ChrisW

Well I finally got to drive an RX-8 at the weekend, at Milcars St Albans.

When I got there they were running a bit late, which gave me time to have a good look over the titanium Low power that was parked on the forecourt. It is still only the third time I have seen this car for real and I am still blown away by how great it looks. The high power car which I drove was silver, which I think is a little too light (makes the car look a bit podgy) but titanium suits it very well indeed. Although I still prefer red of course.

Both cars had the black leather interior. I particularly wanted to check this out to make sure the interior wasn’t too dark with this option, but it was fine, even with the sunfroof cover closed on a cloudy day. I didn’t think the interior plastics were that great (better than average Nissan or Toyota effort but not as good as Lexus) but these are pre-production cars, so ours may be a little better. The electric driver's seat was very nice and easy to operate. Contrary to some reports I didn’t have any difficulty finding a comfortable driving position – in fact I think it fitted me better than my current car.

First impressions driving were not so good – the engine did not seem particularly quiet or smooth at low revs and there was nothing special about the sound. It didn’t strike me as particularly refined, although I would imagine at motorway speeds in sixth this wouldn’t matter as road noise would dominate. A bigger problem was the gearchange – it was extremely stiff and notchy. Surely in a car like this you want to just flick effortlessly up and down through the gearbox. You certainly wouldn’t be able to with this car and I really hope it is just a bad example and not typical. There have been a few threads about poor gearchanges in the main forum so it is a concern for me.

I am a little underwhelmed by the driving experience as we amble along through 30 mph limited streets and through some traffic. But then we reach a section of dual carriageway and I can use the revs and all of a sudden I’m much happier. I can’t really describe the engine sound but above 4000 or so revs it really starts to sing. It’s got a nice hard edge to it but it is never harsh and it seems as happy at 8000 as at 4000. I don’t think I quite reached the buzzer but I can certainly see why it’s necessary: you need something to tell you to back off because the engine isn’t going to. The lower reving low power car may be just as fast but it surely can’t be as much fun.

As for the performance, well it was fast enough. I can’t honestly say that it felt much quicker than my 184 hp Prelude. I can believe it has 200 hp but not 230. But the performance is more useable than a VTEC with it’s sudden switchover from low to high performance and the soundtrack is better too. For anyone still following the US horsepower controversy, I noticed that this high power car had quite sooty exhausts, which are believed to be caused by over-rich mixture and may be responsible for the (alledgedly) lower than specified power output. Whether this will apply to the final Euro production cars is anybody’s guess, but at least it means that they will not be any slower than these cars (and may be faster if we are lucky).

After this brief blast down the dual carriageway it was back to the suburban roads as we headed back to the dealer. Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to explore the handling in any meaningful way on this drive. On the plus side, the steering felt quite quick and the car didn’t pitch too much under braking. Overall though, it felt more like driving a saloon car than a sports car. I couldn’t even tell that it was rear wheel drive. This is not the sort of car that feels eager to attack every roundabout or slip road. No doubt it’s wonderful to drive on a winding B-road but I can’t see it giving you much of a thrill on a quick blast down to Sainsbury’s (unless you get an oportunity to use the revs). The brakes didn’t seem particularly powerful but maybe they are just less servoed than I am used to. However, there didn’t seem to be a lot of pedal feel either.

So, overall I’m actually more confused than I was before. I want this car more than ever for the way it looks and that wonderful, unique engine, but (engine apart) the experience of driving it didn’t excite me like it should have. I can’t help thinking that maybe the car is just set up a little too soft.

I think I need another test drive before I can make up my mind - this time with some actual corners in it (as opposed to straight roads connected by junctions). Hopefully I’ll be able to arrange this when the demo cars arrive in a few weeks time.

deskjet640c

Chris - Nice report - thanks.

Interested to hear what you are driving at present to notice things like notchy gearbox, only being 'fast enough', and the brakes being underpowered.

I currently drive a Mitsubishi Charisma and on my test drive I found the gearbox to be smooth and positive, acceleration was great, but the brakes were over-servoed.

All subjective, I suppose.

I also guess there are alot of difference in the condition of the test cars we have been driving. Did you notice how many miles it had on it?

oilman

Sorry you were dissapointed, we can't have driven the same car looking at our reports.

Still I did get almost 2 hours over 2 days on good twisties and hit the buzzer on many occasions.

I LOVED IT.

