you've been here long enough to know better.

Coming from a GIRL, I'd like to just say that if you are going to spend a lot of money on something, if something (no matter how petty anyone thinks it is) bothers you about it, you shouldn't just *settle*, you know?

There...I've said my peace.

Tom...out of curiousity (even if you aren't considering it), have you seen the Saturn Sky? It caught my eye the other day as I didn't even know Saturn made a sports car.

Saturn is no more.

I still think you should at least drive a Legacy GT. If you can't find a used one to drive go drive a new one just to see what they are like.

I actually had it down to the Legacy and the Civic Si when I was looking. The Legacy seemed to be a better every day driver, as it was a bit roomier and much quieter. The Si was pretty loud.

I agree with Mary - if something bugs me before the purchase, it's going to bug me even more later on.

I like the look of the Saturn Sky, although not as well as the Pontiac Solstice (it's GM twin). They are very cool looking. PeterC commented that his started to show unpleasant signs of wear at an early stage. They are very low - I think the ingress/egress is even worse than a Miata because of the significant door sill. Still, it might be fun to drive one and see if they want to just give it away to get rid of it. I think consensus among the automotive press is that the Sky just isn't quite as good a car as the Miata.

Yes, Zarak, I'm sure you're right. I should drive a Subaru GT before taking the plunge. Damn list expander.

I drove a 2005 RX-8 (in Grand Touring trim) today. I liked it quite a bit. The engine was so smooth, and very powerful as Chris described (higher RPM). I thought it was similarly fun to the S2000 and Si in that respect. I like how it has more than 2 seats and something of a trunk. It corners really well, yet doesn't have a punishing ride. I like how it looks. The problems were that I really don't fit very well - my head kind of brushes the head liner in an annoying way in my preferred driving position. And the sunroof is really laughably small - to the point where I'm not sure it satisfies one of my key criteria.

I guess I'm still not sure where I'm going to compromise exactly.

Still have the Volvo S60 R in the back of my head. I probably need to drive it to put it to rest, but there isn't one close.

RX-8 Tom, you know you want it!

That is spot on, Mary. Exactly the way I felt when I made my first car purchase. Ended up stretching my budget a bit to get a car I REALLY liked and wanted. Yes, it was more expensive, but I did not have any regrets when I wrote my payment check out every month. That right there tells me I made the right choice for me.

Tom, forgive me for saying this, I can't be the only person thinking this here....but isn't the Miata a bit, umm, "girly".

If you're planning on dropping a 5.0 in there, I'll take that back of course.

Hey Club Neon, 3 profiles --- sounds like the S2000. Tom hope you're feeling better. The S2000 is pretty much a single purpose fun machine without any storage space in the passenger compartment. I have fit 2 golf bags in my trunk though.

Or the Speed6 AWD drivetrain. Now that would be a fun drive!

Scott