Slicing through traffic on West Palm Beach’s Okeechobee Boulevard while trying to avoid the blue-haired seniors in their Avalons, as well as the landscape contractors in their F250 pickups, is a high-art form in Mazda’s flagship RX-8 R3. Our deep blue example attracts almost no attention except for those glancing up when hearing the high-pitched squeal emanating from the dual chrome-tipped exhausts.
Is the RX-8, successor to the RX-7, a car whose time has come and gone or is it still a viable alternative to the other players in this niche? We’ll take a look and see how this man/child of a vehicle adds up.
What is it?
A differently executed four-door coupe with a pair of supplemental (“don’t call them suicide”) doors in the rear to allow temporary access to little people or contortionists, who don’t mind the “knees in the chest style of seating.” It is a novel approach that manages to move away from the two-seater format of the RX-7 model that preceded it. It’s also a sports car with a not-too-shabby reputation for great handling.
What’s it up against?
Competitors to the RX-8 include the BMW 128i, Nissan 350Z, Infiniti G37, and Mitsubishi Eclipse. If you squint hard enough, maybe you could squeeze in an Audi TT, too.
Any breakthroughs?
Not a new breakthrough, but something that virtually no other car has: The Renesis rotary engine. Similar in type to the original rotary engine as seen in various RX-7 models, it is compact enough to sit back in the car to the point where Mazda engineers have been able to achieve a 50/50 weight distribution. That type of weight distribution equals great handling. Based on our time with the RX8, we’d have to agree.
How does it look?
Weird. That’s it in a nutshell. An aggressive stance, lent to it by large arched front fenders that appear rather pronounced from the side, but relatively subdued from the front. If Zoom-Zoom had a face, it’s probably the one you see looking at the newly refreshed RX-8’s front end. With the Xenon headlights mimicking eyes, and the main under bumper intake grille as the mouth, the face is nearly complete.
From behind the front wheels, mild ground effects wrap the rocker panels. The RX8 is a long car; it bears a passing resemblance to a long wheelbase sports car, but the use of a blacked-out B-pillar helps to minimize that feature. Bulging rear fenders lead to the rear bumper where the fascia ties things all back together again.
And inside?
The RX-8’s interior is all business to start with. The triangle shape of the rotary engine’s rotor is carried over into the cockpit as the shape atop the short throw shift knob. Baseball stitching adds a red accent to the leather-covered steering wheel and e-brake handle. The addition of the R3 performance package brings several new features including Bluetooth, a nine-speaker Bose Surround System and a pair of Recaro seats with leather side bolsters. About that audio system: We wished the controls were more intuitive and easier to use than they turned out to be.
While picking nits, let’s discuss the Recaros. We have sat in many different variations of Recaro sport seats through the years. We have loved most of them. But the seats in this RX-8 R3 are not for the corn-fed, or those who are broad of back.
But does it go?
The RX8 is gifted with a more powerful version of the Renesis engine than models sold prior to 2006. The 1.3-liter 2-rotor engine is sold in two versions contingent on which model and transmission you choose. Buy the RX-8 with an automatic tranny, and you’ll get a Renesis with 212-horsepower. But when you opt for the RX-8 R3 with its standard six-speed, you are rewarded with 232-horsepower and 159 lb-ft of torque, which arrives at 5,500 rpm. All the better to push the 3084-pound RX-8 around with.
The Renesis engine is a high-revver with a 9,000-rpm redline. The trouble is that it has a rather thin power band that doesn’t realize its maximum horsepower output until nearly 8,500 rpm. As a result you end up running at a high rpm, making the “Fast and Furious” exhaust note that goes with putting your foot in it. The six-speed manual that gets you up to speed is one of the best that we’ve driven, and the single-plate clutch makes it all the easier to do so. Despite the high-revving nature of the RX-8, it is not really a speed demon of a sports car, and you may find yourself on the losing end of a stoplight drag smack down. Take it to the twisties to experience where and how the RX-8 really shines.
With the 50/50 weight distribution and the double wishbones up front trailed by the multi-link suspension in the rear of the unibodied RX-8, this rotary rocket is one of the best at cutting the apex of a tight turn. Mazda has seen fit to tighten up the stiffness in the body by the addition of a strut tower brace on top and anti-sway bars down below. The rack and pinion steering with direct-drive electronic assist help the Mazda to track true through the turns and supply good feedback to the driver. Even more feedback can be had if you turn off the Dynamic Stability Control and Traction Control by its dashboard-mounted switch. Putting the RX8’s power to the ground are R3-specific 19-inch forged alloys in a gunmetal metallic, which are covered with 225/40 R19s all around. With an EPA mileage rating of 16 mpg city and 22 mpg hwy, we would call the RX8 R3’s mileage fairy average, an inherent downside to the rotary engine.
