Amazingly, somehow, I got the call Wednesday (5/23) afternoon that the car had arrived. Unfortunately due to my work schedule I was not able to get down to the dealership (Sterling McCall in Houston) until today.
This car is beautiful. All the pictures I have seen thus far do not do the Ultramarine justice. It has almost a deep purple hue to it, and the changes in color as the light catch it really shows off the curves of the body.
Unfortunately, I can not take the home today. The dealer tells me that Toyota will not let them sell the car until June 1st. I am not too upset. I have waited since 2008 for this car, and can wait a few more days.
The dealer assures me that they will not be allowing anyone else to drive the car while it sits (locked) in the show room.
Even if I could not take home the car, they were more than happy to let me test drive it. The car had 12 miles on it when I first sat in it. I took the car out for a ~10 mile test drive.
The power is nothing amazing. However, it is more than sufficient, and the power to weight (coming from my current car, a boat-like Lexus SC300) is a treat. Below about 4k it is somewhat gutless. But after that, there is a quite noticeable surge in power, and once you get up to around 5k, it really comes alive.
The true joy of the car, however, is the suspension and steering. My test drive included a bit of everything. Freeways, normal city streets, a low traffic office park, and some of the notorious Houston construction.
It handled them all without complaint. The car turns when you want it to turn. It slips just slightly when tossed into a longer sweeper, even when the line taken was not exactly perfect. Even over rough roads, it was not intolerable, or even bad at all really. It is not a car that will require back surgery after a few 1000 miles (unlike my former RSX).
I only have a few (minor) complaints. First off, the clutch is a bit too light, and with an engagement that is pretty far out. I'm sure this can be adjusted, however, and I will probably get used to the lightness. Additionally, initial throttle feels a bit lazy in the normal driving mode. I found that pressing the "Sport" button reduces this somewhat. I may just be spoiled by my brother's CRX (D16Z6, with no intake piping to speak of).
A word about my dealer. The initially did not have much information when I first came in however many months ago. They did however have an informal waiting list setup, to which I added myself, and that they honored when the cars started coming in. They have kept me apprised of everything they were hearing from Toyota and seem to have treated me well so far. In addition (and probably most importantly), they are not adding any absurd markup to the car (like I am seeing from the threads on the Miami dealers).
I can't wait till I get to take this baby home. Coincidentally, my birthday is on the 3rd. Happy birthday to me.
http://i49.tinypic.com/288tog6.jpg