Test Drive: 2007 Mazda RX-8

[KingMarineM16a4]

Now, my original intent was to drive the MazdaSpeed3 again but they were out so I drove the RX-8 for the LONGEST test drive ever, he said he didn't care so we took about a 40 minute test drive traveling over 25 miles.

I gunned it(Topspeed: 100mph on the drive), down shifted, upshifted and pressed for tq, whipped it and white smoked it and heres what I have to say...

Excellent handling... EXCELLENT HANDLING.
Everyone knows what an RX-8 looks like so there's no need, and the inside.

Shifter feel is quite outdated if you ask me. Every shifter these days need to be very smooth like the Si's, MS3, GTi's etc. but the RX-8 was kind of clunky.

Clutch gets my approval just like almost every other clutch.

Felt very underpowered, I had just retest drove the Si again and that 150tq felt more powerful than the RX-8 tq. With a 9k rev, that wasn't even fun.

It just is an S2000 wanna be if you ask me.

[nastynogales]

Originally Posted by KingMarineM16a4

It just is an S2000 wanna be if you ask me.

i agree - it's not as fun as the S2k, i wasn't impressed with it

[e60.deluxe]

umm..its got a much better chassis and suspension than an S2000. the shifter is tight and direct...this car has got to have the best shifter i have seen in anything close to the price. i would not buy one because the S2000 is more reliable and gets much better mileage..but the RX-8 is a relly nice car.

[Special Ringpop]

I found the RX-8 better in almost every conceivable way to the Civic Si and the S2K.

Probably just personal preferences.

[cation]

RX-8 = weak sauce

With crappy fuel economy to boot!

[Capt Canuck]

Originally Posted by KingMarineM16a4

Shifter feel is quite outdated if you ask me. Every shifter these days need to be very smooth like the Si's, MS3, GTi's etc. but the RX-8 was kind of clunky.


Felt very underpowered, I had just retest drove the Si again and that 150tq felt more powerful than the RX-8 tq. With a 9k rev, that wasn't even fun.

It just is an S2000 wanna be if you ask me.

Wow! Have to disagree on all those points. Not sure where you get clunky from? There's no real perceptible difference in the 'feel' of the two power wise. They're high reving 4's and act accordingly. No way is it an S2000 wannabe! They're different segment cars. RX8 belongs with the 350z, TT and the S200 with a Z4 and the like.
Maybe you need to take another one out and see if it feels any better.

[Skylinegtr06]

Originally Posted by Special Ringpop

I found the RX-8 better in almost every conceivable way to the Civic Si and the S2K.

Probably just personal preferences.

Then why didnt you get one

[Special Ringpop]

Originally Posted by Skylinegtr06

Then why didnt you get one

Because I don't trust the rotary engine, and I like getting gas mileage that exceeds single digits.

[e60.deluxe]

Originally Posted by Special Ringpop

Because I don't trust the rotary engine, and I like getting gas mileage that exceeds single digits.

exactly why i didnt.

[KingMarineM16a4]

Originally Posted by Capt Canuck

Wow! Have to disagree on all those points. Not sure where you get clunky from? There's no real perceptible difference in the 'feel' of the two power wise. They're high reving 4's and act accordingly. No way is it an S2000 wannabe! They're different segment cars. RX8 belongs with the 350z, TT and the S200 with a Z4 and the like.
Maybe you need to take another one out and see if it feels any better.

The shifter isn't near as smooth as any of the cars I have test driven this year, and that's a lot. Also RX-8 are dynoing what 178 whp? That's pretty damn sad.

[mike c]

I don't see how someone can put the RX-8 in the same class as an S2000. I guess if you have no experience with either car, you could just based on the looks alone. Or if you just never did any research on any tests that compared the two. Or if you are just that small percentage of people that just never get it.

I don't know, there's always that percentage of people out there that looked at the Pontiac Aztec and said "I like it, I'll buy it!", so nothing amazes me anymore.

[pd0019]

the rx-8 is a good car. slow as a base car but it definitely has potential. i have a friend who has his up to 235-240 whp NA w/ light moding and he is now looking to get a turbo for it. dont get me wrong though, i would choose an s2000 any day over and rx-8.

[Jardiniboy]

Originally Posted by KingMarineM16a4

Felt very underpowered, I had just retest drove the Si again and that 150tq felt more powerful than the RX-8 tq. With a 9k rev, that wasn't even fun.

Ummm the Si only has almost 140 ft/lb of torque. Maybe around 120ft/lb of torque at the wheels.


I don't know about you but I really don't like the look of the hand brake.

[eh_civicracer]

the si's shifter does fell really nice compared to the rx-8. rx-8 is very clunky even more worse than a s2000. Si is like butter compared to it.