Cheers
Oilman

Jon H

I honestly dont want to offend you or your car, DJ640, but after owning a Mitsubishi Carisma then even a shopping trolley would seem more exciting and rewarding to drive. I can honestly say you will be happy even if no-one else is! (although the direct injection engine gets great mpg doesnt it?)
Chris, it sounds like you need to get on the open road, you need a few corners I think. Although I havent driven the car yet, I just keep re-reading Evo's road test where they say it is one of their favourite drivers cars ever...
I am lucky enough to have a route to work which includes A-road, motorway, DC, B road and country lane and lots of roundabouts and I dont think I'll be disappointed. From your comments it sounds like suburban commuting could be a bit disappointing. But as DJ asked, what other cars, apart from the Honda, are you comparing it with?
JH

deskjet640c

He he, no offence taken Jon - Charisma really is the wrong name for my car.

However owning a crap car for the last few years is the thing thats allowed me to save a bit to be able to buy the Mazda:D

Buying the Mazda because it looks fantastic and is an absolute bargain in relation to comparable motors I fancied.

My only BIG worry is the MPG. I don't want to be in the situation when we go to travel to see family and friends (400 miles) that we end up going in the wifes Polo to save petrol money. There would be little point to owning the car

KEF

sounds slightly familiar to the comments I made, in that i struggled with the gear change and that i found the about town driving experience to be a bit staid.

that said I had the opportunity to really test the car on some of scotlands finest roads, in that environment it really came into it's own.

as for the brakes, i thought they were fantasitic, good grip and mild lock before the abs kicks in, I did get the impression that the demo and press cars are really getting thrashed, perhaps chris's model is needing attention, did you notice the mileage?


i did feel slightly underwhelmed after my test but the conclusion was for a new car I can't get a model that competes in terms of all round ability (bearing in mind that I'm financially stretched to get the hi power)

hope you get another test on real roads, good luck.

Stu C

It's interesting. I loved my drive and had no problem with the gear changes. It may just be certain cars, especially the thrashed ones that some people end up testing (as usual) that have these problems.

I know it can be a worry, but just test drive another rx8, even if it is only practical to test your own from new, and I'm sure it will feel different, especially as you fget to break this one in on your own terms

Stu C

morganrogers

ChrisWs car had about 6500 miles on it.
The gear-change was a little notchy (my other halfs MX5 is the same , and this is a similar gearbox , so not worried in the slightest).

This is one of the press demos that has been ragged senseless from day1 , probably before run-in , probably without even being warm most of the time.

I drove the same car on Saturday and was absolutely delighted with it.
I also have a VTEC honda ( Integra R , so faster than a prelude) and I was more than happy with performance.
Not the same kick-in-the-back as the VTEC , but I think it was deceptive. What I thought was 65-70 was in fact 90. (In my typeR it is the other way round!)

Each to their own , but I thought the car was stunning.
I love my Honda (and if they had seen fit to still bring in the Integra I would probably be considering it) but this car was a different beastie entirely. Roll on November.....

lloydo

I drove the same car as ChrisW on Sunday, it had about 7100 miles on it by then. The route that Milcars St Albans took us on was rubbish! Only one stretch of dual carriageway from St Albans to London Colney the rest was through speed bumped roads through St Albans, my wife drove it back from McDonalds at London Colney. top posing there by the way, I told her to take it down the A414 dual carriageway instead of back the way we came so we can get it moving. You definately need to keep the rev's up, similar to the IS200 I used to have, otherwise it needs to wind it self up before it starts flying. Brakes were good but were squealing a bit, does feel like it's on rails, really surefooted. Even though I've ordered one about a month ago I still would like a longer test drive on roads I know to totally convince me as I'm in the mpg worrying camp! If it gets less that 250miles on a tank this will become a right pain. Oh by the way this car looks the business and the wife now wants it more than me!

druck

It will for me too doing 300 miles a week to work. I can get 240 miles out of the MX3, which normally means filling up every 3 or 4 days which is far too often to be parting with money.

If it gets the stated 24mpg (unlikely with my right foot) thats means its going to use 16% more fuel than the MX3 and the tank is 22% bigger. So by my reconing it should do 250 miles, but unlikely to get 300 miles to allow me to fill up just once a week.

Cheers
---Dave

AndyPearce

If we get less than 250 per tank then I'll have to visit the petrol station every day! I do 138 miles per day and not being able to get 2 full commutes out of the tank would be awful. I currently eeke out 3 journeys from my T5 which does 28mpg but has a 70 litre tank. I haven't got the brochure with me so what's the fuel tank capacity of the RX8?

