ronny555

I'm bored with the STI an fancy a change after 18months of ownership (My fourth scooby in a row)

Getting a bit older now (31) so fancy something a bit more comfy but still exciting.

I have testdriven both the EVO 300 and 340.
Amazing speed and handling, but the interior looks cheap and nasty, and also the service costs are crazy. I do over 22'000miles a year and I am not willing to pay out close on £1500 a year on servicing a car as well as tyres/pads etc.

Just come back after test driving a fully loaded Mazda RX8 230. Wow.
The car handling is amazing and the interior is great (and comfy)
Must admit that I miss the kick of the scooby turbo, but at mid to high speeds I felt that the Mazda would give the STI a run for its money.

Have any other subaru drivers switched to an RX8 or thought about it?
Any other cars to look at? (Do not like HondaS2000/Audi TT/Any Golfs)

Do I wait until Sept and see what the subaru upgrade is like.
Must admit that the STI second hand value has been a bitter pill to swallow. 2003 53plate STI(blue) bought by me from new for £25'000 now with 29'000 miles is valued at trade in for between £14'500 to £15'000.
Do I trust subaru again with 'rover like' second hand values???

mgcvk

Getting a bit old at 31???????? I would say you are still 20 years too young for the Mazda and the wrong sex. Middle aged ladies car.

wacky.banana

Ronny,

You may miss the kick of the STi and the handling after a while but maybe a change is needed for you to rediscover the things that made you buy 4 Scoobs in a row.

I looked at an RX8 recently and my impressions were as follows:

- Pretty narrow/small/confined inside, compared to the Scoob.
- Did not like the tunnel cover running the length of the car. Gave the impression that the car was built in 2 halves, if you get my drift.
- The suicide rear doors are an innovative design but totally impractical. You have to stop the car, open the front door(s) and step out in order for the rear passengers to get out (imagine that on a cold, wet wintry evening in the middle of nowhere). Front seat belts are attached to the rear doors, what sort of design is that?

- I'm of average build and yet I kept catching my head on the A-pillar everytime I stepped out the car. Now that seriously peed me off!

Overall I felt the negatives outweighed the positives, especially the price (24K for the full loaded examle I was looking at).

Hope this helps.

WB

peterpeter

After I decided to get rid of the Integra, my choices boiled down to the RX8 and the Scooby STi with ppp.

I spent quite a while looking at all the stats.
My mate had an STI, and I had test driven the RX8.
In the end the only advantage of the RX8 was that it would get noticed less and hence be less of a "target"...(because there are loads of them around...many of which are driven by women!)

On practicality, performance, and looks( IMO) the scooby wins.
Im nearly 36 mate!! and Ive (nearly) got two kids...the RX8 is way too cramped at the back.

In the end my brother and mates summed it up and pushed me in the right direction...

"dont buy the RX-8 ....its a *****'s car compared to the STI"

mgcvk

I'm 35 with two kids and only ever see middle aged women and the odd middle aged man driving the Mazda and there are a lot of 'em near me. Its a retirement "treat" car.
Nevertheless, each to their own.

ARM-Scooby

arent they one of the cars that men get when they hit 40 to recapture their youth, them and boxters, 911's.

Tim W

iTrader: (1)

350Z...try it, cracking drive...that is unless you actually need 4 seats

Echo

I popped in to my old Mazda dealers the other day to say hello as I was passing. I used to have a V6 Xedos and did 200,000 miles in it so they know me quite well Chatting with the service manager he said that it's not even worth me getting in to a RX 8 for a drive as my Scoob would be far more fun and practical. He had one in the showroom that had been sold by the owner moving to a WRX.

I like the look of the RX 8 and when the used ones hit around 12k I may even be tempted to get the missis one.

Mike

TheVoices

iTrader: (5)

We have taken a couple of RX8 231 ps in part ex over the last few months and whilst quite nice they don't even begin to compare to an STi. They only seem to perform at 6500 rpm plus and when I used one for a week or so, I only got about 15 to the gallon !

stijohnny

Sell it y'll regret it..
I traded my STI8 for a Forrester, cause I live in a fu**in forest. The Forrester is a top car but its a bit like losing an arm and have a really good prosthetic one in its place. I dont feel like a thug when I drive into town anymore, no one looks at me and no one wants to race.. And all that sort of stuff. Anyway I am trying to work out how I can work around this and get back to driving an impreza and in 12 months time so will you.

dexter

Just to re-iterate a point made earlier, the fuel consumption is supposed to be bordering on unacceptabe on the RX8.

A mate of mine has a 231, and says he gets only 18 MPG. If you have a look at the owners club website, you`ll find loads of them moaning about the MPG.

Having test driven both versions as well, I personally thought that the performance was nothing special, but when I drove the new WRX a couple of months ago, I ordered one immediately.

In conclusion, I think you will greatly miss the grunt in your Scoob mate, as, just having come from a CTR, I know that hi-revving cars can be an absolute pain when you`re not in the mood.

Good luck with your choice, anyway.

flat4_ire

naahhh not mad on the rx-8 the rx-7 is a sweet ride though

C2forWRX

RX-8 is lame, after a scoob you aint going to wanna go slower. i agree with 350z. or an s3 rs3 quattro a3

mgcvk

RX-8? You'ld have to be a Wankel to want one!

lordretsudo

Well, I've just bought my first Subaru, a 2003 WRX STI, and the other car that I considered was a Mazda RX8. As others have said, if you're above average height (I'm just under 6'6") you'll be uncomfortable in the Mazda. Also, I found it extremely unresponsive at lower rev's - if you drive like a maniac, you'll probably get more out of it, but it felt very similar (read disappointing) to the Toyota Celica 190 to me.

I like the way the RX8 looks, but I just felt the STI had it beat on every issue that counts. The final nail in its coffin for me was the fuel economy - OK, so neither car is exactly sensible, but it sounds like sub 20 mpg is the best you can hope for, and I couldn't justify that when the STI feels so much faster and is less greedy at the same time.

ronny555

Cheers for the replies guys.

I guess you have all sumed up the way I feel (and that why I asked the question), that I would not be happy with the RX8 after having 6years of scooby ownership.

My original idea is now back in the melting pot - to mod my STI to get that 'Wow' feeling I have been missing.

PPP
Prodrive springs
Pimp tints
New Alloys

But then again am I throwing good money after bad.

Sigh - decisions decisions.......

ronny555

Also just viewed the 2006 subaru photos

I will not be buying a new subaru for a while - man that is one ugly car.....

Have subaru merged with the Rover design department???

JAG1977

I'm actually looking at an RX-8 myself.

Without exception every review says its an excellent car.

They can't all be wrong.

I was looking at a new import STI but have been put off by the facelifted car arriving later in the year.

One other issue that affects myself, being a younger driver with no NCB, the STI costs £2100 for insurance compared to £870 for the RX-8 (230bhp) version.

The EVO8 is the far side of £2500!!!!

How many sales must Subaru and Mitsubishi be losing with this insurance lark!

I'm sure the savings could go some way to some nice, subtle mods for the RX-8.

flat4_ire

id say subaru and mitsi are losing no sales at all lad!

JAG1977

I'm sure those second hand Scoobys would be flying of the shelves, as it were, if insurance was not such a huge factor.

If your over 35, or can afford a new STI, I'm sure insurance is not an issue, but when your selling them on for 15k it is.

webby v7 slipperwagon

iTrader: (2)

WHOA , i'm 39, 40 next year (not that you could ever tell) and i want to change from my TSL 333 V7 STI Wagon...................to a 22b or S202