Today, I was mostly...

[bernmc]

....posing!

In these:

[bernmc]

The wife has been bleating about Crossfires for ages, so we decided to have some fun and go drive! I thought she should have a good selection to compare with, so we did all four!

Biggest Surprise: The Crossfire- expected to hate it - big wallowy yank tank. It is very plasticky, buit a surprisingly good drive (last gen Merc SLK underpinnings). Nice and tractable, and surprisingly good around the corners. Very well equiped - 24K gets you everything!

Biggest disappointment: The SLK. By far the best interior of the lot, and that trick roof, but sluggish (we drove the base model 200Kompressor (160ish BHP), and HUGELY expensive - base starts at 28.5K, and by the time you've got some leather, 4 tyres and an engine ;) you're well over 30K. Drive was the worst of the lot, which surprised me - you could feel every jiggle and bump in the road, whereas all the others were smooth as silk!

Which leaves the 350Z and the Mazda. Both cracking cars. Nissan is very fast - 280BHP, lot's of torque, awesome brakes. Very nice to drive, and sounds lovely. Usefully, it has a picture inside the bootlid explaining how to get your golf clubs in the available space :D!!! With GT pack - 28K

The Mazda. Looks good (well, I like it), has a decent boot for these types of car; seats four even though the rears are small, and goes surprisingly well! We drove the 230PS version, which revs to 9000rpm, and sounds glorious - you just want to keep doing it! I didn't intend to like it, but I did! Rev counter smack in the middle of the dash, and chimes when you get close to the limiter and need to shift. 25K gets the more powerful model + elec leather seats and some bodykit styking bits. ooo-er!

[Brunty]

Bernard - you're a good lookin' fella, probably could have had the pick of all the best looking girls and you went and chose an expensive one. Why? /pan

Joking aside :smug: Anyone who can put up with you without the need for anaesthetic must deserve the very best you can afford. Buy the missus whatever she wants - and if it isn't the SLK spend what remains from your £28.5k on some other nice things for her too!

bernmc -> /grr <- Brunty

:thumbsup: <- Mrs bernmc

BTW I like the 350z.

[bradc]

I hate the looks of the crossfire it just isn't my sort of thing, and as you said the merc is too expensive. I'd probably go with the RX8 or 350Z as well, maybe with a slight preferance to the 350Z

[Kieran]

RX-8 for me. One day I intend to scratch my rotary itch! /Steeringw :scholar:

[bernmc]

bernmc -> /grr <- Brunty

:thumbsup: <- Mrs bernmc Feck! She must have your number!

I thought we'd do it and she'd get it out of her system. Fat chance!

Now you know why I have to drive sheepmobiles and 9 year old Legnums! And scrimp and save for every penny to spend on the Leggie :|

No definites yet - we were just having some fun! Think we'll arrange to take the nissan and the mazda out again - Oh salesperson, we're so torn... :D

The nissan salesman checked our licences, then tossed us the keys and told us to go off and have fun - pretty trusting eh! Mazda guy came with us and sat in the back, but also wanted us to get stuck in - 'neither of you are revving this thing enough - keep your foot down until it pings at you' etc etc! Top blokes.

Suspect that the RX8 may edge it in the end - it's a bit cheaper, much more practical, and easy to get on with. Only thing that worries me is whether the missus will be able to cope with checking and refilling the oil every couple of fillups... dipstick is in an awkward spot, and you have to remove the engine cover to get at the oil filler cap :rolleyes4

Did you know that the 350Z has an 80l fuel tank :o

[bradc]

Remember the 350Z is easy to turbo and lots of people have had 450 or more HP out of it ;)
The mazda also has it's 'interesting' engine and they can be quite complicated to repair - out of warranty of course, which won't be a problem for you for a few years.

Why don't you buy a VR4 sedan and convert it to a coupe? It will be cheaper ;)

[bernmc]

Remember the 350Z is easy to turbo and lots of people have had 450 or more HP out of it
The mazda also has it's 'interesting' engine and they can be quite complicated to repair - out of warranty of course, which won't be a problem for you for a few years.

Why don't you buy a VR4 sedan and convert it to a coupe? It will be cheaper
Ha! I wouldn't be allowed near the thing with a spanner!

Suggested a nice VR4 to the undiscerning wench, and she said a rude word. Not sporty enough, apparently :o

[bradc]

you need to take her to a winding section of road then, and trash it ;)

Ask her about the concept of a coupe though, and show her that photoshopped pic that is in the forums somewhere.

[SGHOM]

of the two Bern............... the 350Z /yes
It's quicker than the RX, It's cooler than the RX, It has more street cred than the RX & ..IMHO.. the better car all round. /yes

[Kieran]

It's quicker than the RX, It's cooler than the RX, It has more street cred than the RX & ..IMHO.. the better car all round. /yes

Bah!

Yes it's quicker.


There's no way it's cooler - 4 door that looks like a 2 door that has a rotary engine that revs to 9,000?!? Much cooler! :smug:

More street cred? Yes possibly.


However. If you compare the EVO to the VR-4, then the answers above probably still apply. And look what we all drive!! /Steeringw :smug:

[psbarham]

i think i would have to go with the rx8 , i mean it has perfrct 50/50 weight distrobution , a sreaming engine , stunning looks , and its a mazda :inquisiti what i mean by that is , they won le mans with a rotary in 1992 ( i think) so they know how to build them

[bernmc]

Went and drove the 350Z and RX-8 again today. Pouring with rain :thumbsup: although you feel a bit nervous messing about in someone else's 28 grand toy!

As before, Nissan salesman just tossed us the keys and waved goodbye. Feck, this is a great car! I just love big torquey engines! Did you know it'll do 0-100mph in 13s dead, and run a 13.77s 1/4mile in stock form!? Fantastic brakes - bigger discs than a brembo'd VR4, 4 pot brembos on the front, and twins on the back. Would have to learn to play golf though, as that's about all the the bluddy thing can carry!

RX-8 man mentioned the rain and warned us to take it a bit easier. So my wife promptly exits the roundabout with a great big tank-slapper! Flippin' hooligan. 'Well, at least the dynamic stabilty control works' says the man. As before, mazda is much more practical - there were four of us in it for the drive, and it's got a brilliant instrument cluster - big rev meter smack in the middle and a nice digital speedo. Torque curve is also almost linear throughout those 9000 revs - lovely. But it's not as powerful or torquey, noisy, particularly in the back, and brakes aren't a patch on the nissan's.

I think that I'd choose the nissan, and reason that we'd have the VR4 for shopping and family outings. And I'd get to drive it to work every Tuesday when the wife would need the extra load space for all her teaching gear for her Theatre school! :thumbsup:

Not my decision in the end - her car! And of course, we have to decide whether we want to spend her inheritance on something that will loose all of it's value pretty quickly, or be sensible and invest!

mmmm....:leer:

[I-S]

Personally I'd have the nissan.

Why?

I've seen two of them. Not a day goes by without seeing an RX8. That, and this whole thing about the oil... It's known that they need a lot of oil so they seem to have gone out of their way to make it as difficult as possible to check and add oil to?!?!

[V6nut]

Family friend bought a 350Z in March, at 3,500 miles she had a new gearbox, month later it went again, cost her about £1300 for a new fly wheel and a coupla hundred for the clutch. She still ahsn't got it back and she is taking Nissan to court. Only problem I've heard of with the car but she is now an avid hater of all things nissan.

[bernmc]

Can't see why she paid for g/box & clutch - they have a 3 year warranty. I'd have flaltly refused.

[Wouter]

MAZDA!!!! :thumbsup: