Mazda RX 8 Review Page 2
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Once on the road the tires are sensitive to following ruts and so you need to
stay alert. When you decide to cut an apex you quickly learn that the RX is as
capable as you are. Actually, I found that the sound of the engine accelerating
out of a turn was more fun that feeling the chassis cling to the corner. It revs
quite quickly, but you must keep the engine turning rapidly because it does not
have the cubic engines to recover from a missed shift.
The cool part is that if you miss a downshift the extra thousand or so revs the
engine suddenly must handle doesn’t fluster it a bit (Don’t ask how we found
out.). In a Corvette a downshift from fourth to second at speed would induce a
screaming valve train and cursing from everyone except the Chevrolet service
department. Such a potential catastrophic event results in nary a complaint from
the rotary powered RX-8 as it simply revs a little higher and the engine sounds
even sweeter. This is a forgiving car right down to the monthly payments.
The
weakest part of the Mazda were the brakes. Even though the car has electronic
brake distribution and is ABS controlled with ventilated brake rotors that are
fairly large at 12.7 inches in front and 11.9 inches in rear, the feel of the
brake pedal is not progressive enough for me. It was too soft. Braking distance
were good, but not stunning.
Young working woman’s view: I was bothered by the fuel mileage that
seldom bettered 20 mpg despite EPA estimates of 25 highway and 18 mpg in the
city on premium fuel. Even when I feathered footed it on long stretches of
highways I was hard pressed to go more than 280 miles on the 15.8 gallons of
petrol in the tank.
What didn’t bother me was the pricing and what it offered for the money. Of
course, if you take the MT Sports Package with traction control, xenon
headlights, Bose audio, auto day/night mirror w/Homelink, moonroof and fog lamps
for about $1300, or the Grand Touring option that costs over $4000 for leather
trimmed upholstery, six-way power driver's seat, heated seats, fog lamps and
heated mirrors the bargain may be somewhat compromised.
But
the standard features are aplenty for this sleek coefficient of drag is 0.31
four door RX-8 Mazda with its exceptional turning radius of 34.8 feet. There are
plethora of them such as air conditioning, anti-theft protection, AM/FM CD,
external temperature readouts, front airbags and occupant sensors, low tire
pressure warning, low washer fluid level warning, remote power locks and key
fob, speed proportional power steering, remote audio controls on the tilt
adjusting leather steering wheel, six speakers, terrific sun visors that you can
actually look through to see stop lights, variable wiper speeds, and a four year
warranty with mileage restrictions. Mazda is now offering a Sirius Satellite
Radio option that is always worth considering if you travel a great deal and it
would be an improvement over the weak reception that the standard radio
provides.
What attracted me most to the Mazda was its strange look. It is different and I
think most women take notice of the unusual. It is not a graceful car, but it is
not undignified either. There is some aggression to its front view and a little
humor around its backside with its small, bustle like trunk. The roof has a
double-bubble to it and the hood has a hormonal bulge that you can’t ignore. The
design is sort of like watching a symphonic orchestra at a concert. At first
each section sounds confused and disjointed until the start to play and a
captivating unison emerges.
Mazda calls it front and rear doors that open in opposite directions, Freestyle,
but like my dad said, they are suicide doors to those familiar with the history
of car design. They make getting into the back the easiest of any coupe,
especially since there isn’t any pillar in the way. I liked this idea in the
Saturn coupe and I like it even more in the RX-8 for even if you don’t usually
carry extra passengers it makes getting to items in the back seat so much
easier.
Driving
the RX-8 is fairly simple with a very soft clutch that’s only weakness is a high
take up point that makes if uncomfortable at first. If they ever turbocharged
this engine you would have a world-beater, but for now there is amply power at
higher rpms. In the mid-range the rotary is not at its best so don’t let the
melodic tones of this engine lull you to sleep so you forget to shift it
otherwise you aren’t going to go anywhere for a couple of seconds until the
rotary winds itself tighter.
Mom’s view: The Mazda has head airbags and side thorax airbags for the
front passengers, and curtain airbags front and rear as well as having a brake
pedal that is designed to release in an accident to help prevent a broken ankle
or leg. Crash test results are above average in all areas and the RX had the
best roll over resistance rating given, which is to be expected in a sports car.
In other words, for a light car it does very well in safety tests and when you
add its maneuverability you have car that may relieve some of mom’s worry about
driving such a vehicle in a world filled with gas hoggish SUVs driving by cell
phone yakking pilots unskilled in the use of rear view mirrors or turn signals.
Can you guess my feeling about large SUVs?
The seats in front and back of the RX-8 are quite comfortable. You can even get
in and out without much fuss compared to other coupes and sporty cars.
Unfortunately, when you sit in back you cannot see what is happening up the
road, but at least the rear windows push out so you can get a little air
circulation.
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