I've never been in one, and I've only SEEN 3, but I love the car and am searching for one. Before I start shopping for some in person, I was interested in how it feels to sit in one. I can only compare it to other cars to best explain.

I drive an RSX, and it is certainly not a sports car but rather a "sporty coupe". I sit upright mostly, and have great visability all around, with some restriction out the rear. The shifter is as smooth as butter, you could flick it easily.

One of my friends has a VR4, and that car is a big pain to sit in. You are slooped back, you can't see out the car very well, and the shifter is pretty rough.

One of the best cars I've sat in is the s2k.. you sit reasonably upright, good visiblity front and sides, and the shifter is very flickable.

So I'm just curious as to how you would describe sitting in your FD. I'm 6' flat, and from what I read should be plenty big enough, but I've read about rubbing the steering wheel, don't know how big a concern this is.

 

The visibility is excellent, but the shifting is hard core. I've had a guy 6'5" in the drivers seat and he didn't rub the wheel. The seats have a lot of adjustment.

 

I think the shifting is fine. IMO, the visibility is poor . The blind spots that you encounter on most cars are worse on the FD due to the rear pillars. The mirror on the windshield should be higher and smaller for better vision.

You will have to drive one and judge for yourself.

 

I'm about 6'3" and have no problems. The only thing I'm thinking of doing is taking my rear view mirror off, but that's because when I was driving my camaro it fell off and I never put it back on, so I never use it anyway.

 

I find that the visibility is great compared to the other sports cars I've been in. It's all about the mirrors.

 

the rear pillars kills your view. there are only 4 windows in the car, front, doors, and rear. and the doors and rear are seperated by a what, 1 foot wall. so visibilty isnt great there.

i got use to it though, and plus i always check my mirrors so i know where every car is at all times

 

the left a pillar is a huge blind spot, its right where the apex of the turn should be, the rx8 is the same way. it makes a lot of left turns blind.

the steering wheel is a tad (1/2 maybe) low, but this isnt a big deal, it might just be on your legs is all

other than that its great, mazda has a good grasp of the fundamental driving position

 

HRm. So less than spectacular.

Well I can't wait to sit in one to see for myself.

 

that's strange... when I first sat in my FD the first words out of my mouth were "the visability is great!" my friend who drives 350z drove it and said the same thing. it's all about how you adjust the mirrors. we are 6' and 6'2", so maybe it's better for taller people. the shifting is good, but it's not effortless, I like to feel the shifts, though.

 

I find the blind spots are rather large and I have to be extra careful. The door side mirrors are tiny (but I'm used to an SUV so there's the comparison). The steering wheel gives me no problem (6' 230 lbs) but the seats are very narrow (base model cloth seats) due to the huge side bolsters. It cuts off circulation in my right leg forcing me to stop after a few hours. Shifting is no different than most other cars - it has its' quirks but you get used to them.

 

imagine being 5'3 and having a cusco 6pt roll cage in ur FD like wat i have, and it makes the visibility and blind spots worse