scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Im in the market for a new car after selling my Evo the weekend and have £16-£16.5k to spend on a sports coupe, for the last couple of weeks I was struck on a Nissan 350z but after looking on Auto Trader and Piston Heads and with my budget im struggling to find a manual, with leather and 18s, and looking at the bottom of the pages of the Auto Trader for the cheapest ones which will be a import .

Ive seen a few RX8's(231ps) about with less then 10k miles on the clock for as little as £14-£14.5k and there are quite a few for sale and with my budget im not looking at the last pages of the Auto Trader as I was with the 350Z, and with the money left over I could get a decent set of wheels and a few nice mods and make it stand out a bit better.

Now I know there are quite a few on here who have RX8's and 350Z's and I wanted to know the pro's and cons of owning the 2. Also what would be the difference in performance, I know that the 350z has a extra 40+bhp but isnt the 350z very heavy compared to the RX8.

I know its my decision in the end, but I would love to hear what car you would choose out of the 2 with my budget, At the end of the day if I had £20k to spend it would be the 350z, but my budget it seems that all the 350z's I look at are not as well spec'd as the RX8(leather,18's, low mileage)

TopBanana

I've heard the RX8 is a very good drive, mixed reports about the 350z. RX8 quite thirsty though.

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Is that thirsty on petrol or oil.

Heard that you have to keep on top of the oil as it seems to get through quite a bit over a short period of time.

Does anyone know what the 350z is like on petrol!

richs2891

Drive them both and see what you think.
I've driven both (my sister had an RX8 for two years - she loved it I thought it was OK, but a little sterile to drive and rubbish engine note !). Fuel wise prob the same, I think that the 350Z feels more of a drivers cars as it feels quite old school and heavy, harder to extract a fast time from it but ultimately more fun.
RX8 is lighter possible better balenced for the average driver and the electronic in normal mode do not let you get it out of shape while the elecs in the 350Z will allow a little fun in the courners. 350Z is definately quicker but a harder car to master and feel 100% confident in.
Just my feelings on the two and I know where I would spend my cash - thinking on the rag top version myself.
PS are Nissan dealers ok with servicing imports ?
Richard

MarkWRX

Had an Rx8 for 2 years - great car. Picking up a 350Z on Thursday so will be able to do a better comparison in a couple of weeks.

The RX8 is lighter and feels more agile, the interior is a nice place to be, is fully loaded with toys (climate, 6CD, Bose, Leather, Xenons etc - but so is the Zed if you get the GT pack) and is more practical with the 4 seats and suicide doors. Over 2 years I averaged 19.5mpg which admittedly isnt great, but never got more than 23mpg on a run which i thought was poor.

Personally I love the characteristics of the rotary engine, including the sound (especially with the racing beat exhaust I had ). It does need working harder to go fast but the engine never sounds rough and loves to rev. The zed has a lot more torque and will pull better in lower gears, but the Rex never felt lacking in torque, you just need to use the revs more if you want to press on.

People really need to get over the oil thing with the Rex! I had to put a litre in every few thousand miles, and if youre an enthusiast thats hardly a chore. Oil can also be bought quite cheaply if you join the owners club.

Performance wise, the Zed is easily faster in a straight line, but when it comes to handling and track times theres often nothing in it (aka Top Gear track).

Looks wise I prefer the Rx8 from the front, and the Zed from the side and rear. Also now I see a lot more RX8s about than Zeds and as such they have lost the exclusivity they had 2/3 years ago when they came out.

It really depends upon what you want out of a car. The Rx8 people either seem to love or hate, so you really need to drive both and see what floats your boat.

However given your budget and what you say is available you will obviously get a newer, lower mileage UK RX8 for the same money. Also watch out on Jap Zeds as there are several different trim levels and not all are as well equipped as UK cars.

Cant wait till I get my Zed on Thursday though

skoda_kid

I used to love the look of the RX-8 when it first come out, but personally think it looks quite dated already. The Z looks superb


Matt

mg driver

350z hasnt just got more 40 bhp more bhp its also got about double the torque .

farmerwrx

this is the wife's zed it's a lot better on petrol than my type r lol
it's a fantastic car

LG John

Sod them and buy THIS. My price and your budget can work to a middle point

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

It was top of my list, but insurance is a extra £900 over the 2 cars that I have listed!

LG John

Jesus!!! That's a hell of a lot!!! Have you shopped around? I'm with admiral

MPC-GTR

350Z would be my choice- (especially since supercharger or turbo conversions are available)
Standard car mechanically more robust than RX8 plus slightly better fuel economy. Standard horsepower of 350z is actually 287bhp and anniversary edition is 300bhp

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Will give it a go later!

Elephant want £1,9k for a S2000 for me and the missus and they want £1k on a import 350Z.

RobEvo5

iTrader: (9)

Naaaah - Just buy my mint VX220 Turbo with 240bhp. Best drivers car you could buy for 16K at the moment IMHO. It depends on how much of a toy you want.

If it were between the 350Z and RX8 I would go for the 350Z. The RX7 was and is a fantastic car, but the RX8 just don't push all the buttons for me.

LG John

Agree RobEvo - its one of the cars I'm considering changing the S2000 for. I've used the S2000 as a daily driver for a year and a half but I don't need to any more and since its going to be a 'fun' car it much as well be even more mental

scoobyboy1

iTrader: (16)

Just did a quote with Admiral:

£2700 for a Honda S2000

Me and the missius are both 23(im 24 in November) ive been driving for 5 years and never had a crash and have no points on my licence, missus has been driving for 2 years and has no points and never had a crash.

AudiLover

you sure your not doing something wrong

Anyway ALL rx8's have just been recalled by madza, for the SECOND time.

TopBanana

Try confused.com !

Chris L

I've got an RX8 and I've also driven a 350Z (both on track). Both lovely cars. I rate both cars very highly (I won the the 350Z sprint at Bedford last year ). 350Z is a bigger, heavier car, but it has a lovely engine and sounds great. Nice handling too.

It really comes down to what you prefer - MarkWRX sums it up very nicely. There is a slightly different style to driving the RX8 - it's closer to a Honda VTEC, because of the engine type & gearing. It is a surprisingly quick car though - when driven properly. I think the traction control system is better on the RX8 too - it allows you to have quite a lot of fun on wet roundabouts, before cutting in.

Don't get hung up on the oil thing. The rotary engine uses a small amount of oil as lubrication for the rotor tips - it is perfectly normal. The top up is no more than a routine check (which, to be honest, you should do on any car really). Fuel consumption is not fantastic, but coming from a Scoob, I've learnt to live with it!

Reliability has been very good (I've done 29000 miles with no problems) and servicing is pretty good too (every 12500 miles). Sound is a personal thing, but I've got a Racing Beat exhaust, like Mark's and it sounds great when you push it hard

The RX8 also has the best standard fit head lights and brakes of any car I've ever owned. Makes for a very entertaining car. The joy of the car is in its handling and response, not so much its outright power (rather like the MX5 and Elise).

Chris

Terzo 333

I've had a 350 z for nearly two years and don't have a bad word to say about the car

~DrEaM~

350Z all the way John...
but why not get a G35 skyline instead?? same engine as 350Z rarer and nicer

Chris L

...and ugly as sin. What have they done to it?

jonnyrex

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3I1h8LrVO...rch=Top%20Gear

Shark Man

****, I've insured an NSX for less than a third of that

Try confused.com