Why you would buy it:
You would like the most “British-handling” of all Japanese sports cars available on the market today. That, and a certain cache of owning a car that you won’t see on every block in the neighborhood.
Why you wouldn’t:
The shape. The power. The hum of the high-pitched rotary.
2009 Mazda RX-8 R3 base price, $31,930. As tested, $33,010.
Sirius Satellite Radio, $430; Destination, $650.
Words and photos by Mark Elias
09/04, 1:29 PM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
So rather than the slow, oil burning POS with 4 doors, Mazda offers a slow, oil burning POS with 2 doors? Brilliant.
Buy a Cobalt, screw this imports pile of crap.
09/04, 1:48 PM
posted by:
authority
Cobalt?? I feel badly for your misguided soul!
As for this RX-8, the design is getting old and we’re expecting a re-design any time now. But in the meantime, Mazda somehow see the need to keep adding ugly bits to it which only make it look cheaper! …And what’s with that pedophile mustache on the front? hideous!
09/04, 2:02 PM
posted by:
Jordan
get an editor, lln. you repeated the introductory paragraph three times.
09/04, 3:09 PM
posted by:
Need4SSpeed
lol Sadly the Cobalt SS is quicker than a RX8.
Mazda needs to bring back the RX7. And give the Rotary some real power. the low end torque, oil eating, gas guzzling rotary just isn’t impressive to me.
Granted I like the RX8 but I’d rather have a 350Z…
09/04, 3:20 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Need4SSPeed, I was actually just wondering if you did finally get the 350Z that you commented about a few weeks ago. How’s that going?
09/04, 3:35 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
I hear they’ve shortened the final drive ratio with the manual to something like 4.77 this year in order help with off the line performance. That’s getting up there for a daily streeter and certainly isn’t going to help the already dismal mpg. I owned rotary Mazdas in the 70’s, nothing much has changed. Only back then you could clean up on just about anything else in your RX2, 3 or 4 because just about everything with a piston engine was an asthmatic, low compression lump more suited to a John Deere. That’s hardly the case anymore.
09/04, 7:37 PM
posted by:
Need4SSpeed
beatusmongous, no I’m still looking into it but I’m not really sure If I’ll be getting one. I checked the insurance and surprisingly it’s only roughly $100 more a year than what I’m paying for my SS Supercharged. I joined a couple 350Z enthusiast forums and have been asking a bunch of questions and getting a good feedback, but I’m still deciding. The SS’s lease isn’t actually up for another half year so I got a while but I’ve been carefully deciding.
I was looking into an 08 350Z base w only 531 miles on it and they were asking for 26k not too bad. Unfortunately it doesn’t come with the viscous LSD, or the steering wheel controls, (which I really want) which is on the next model up and starts around 30k. I haven’t test driven one either yet.
My 2nd car is a 01 Cavalier with over 100k miles on it and I think its days are coming to an end. So I also don’t want to buy the 350Z if it’s going to be my only ride.
That and I was planning on doing some light mods to the 350Z and parts for it aren’t cheap. In order to get the power levels that I want I’d have to convert to F.I. & turbo kits for it start out @ like 6k… So it’s not going to be a cheap car…
I just have to wait a little longer and test drive the other cars I’m considering, see how the Cavalier holds up this winter and see where things go. Thanks for asking though!
09/04, 9:23 PM
posted by:
Rafa LL
Another article like this and I swear I’m watching the Weather Channel.
09/04, 11:22 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Smart thinking, Need4SSPeed. I always say that when shopping for a car, you need to test drive everything in your price range and class choice, even the things you don’t like. That way, you will accentuate the things you hate, and focus on the things you like. Who knows? You may end up not even liking the Z. Or you may love it even more. But by testing, you get a very thorough comparison, and you will be even happier with the end result. Since you have 6 months, now is a good time to start shopping. Take a weekend or two per month and go test drive cars. It’s fun, too.
09/05, 12:41 AM
posted by:
02WRXPSM
Making power between 8800 RPM and 9600 RPM is nothing short of a joke, at the expense of the fool who buys these cars. You don’t mention how alarmingly long it takes to get up to that RPM, even with the tiny reciprocating mass of the rotary motor! I’ve driven one, and when you put your foot down, you get all whine and no go — it felt as if the clutch was slipping on an ordinary vehicle. Without twin turbos on it, a rotary engine is nothing more than a conversation piece for geeked-out auto engineers.
09/05, 12:47 AM
posted by:
maxcar
“the main under bumper intake grille as the mouth” … and when you see it with the license plate installed in the middle of the intake it really looks like buck teeth.
