jono300

iTrader: (8)

Mate off mine has just purchased a year old mazda rx8, had a quick blast in it today and must admitt to being very impressed with the looks off this car, his was silver in colour with the tan leather interior, sure it kicked out something like 230bhp ?? but from the quick road test I had in it I must admitt that the power was just not what I would have expected for a 200bhp machine,sure it has the power up top but instant power to me was just not there.

is this possibly the unique design off the engine ??

must say that the secret rear doors had me fooled, in all honesty would have never belived that this was a four door car had I not actually been shown- neat idea.

reliable enough or too new to tell yet ??

anyone else own one or had a test off one off these fine looking cars ??

Rokerlad

I think they look quite good but from what I've heard 15mpg is not uncommon and they drink oil. Coupled with the fact a lot are driven by women ( meaning they won't get the oil ) , they will be a lot of used examples with knackered engines seriously underpowered. If only they'd put a decent engine in that car!

jono300

iTrader: (8)

thanks for the reply mate, would have thought the claimed 230bhp would have not been underpowered for the size off the car thou ?? do they infact have a reputation as being underpowered ??

mg driver

they just lack torque ,without getting the revs up they are a bit plodding.

dtriggs

The RX-8 with the 350Z engine is what I want. The four seats/doors design is great but it just isnt fast enough.

Hey ho.

codek

I always got the impression they wernt that quick. The reviews i've seen always seemed to be dissapointed..

However if you look at the top gear power lap board:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/powerlaps.shtml

Then they're as qucik as an M3... And not far off a vx220 turbo...

Certainly a lovely looking car - but I think the reliability of the rotary engine has yet to be proved. The old rx7's wouldnt do more than 30-40k miles out of each engine.. whats to say the rx8 is any different?

Good scam on the tax tho - only a 1.3 litre.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I was tempted by one until I reailised how low the torque figures were compared to the bhp: 160lb/ft(ish) for both the 231ps and 190ps versions and even then it needs 5000rpm to achive this figure and start getting on the boil. Meaning it needs to be ragged to death like your usual vetec stuff with nothing at low revs for when your not in the mood for thrashing the engine, meaning more gear changes and less engine flexibilty which is most certainly not up my street. Great for track use and lunatic driving, but not so good for the real world A-B daily slog.

Shame really, I like the looks, RWD drivetrain, seating poistion and the unique design. But the engine is typically Japanease: all rev and no guts. Needs a meaty supercharger (I'm sure the Americans have a few bolted on theirs by now)

dtriggs

Track times are interesting as they give a clue to the handling - the car obviously makes up for a lack of outright power/pace with very good handling and grip. But this doesnt help when you are overtaking on a straight road. It also doesnt give you the thrill that all enthusiasts are looking for. So, although the track time is the same as a 350Z there is a whole lot of difference in the enjoyment and actual usable speed.

Love the design though.

moo

Not true... Mine did 65k before being refreshed simply due to the fact that its cheaper to do it before something goes. With care and regular maintenance they can reach 80k and in the US some have gone over the 100k mark.