Went to my local Mazda dealer on saturday and sat in the new Mazda RX8. Very nice indeed. Seems well put together, very comfy (but didnt even try to get in the back as it looked very cramped)and just a general feeling of 'this is a really nice car'. Then saw one out on the road whilst driving and it looks great. There doesnt appear to be the huge gap in the front wheelarches i'd originally expected from the pictures, and it just looked damn handsome.
Then it was on Top Gear last night, and i have to say i'm mightily tempted with one. Its the first car that i've seen for a long time that has generally surprised me with its new angle and spec. Very nice. Just not too keen on the MPG figures...
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There's plenty of room in the back if the bloke in front of you isn't so high he's got snow on his head. See photo in road test on this site.
HJ
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Both Mrs No Dosh and I kept looking at each other throughout the test of the RX8. At the end of the item she got there first. Definitely on the desirable list and compares well pricewise with another 156, particularly now we have a good sized second car.
Hmmmm....
On the other hand, like Pheonicks, I'm not sure I can swallow those fuel bills.
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Its not only fuel bills you need to be concerned about, I understand that the rotor tip sealing problems of the Wankel engine are still not fully resolved, with resultant excessive lube oil consumption as well.
Mazda are even recommending that engine oil levels must be checked on a weekly basis. !!!!!
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This has been covered in another thread on Wankel engines.
Rotor tip sealing has not really been a problem since the 1970's - there are plenty of other seals to wear though!
The engine has a 'total loss' oiling system to help lubricate all the seals so, yes, you do need to check and top-up the level every week.
Back in the late 1970's I rebuilt a few of the older 12A and 13A rotary engines (as used in RX3 and RX4) - you might want to check out parts prices. The rotory engine spares prices back then were astronomical!
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I like this car and have tried one. I also own an MX5 as well so appreciate good comments on reliability, etc.
But...
the interior is a bit low rent, with poor design and no overall theme, e.g. the circle design around the radio. Plastics are poor quality (however internal storage is very good). My 5 year old sat in the rear seat and (even on a booster) could not see out of the window so he would get frustrated and sick rather quickly. The black and red interior is hideous - black only is much better but a bit funereal. Also - for one who likes red cars the metallic red option is more akin to nail varnish pink and definitely not my colour !
Finally, my wife's comment compared it to a Hyundai and suggests the image problem you would have with thi. Remember TG's comment on 1990's coupes (Probe, etc.) - I can definitely see this one going the same way.
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I'm sure it's a great car and with a unique engine,but i don't think we will buy many in the UK,even at Mazdas very competitive pricing levels.We Brits are just too conservative,Mazda will continue to sell all that they can make in the rest of the world,USA and Japan.
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Agreed, Phoenicks.
The RX8 looks to be that increasingly rare thing, a car which is genuinely interesting and different.
The coupe market is a good place to offer a non-conformist alternative to appeal to petrolheads who are more concerned with driving experience than image, status and badges.
I hope it succeeds.
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I hope it succeeds.
Hear hear. It would show that we're willing to accept something a little different, but more importantly that we can move away from the BMW, Mercedes or Audi coupe axis we class conscious Brits have bought into for too long.
At least one of these Marques is taking us for granted now and rumour is they might even call their next coupe the ELK, just to see if they can get away with it*.
Besides, I'd bet by bottom Bauhaus the RX8 will be more reliable than the Mercs, have less recalls than the TT, and when it comes to resale time, I'd be able to think of something to say about the BMW...
In fact I'm so confident of all this I'd be willing to spend almost anyone's money to prove it.
*Erm, not strictly my joke. Sorry.
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"I hope it succeeds"
As do all car enthusiasts I hope! Mazda should be applauded for sticking with rx7-rx8 concept.
The only downside to the rx8, IMO is the lack of mid-range torque. Altough I remember hearing that mazda are considering a 300 hp - turbo'd range topper. I think it was a different model (although it shares components) to the rx8 - due out in 2005 - or thereabouts.
Look at the next mx5, looks awesome - a simple, but very effective design (well, the concept car is at least). Altough Mazda designers say over 95% of it can make producion, if the accountants don't get too much of a say in the final product).
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What about the Nissan 350Z? This appears to be the RX-8s nearest competitor, and with a V^ powerplant and rear-wheel drive it should be a nice car.
Thoughts?
Andy
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quite like it, but the more i see the pictures the more dumpy it looks. Perhaps in the flesh its very different.
They weren't to keen on it (or rather JC wasnt) on Top Gear. I think they might have said it was very hard work to drive. Not sure.
glad it exsists for sure/
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Oh my God whaddya mean JC doesn't like it? That's Mazda finished then.
Seriously though I didn't get that impression from TV or his column in the ST. He made some reference to it being skittish in the wet - like other RWD sports cars are not?
Anyway, we are talking about the man who declared that Lotus had ruined the handling of the Elise mk2 - until a guy from Lotus showed him how to drive it!
Careful though - those who hang on the great one's every word won't even try an RX8 if they hear he doesn't like it.
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"Oh my God whaddya mean JC doesn't like it? That's Mazda finished then"
I think Phoenicks was talking about JC not liking the nissan, not the rx8? I seem to remember jc not loving the nissan too much.
Although the car has more favourable reviews else where, so I would put it down to jc's taste (lack of on this occasion).
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