I had my test drive today. 2.0 manual Premium in the new grey colour. I have a bone stock (except for an intake) 2.0 manual GT. Drive was about 30 minutes on city roads without the salesmen.
If one word could describe my opinion of the car... refined.
The car is very, very smooth. The steering, shifter, clutch, suspension, you can tell have been improved. The shifts felt much better. Its no S2000 or Miata, but very much improved. I actually stalled it a few times too. The clutch grabs very quick and the throttle felt much faster too. The boost felt very smooth and it really kicks in around 5000rpm. with the TCS disabled, the rear end breaks loose very easily. Overall, the car felt much faster then mine and I didnt mind the softer ride of the Premium suspension and smaller wheels. Really nothing negative about the way the car feels and drives.
The interior was fantastic IMO. The Navi/headunit worked flawless, the HVAC settings show on the screen, stereo sounded better, the leather is far better quality, the power drivers seat and tilt and telescopic steering allowed a perfect seating position, the armrests and door panels now felt much softer with more padding and the overall darker colour (dash and headliner) looked very sporty and higher end. The new cluster looks awesome too. Only negatives, the Ipod/USB plug is now in the centre stack, but the cubby hole is too small for an iPhone or similar device, the shift knob is very plasticy and feels too light and the very smooth leather on the steering wheel felt slippery.
The new grey colour was nothing special IMO, but Ive never really liked the old grey either. The new LED tails look great. The front end is bulkier, but also much more aggressive looking. The fake hood vents you can really only see when standing outside the car and the black bar in the front bumper appears to be a separate part of the front bumper. New 18" wheels looked better too.
Overall, I think its an awesome improvement for a mid-model-upgrade. It really drives and feels like a new car and I dont realy have anything bad to say about. The lack of a 2.0 GT model and some of the colour choices are dumb, but the car is great.
Some iPhone pics.