RobDickinson

61 litres I think

ChrisW

OK, to put some of my test drive comments in context, I currently drive a 1995 Honda Prelude VTEC (184 hp). It might be a little lighter than the RX-8 (it is the 4th Generation model not 5th). There's lots of power above 5000 rpm, not much below, hence I prefer the 8 which is more progressive, but as I said, not obviously much quicker (I hate to say this but Autocar's performance figures seem about right to me).

The Prelude has 4-wheel steering which makes it feel very agile, even at low speed, but I assumed that the RX-8's rear wheel drive would also give it that kind of a nimble feeling too. It probably does on a decent road with some real corners but I didn't notice it on the test route.

The 8 has a much better ride than my Prelude. I am used to being able to feel exactly what kind of road surface I am travelling on, and I do quite like that. You don't get that sort of feedback in the RX-8, which I admit could be considered a good thing.

I was surprised that I noticed the engine noise so much at low speeds, but now I think about it, there is so much road noise in my current car that I am just not used to hearing the engine except when accelerating (that plus the fact that Honda engines are very good indeed).

As for the brakes, I know everyone else thinks they're great. The only thing I can think of is that the pedal is set lower than I am used to (to allow heeling and toeing?) so maybe that was throwing me a little.

I really didn't like the gearchange, but maybe there is a knack to it. In the Honda there is very little resistance and you can flick from gear to gear with very little force and you don't need to be too precise either. This car obviously requires more concentration. I suppose my concern would be, is it possible to make really quick changes, or is there always going to be this delay while you carefully clunk it from one gear to the next? That would rather disrupt the your rhythm in a car like this where you may want to be changing gear a lot.

morganrogers

I found the gearchange a bit odd too , particularly when trying to find the higher gears. I suspect I will get used to it though . As for the notchiness - yes , it did feel different to my Hondas (superb) gearchange , and pretty much like my other halfs MX5.

Honda gearbox is simply fab (apart from the ratios - 70mph in top is 4000rpm ! ! ) - but maybe the RX8s will seem so when we are used to it ?

M.

The Ace

I dont know how different the box of the RX8 is from the boxes of the RX7s, but I have to tell you that the Mazda boxes always needed correct "navigation", and where always precise and "notchy". I kinda like that, because it means that the box is indeed very precise, and will do what you want only if you really want it

On the other hand, I also had a Civic VTEC ('93 model), and although the stick was much softer, it was also a bit more "generic" and "soft-feeling". Both versions have their pros and cons, so its no use arguing which is better.......

As for the road feel, lets not forget that the RX8 is a "sports coupe", not a "sportscar". And I can tell you right now, the "TypeR" speced cars from Honda are a bit harsh all around, because that is their aim and charm

mr_digital_uk

For me (a Mazda Xedos 2.0 V6 driver) I felt the following about the 8:

Gear shift was great .. positive, easy, short and in exactly the right place

Road noise was much more than I currently have, but OK given that it's a sports coupe

Engine noise: Yummy (technical term!!)

Acceleration: OK, cos I like changing gears

Roadholding: didn't get a chance to try it out

jumpalongjim

I also test drove at St Albans last weekend, but took out the low power model. This was fine for me since I ordered a low power two weeks ago, having only first heard of the RX8 three weeks ago (I wasn't really planning on changing my car until next year - although of course it will be next year when my car's delivered!).

I can't really call myself a connoisseur of performance cars but I found no drivability faults relating to the test drive. I did miss fourth gear once, but I put that down to the situation, unusual to me, of being in third at 80mph and wondering what to do next. The test drive was far too short and uninteresting to get much of a flavour but both my wife and I loved the car. (This is the only occaision I remember it being so easy to persuade my wife to spend lots of money on an expensive toy for myself!)

My main, fleeting impressions of the car were that it was sporty enough, very comfortable and very solid-feeling with a great sound.

I only found this forum after placing my order but am gradually reading through the significant posts of the year. It's great to find that many of you have done all of the background research and debate on the car, many questions having occurred to me after placing an order for a car I'd never seen. I must say, I'm pleased I won't (shouldn't) have to wait as long as many of you have already and I'm very keen to hear how the car turns out when you finally take delivery. I'm little-boy-excited about the car but the accountant in me feels reckless at the unknown quantities of residual values and mpg.

AnilS

Welcome to the family, Jumpalongjim. OMG we sound like a cult!


AnilS.:D

morganrogers

... and another for Milcars too !

I easgerly await their call with my VIN number. January seems a l-o-n-g time ago....