I was rather bored tonight, so I went to a car dealership & took an RX-8 for a test drive. The following are my observations.
Visually, the car is powerful looking. I'm not much for caring about styling, so that's about it for my comments on styling. Google it if you want to see pictures.
The brakes are very large in front. They look good inside the wheels, and certainly have a lot of stopping power. However, they're using single piston calipers. They work fine, but I sort of expected 4-piston calipers. The pads look fairly easy to replace, about the same as the ones on my RX-7 (actually, the calipers appear to be the exact same design).
The engine compartment has a plastic shield over everything. Fortunately, it's easy to remove (lifts out). The engine is definitely buried deeper in the '8 than in the '7s - it's WAY down there. I wasn't able to get my hand in to reach the spark plugs, though. Maybe it's easier from the underside. I suppose they don't need as much work as mine do, though. I'm sort of anal about keeping my plugs clean.
The interior is very... embracing. It's not uncomfortably tight, but it really wraps around you. I prefer more space, but it's certainly something I could get used to. The controls are easy to reach, and the general theme for the interior seems to be the now-standard "rounded, slightly puffy" theme. Bleh. But it has 4 seats (the rear ones are a bit tight), and CUPHOLDERS!
The shifter is a short-throw 6 speed, and was easy to get used to and use. Gas pedal effort was a bit on the high side from what I'm used to, the brake was wonderful (touch the pedal and it starts slowing down - I need to adjust my brakes badly), and the clutch had a bit of a "click" into the fully depressed position - it didn't require much force to hold it all the way down. Nice, but would take a bit of getting used to.
On the road, the engine was the smoothest thing I've ever been behind. It was literally turbine-smooth. It was also depressingly quiet. There was almost no engine noise in the car... I expected a bit of a growl or SOMETHING! I can understand why people have problems with fuel economy - it's very easy to leave the engine at 4000 RPM and not even feel it.
On the topic of engine RPM, the tachometer was arranged with 0 RPM at the bottom & 10,000 RPM at the top. The speedometer was just a digital readout on the right side of the tach. In most cars, the 9 o'clock position of the needle would be a reasonable RPM for cruising, 2000-3000 RPM. On the '8, the same position corresponds to 4000-5000 RPM. What appears to be a perfectly reasonable RPM at first glance is actually really quite high.
The handling (from what I was able to do) was very tight, and the drivetrain had no slop at all in it. The brakes were very responsive. Acceleration was a bit less than I expected, given the 238 HP it supposedly has. It was powerful, but a bit lacking. I think the lack of exhaust noise may be part of it - high power engines are supposed to have sound to them. I'm also used to my exhaust system, which is very defined. There was also no vibration at all, even at 8000 RPM. The clutch was very smooth though, and I had no problems with upshifting and downshifting.
Now, for the official "Russ conclusion:"
In my half an hour of driving it, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. Would I buy one? Honestly, I don't think so. I'd rather buy a 3rd gen RX-7 and a separate daily driver for the same price. The RX-8 is a nice car, but I personally don't think I'd like it. As a family car, it's a bit small in the back, and the fuel economy isn't wonderful. As a sports car, I personally think it's too "toned down." When I hit the gas in a sports car, I want some audible feedback. The interior is also a bit too "cushy" for my taste. I'm also not terribly impressed by the overall power. It's responsive, but just lacks the zing I was hoping for.
Questions? Comments?
-=Russ=-
Posted by rgraves at July 20, 2004 10:00 PMHaving had 4 1st gen 7s, a 90 convertible 7 and the 8 now for a year, I can understand a lot of your thoughts. I love my 8. When I had the opportunity to sell it back at cost to Mazda last August I thought long and hard and lost a lot of sleep agonizing over the decision to give it back or keep it. Given my 90 mile daily r/t commute I strongly considered a '04 Prius. I know, totally different worlds. The mileage in the 8 is disappointing. The styling is debatable. I like it more I get to see it. But my two 84 GSL-SEs (both totalled) were really great cars compared to a lot of other more modern cars. The 8 benefits from 20 years of tech progress as noted. The interior is highly praised by most mags. The suspension is incredible as are the brakes. One thing many forget is the safety side. The hood, the crumple zones are just part of it. It's designed to have 4 surviving passengers in the event of a 50MPH rear end impact. See the 8 club website for a recent rear-end episode. That's a huge benefit. I got rear-ended in my first GSL-SE and then hit on the DS door in my 2nd one. They held up greatly. I expect even more should I ever be involved in an accident in the 8.
one last note: the exhaust is very quiet. The aftermarket is providing plenty of fix to that, if you want it. As in all rotaries, if you want ear-destroying sound, "it's in there". But the gains are minimal even with no exhaust and thus so with even Racing Beat's system. Anyway - I've not regretted keeping mine; have over 15K on it now; but I still wish the MPG was 23-24 instead of 20-21.
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