09/05, 10:57 AM
posted by:
Need4SSpeed
02WRXPSM, I think Mazda really missed the boat after they killed the RX7, and came out with the RX8 almost a decade later, and didn’t give it twin-turbos like the 13B that was in the RX7. At least a single turbo would have been helpful.
Granted I think an RX7 or RX8 would make a great project car.
Thanks Beatusmongous, yeah I’ve been looking at various makes & models and I also don’t feel pressured anymore to buy American made cars. So I’m keeping my options open.
I’m also considering in addition to the 350Z the new Camaro SS or V6 w RS pacakge, Genesis Coupe, Solstice Coupe GXP, Subaru WRX (sedan), Mitsubishi Lancer Raliiart, and as my last resort the Cobalt SS Turbocharged.
But since the Camaro, Genesis Coupe, Solstice Coupe, and Lancer Ralliiart aren’t even out yet. I’m going to have to wait… On those. But yeah I’m going to do what you mentioned and go and test drive cars every couple weekends or what not. It does sound fun!
09/05, 11:23 AM
posted by:
02WRXPSM
maxcar, front license plates are THE DEVIL, any state that requires those should be forced out of the Union. They mess up the looks of so many cars…
Give the RX-8 a four-rotor, twin-turbo motor that runs on e85. THEN we’ll talk.
Need4SSpeed, you have a very open mind for autos, that’s a pretty balanced list. Of that list the Camaro sticks out, I would wait until you see one in person and realize how g i g a n t i c they are — Cadillac size, and I mean ’70s Caddy — in comparisons to the others on the list. I’d also take that Lancer off the list, it really is too weak for your needs. If you’re willing to wait until 2009/2010 for the Genesis or Solstice, you also might want to keep an eye out for a “TR” version of the WRX, a refresh of the Legacy platform, the VW Sirocco, and the Euro Focus/Mondeo.
Personally, I have my next car picked out. Check it: http://www.nextautos.com/car-buying/2010-alfa-romeo-mito-–-coming-stateside/
50mpg turbo diesel, 260lbs/tq out of 1.6 liters. Now THAT is a sport compact!
09/05, 1:12 PM
posted by:
Need4SSpeed
Oh man the Alfa Romeo Mito, is probably the sexiest looking little sport compact out there! It’s like a Mini Alfa 8C! I love Alfa Romeo’s! I’ve traveled to Europe for a couple weeks the last three years, and this year I was in Rome so I had my Alfa Romeo fill! Personally I love the Brera Coupe. (if it was only RWD).
Thank you! I’m trying to be open-minded on my next car. With my SS/SC’s lease, it’s bittersweet. My lease doesn’t go back technically until summer of 09, so anything new coming out between winter-summer of 09 I can wait for the new models to come out. It also sucks waiting though. Granted I have the Cavy to fall back on until I get a ride, but I’d rather just go right from my SS/SC to a new car. But I also don’t know how much longer the Cavy will last me. But I’ll spare everyone a crazy post here so in as little words as possible…
Solstice Coupe GXP-RWD, quick, fuel efficient, but no trunk space. waiting to test drive. Daily Driver?
Genesis Coupe-RWD, affordable, could be a practical DD. possible potential in 2.0L Turbo 4.
Nissan 350Z-RWD, sporty, track capable, but can only afford the base. Prob not practical for a DD.
Camaro- Want the SS, but for more practical purposes looking at V6 + RS package. See how it compares
to the Cobalt SS Turbocharged in regards to performance and price.
Impreza WRX (sedan)- AWD, sporty, totally practical for a daily driver. plenty of performance potential.
Cobalt SS/TC- the most affordable, performs well. I hate (FWD)… Would be my last resort though.
So yeah that’s it in a nutshell. Also I like to do the occasional autocross or track event so it has to be track capable. Plus no automatic for me. Only manual.
Then my price range is between 20-31k so and that’s what I know I can afford.
So yeah alot of criteria to fit. It’s going to be difficult choosing… lol
09/05, 1:41 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
But the fun part is choosing…
09/05, 8:14 PM
posted by:
sharpie
Rafa LL, I am already watching the weather channel. It is on commercial break at the moment.
09/06, 12:35 AM
posted by:
VWgrouP
They should make the RX8 a 2 door coupe..
But still verry nice for 09.
09/06, 12:41 AM
posted by:
VWgrouP
AND aperently a competitor is the G37…uhm..G37-330 HP and RX8..232
09/07, 6:52 PM
posted by:
hotmilkgt
i found a typo
With an EPA mileage rating of 16 mpg city and 22 mpg hwy, we would call the RX8 R3’s mileage FAIRY average, an inherent downside to the rotary engine.
kthxbai