Tesmond

Thanks for the info... I plan to make my decision by Feb 1st (as this is when I will now exactly how much I can spend etc.) I really dislike the front of the G35 (I even think it looks worse than an RX-8...although judging by opinions earlier on the board I may be on my own ) The monaro sounds fun, but I suspect an XKR would be a better option, given that the XKR is faster 0-60 by 0.8 seconds! XKR has better mpg by 4... The interior seems to be higher quality, and you can get an XKR for £8000+ where as a Monaro is £12000+. I havent driven either so I cannot comment on what they are like to drive, but given the 19mpg Insurance group 20 £12K starting price I think I would need to look at the jag instead...

I was interest about the clutch. You see I test drove 4 cars on the same day and the biting point of the clutch on the 350z was so much lower than any of the others it took a long time to get used to, also I did tense my leg on the clutch a lot more in traffic, because I was conscious that I was not able to get the biting point accurately and did not want to ram into anyone... I was wondering if this was the reason that it felt a bit tiring to drive. I test drove 4 cars on the same day 350z '05 325ci '03 RX-8 '06 A4 1.8T quattro S-line '03 If anyone is interested here are my views after spending 1 hour in each (well 2 hours in the 350z). 350Z - cabin feels quite spacious for the 2 passengers. Lots of fun, and the engine sounds great and has plenty of acceleration. Everything appears to be made of good quality, I checkedout some 2003s at the dealer to see if the plastics looked damaged, which tends to happen to cheap materials, but that was not the case with the 350z. It is beautiful inside and out. The lack of more than 2 seats is the big draw back. (will need a second car or to sell it when I have kids , plus if I need to pick up 2 people at the airport I am a little stuffed with no alternative) 325ci - Interior *felt* a bit cramped compared to the rest, but there are seats for up to 5 people. Also the seats were easily the most comfortable, I know several people who have lots of driving experience and they all agree that the M sport leather seats are great. The arm rest was too high and too short, on a couple of occasions I hit my elbow on it changing gear and it felt uncomfortable to rest my arm on as it was too far back. This I know would annoy me if I owned it. It is the same speed as my current Audi, although the drive was more enjoyable with feedback through the steering rather than the seat, whereas my Audi gives a bit too much through the seat. I would prefer the BWM to my Audi in terms of drive, but I am not willing to spend that amount of money for no real performance difference. A4 - Well I currently drive an A4, but the quattro is significantly slower than the fwd also I think the extra weight adversely affects the handling. However of all the cars the interior instruments, dials and trim were the nicest, but the quality of the ride was below that of the BMW and the fact that it was slower than my current car ruled it out straight away - its only other plus point would be that in the snow it would be much better than any of the others tested... RX-8 - Is a lot more fun than the BMW, the 9000rpm rev limit is fun, I liked the speedo+rev meters white glow. The engine is interesting, I do prefer the sound of a 350Z, but if your sitting at 70mph on the motorwayin the RX-8 is it great how quiet the car is. The center console is a perfect arm rest, it is the right height and has plenty of room to rest your arm on it, I would think its one of the best interior features. Basically after driving this I did not feel I could choose a BMW unless it was maybe a 330 or M3 as the performance + 4 seats and much lower price of the RX-8 put the 325 out of the running. Although I don't like the appearance of the RX-8 too much (especially the rear lights). Also I looked at 2004 models and the plastics had a lot of scratches, it looks like they are a bit cheap and will get old fast. In reviewing forums of RX-8s there are a lot of rust based problems, door sills, alloys, oil coolers, etc. This rust problem unfortunately makes me think that the whole thing is liable to fall apart after 7 year... If the 350z had four seats (or even 3) then it would be an easy decision, however the practicality problems are making me think hard about this next car. This is kind of compounded by the fact my fiance does not have a UK license, just an international one...so I can't really persuade her to get a "practical" car for us for some time... The "dont buy and RX-8" comment I feel is a little harsh. It certainly appears to be a good car for the money, and objectively* appears to handle as well *On the Top gear test track the M3, RX8 and 350Z all have the same track times, this suggests that as both the 350Z and the M3 are significantly faster 0-60 the RX-8's handling must be as good.

Hi, I have recently been trying to choose my next car. I currently have an Audi A4 1.8T sport (193bhp), and I have been looking for a new car which must meet a few criteria. 1. It must be faster 2. It must be more fun (better handling + undefinable factors that make a car fun) 3. It must be around £15000 or less second hand 4. Reliability is a plus, but if the parts were cheap not the end of the world 5. I have to like the appearance of it One of these cars that meets this criteria is a 350Z. There are just a few "problems" with choosing this as my car and so I was hoping some owners might be able to advise me further so I can hopefully come to some sort of conclusion. The 350Z has the following positives + it is A LOT faster + it is more fun to drive + it is possibly the best looking new car under £60000 (well for me anyway) + research suggests that it is pretty reliable The 350Z has the following negatives: - 2 seats - heavy clutch - luggage space is even more limited than a Porsche Boxter. (I had a look at the convertible 350z and there is no chance of using it as your only car without a luggage rack or something!) The main problem I have stems from the fact that I do not think I can afford to run two cars, and if I find a way I want the 350z to be my main car. Obviously the 2 seats is the first problem, the second issue is at least 4 times a year (probably more if I have a really fun car) I drive 400+ miles in a day and the heavy clutch I believe would become a pain after a few hours of traffic. I think a large chunk of the problems would be removed with an automatic gearbox (although it would be sad not to be able to change gear I think the daily use pros outweigh the cons in this respect) So I have a couple of question about imports. 1. Is the automatic gearbox good / reliable? 2. A quick search on confused.com had a £300 pound difference between an auto import and a manual UK. Is this always going to be the case or are their any insurance companies who are more reasonable over the theoretically safer auto. 3. Servicing (are there any servicing issues/increased costs on imports, especially the automatics?) Other alternatives include: 1. RX-8 - ticks most of the boxes, I am worried by the build quality, but it is definitely a very fun car. 2. BMW ci330 - The 325 feels under-powered compared to my A4 so it has to be a 330 or M3. The sport leather seats are the best in any car I have ever sat in (with the possible exception of a Lamborghini Diablo, but that was too many years ago for me to remember clearly). The problem is I really would like to get something other than a BMW, but of my current list it is the sensible choice (unfortunately!)