was, but after 30 minutes, he was begging to get out of the car.

Having owned a MS3 and currently own an S2 RX8 I think i can be a little help here.

Starting with the MS3 I will say I miss that car quite a bit, was perfect for DD use, plenty of low end torque (as well as torque steer but you just learn to steer with your right foot,) on long road trips I was able to get 34mpg on the highway, it did very well in DS autocross (idk where its at now) and have been told it is even better with a set of koni's. Things look out for would be motor mounts (same mounts as a MZ3), struts wear out quickly, tire life is going to be short so be sure to keep up with rotations and air pressures, if you plan to modify for power be sure to get a tune after ANY engine mod, the engines are quite tough but sensitive with halfassed tunes.

Would buy again any day of the week.

The S2 RX8 was what I always wanted, and after a divorce I got one lol, If you are going to be using this as a DD understand average MPG is NOT going to be better then 18mpg and will give you a range of around 230 miles for a tank and speaking of on a long road trip the best I've ever got was 25 mpg on the highway once, on top of that every other fill up you need to check your oil (this IS normal) and only use 10-30 or 15-40 oil as a rotary was never designed for 5-20.

Now this car puts a smile on my face every time I get in to it and almost nothing beats a 9k redline, handling is easily on par with an M3 and once set up is a very good choice for STX class, the lighter weight means it is easy on wear items (brakes, suspension, tires) and you can carry a full set of mounted race rubber inside the car if needed!

Like any rotary there are going to be things to look out for, here is a helpful video, many others like this out there.

Rotors Magazine

More info

More info 2

Good luck and any questions feel free to ask!!

Ricky Spanish wrote: Do you like how the RX-8 is perfectly balanced and revs to the moon but do you dislike how it has no torque? Look at an E46 M3.

This would be the perfect solution. Unfortunately, any E46 M3 I would want to buy is priced above or at my threshold and they are too old to finance any portion of the purchase price.

I though about putting money into my E36 to bring up to or near M3 performance (it's a 94 325i). But a the end of the day I will have 23 yo wiring, plastics, hvac, etc. Plus I want modern crash standards in a car my kids spend any time in.

Dusterbd13 wrote: 2 nb miatas. Somebody had to....

I have 2 NAs in my driveway now ;)

How about a brand-spanking new Toyota Yaris iA? I think you can get one under $15k, and it's a Mazda2 sedan, really.

2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport. It will be in the $17's after discounts and rebates--but it will be brand new with a 100K powertrain warranty and a 60K BtoB warranty. And being new will get the best financing possible as for rate and term.

"...the most performance you can get for your dollar. No joke."

LuxInterior wrote:

Rumnhammer wrote: The answer is Mazda 3 ... absolute drivers car in every aspect of the description. It handled well when the entire suspention was shot and now that I upgraded it, it will outhandle my miata. It has 4 doors has a big trunk, and gets 30mpg even with me flogging it. The car is fun to drive. Get one you will thank me I promise you.

The 3 out handles a Miata? Hmmm. Your heavier FWD with economy car roots out handles the benchmark for great handling small RWD cars? I gotta call bull-cookies on that. A 3 could have more grip -- just add big sticky tires. But I don't believe that a 3 is a better handling car than the miata. -- Not unless the Miata is completely clapped out and broken and the 3 has the best suspension on the planet

Actually, my Miata is mint started as a R package now has full poly bushing replacement running Tein coilovers with sticky tires and handles well, so clapped out is not what I'm using as a basis. Perhaps I should have said as good as for a FWD car, it does handle better than ANY other FWD car I've ever driven and I've driven a lot of them.

Am I really the first persont to say fd rx7 or n/a mkiv supra? Oh ok, I must've overlooked the 4 seat "requirement".

In reply to sesto elemento:

You know, and the $15,000 budget. If you've got a line on $15,000 MKIV Supras, let me know, I'll buy 'em all

calteg wrote: In reply to sesto elemento: You know, and the $15,000 budget. If you've got a line on $15,000 MKIV Supras, let me know, I'll buy 'em all

I've been seeing them in that range for a decade. I'll post the next one i find. There was a gorgeous, low miles one for $17k bo a while back that I almost bit on. At some point I'm gonna 1gz-fe itb swap an na car. Na ones are really good little cars, lighter than turbo ones and more likely to have a hard top than turbos.