[I Vtec, do you?]

I gotta disagree... the RX 8 has the SMOOTHEST shifting I've ever experienced. It makes my SI feel like crap when shifting. And it was also a pretty fun drive and I only took it up to 7 to avoid pissing off the car saleswoman.

[KingMarineM16a4]

Originally Posted by eh_civicracer

the si's shifter does fell really nice compared to the rx-8. rx-8 is very clunky even more worse than a s2000. Si is like butter compared to it.

Thank you

Originally Posted by I Vtec, do you?

I gotta disagree... the RX 8 has the SMOOTHEST shifting I've ever experienced. It makes my SI feel like crap when shifting. And it was also a pretty fun drive and I only took it up to 7 to avoid pissing off the car saleswoman.

You need to go drive another RX-8. I went straight from the Si to the RX-8 today (couldn't find any evos). Si had a much better shifter.

Originally Posted by mike c

I don't see how someone can put the RX-8 in the same class as an S2000. I guess if you have no experience with either car, you could just based on the looks alone. Or if you just never did any research on any tests that compared the two. Or if you are just that small percentage of people that just never get it.

I don't know, there's always that percentage of people out there that looked at the Pontiac Aztec and said "I like it, I'll buy it!", so nothing amazes me anymore.

I owned an S2000 for about a year. They are both RWD, Identical power, high revvers.

[stock_07]

Not a fan of the rx-8. I work at the local Mazda dealer on my days off from my other job and those cars always have some sort of issue. They are quick, but that's about it. Quality= crap

[RWatters]

So you drive the piss out of cars on test drives with no intention to buy them? Wow, you're an ass.

RX-8's are deceptively smoothe in their powerband. They feel slow and underpowered but it's because they don't have insane peak power like the Civic Si. Their overall powerband is a lot flatter and their torque curve is a lot longer than the Si's, so just because it doesn't feel fast doesn't mean anything. I didn't mind the shifter at all. I found it to be just as easy to shift as the Si, just all without the 3rd gear wall. I've driven more than a few RX-8's in my time as well, so don't EVEN tell me to go back and drive another. Gas mileage is their downfall, and it's the reason I didn't buy one.

Build quality of the interior is HANDS DOWN better with the RX-8 than the Civic.

As far as an S2000 wannabe goes, mind explaning how? It's a 4 door sedan with a back seat. It has options like heated seats, navigation, a sound system that actually has decent sound that comes out of it, etc. It handles just as good as the S2000, brakes just as good as the S2000, and has a lot more creature comforts than the S2000. It can be daily driven without issues, it has a lot more interior room than the S2000, etc.

It's not a wannabe S2000. It's an S2000 that's actually practical and can actually be driven by a normal person daily that doesn't sacrifice the handling and braking abilities as a result.

[organiz3d_chaos]

Originally Posted by RWatters

So you drive the piss out of cars on test drives with no intention to buy them? Wow, you're an ass.

RX-8's are deceptively smoothe in their powerband. They feel slow and underpowered but it's because they don't have insane peak power like the Civic Si. Their overall powerband is a lot flatter and their torque curve is a lot longer than the Si's, so just because it doesn't feel fast doesn't mean anything. I didn't mind the shifter at all. I found it to be just as easy to shift as the Si, just all without the 3rd gear wall. I've driven more than a few RX-8's in my time as well, so don't EVEN tell me to go back and drive another. Gas mileage is their downfall, and it's the reason I didn't buy one.

Build quality of the interior is HANDS DOWN better with the RX-8 than the Civic.

As far as an S2000 wannabe goes, mind explaning how? It's a 4 door sedan with a back seat. It has options like heated seats, navigation, a sound system that actually has decent sound that comes out of it, etc. It handles just as good as the S2000, brakes just as good as the S2000, and has a lot more creature comforts than the S2000. It can be daily driven without issues, it has a lot more interior room than the S2000, etc.

It's not a wannabe S2000. It's an S2000 that's actually practical and can actually be driven by a normal person daily that doesn't sacrifice the handling and braking abilities as a result.

I can actually get into a RX-8, I just couldn't "fit" in the S2000, would have to drive with the top down all the time, if you know what I mean

[07BlakBlak]

You need to go drive another RX-8....(maybe you dont based one your test drive...i hope your Civ got rocked before you bought it).....I worked at the Mazda dealer for 3 years and drove many many of them....the Shifter is soooooo much smoother than my Si...regardless of 3rd gear sounding like im shaping a peice of metal down smooth!! did you forget about that......

How can you compare a 4 seat.....4 dr coupe-like car to a S2000? You need to compare it to the Z, which is still hard to compare because they are not alike at all.