Contigo

Ahead of Newbury trade show Newbury Mazda have just taken delivery of a Velocity Red Hi-power model and I have just got back from the test drive.

As I drove to the dealers, in the distance was a red sports car, the first thing which sprang to mind was it's an RX-8. As I neared, I could see the short back and long bonnet and realised that I would be driving the same car in a matter of minutes. The car looked stunning. I followed the 8 onto the dealers forecourt and got out of my motor to greet Andy the salesman, who had a massive grin on his face.

The first thing that struck me was the Mica paintwork of the velocity red model in full sunshine. I have ordered the same flavour and can honesly say that it is aesthically pleasing. It's amazing how much the colour changes depending on the amount of light. As it was a beautiful afternoon the colour looked a very deep red and the elegant curves of the car were demonstrated far better than the winning blue or yellow pre-production models.

As I walked into the garage I was greeted by Andy, (Sales) grasping the Keys and he promptly handed them to me. I was then told to go out for 15 minutes and enjoy. He said that as they knew me, he didn't need to be there. Thoughts at this point were running through my mind, do one to Dover and enjoy the driving experience on the Autobahns etc... :D

But no, I had to be loyal to Mike and SexyRexy who will get their mits on this beast tomorrow.

I jumped in the car and adjusted the seat for my huge 6ft 4in frame. Again I was amazed at how much space there was inside, including headroom. Space is not an issue! Not even for four adults. In went the key and I turned the engine over, I must have held it too long as there was a quick whining noise of the starter motor. The engine purred and then died down to a deafening silence :D I put the very light clutch in and then pulled away stalling it. I soon got used to the clutch, which felt very switch like ie On or Off. I pulled away and made my way onto the A4 towards Reading and managed to open her up. This is where the fun started. I was amazed at the throttle response in third gear at 30mph and fourth had a similar feel. Once again at the traffice lights I pulled away right round till the bleeper came on and threw the short shift gear lever into second and climbed through till 60 in no time at all. Later on I timed the 30-50 speed in third gear at around 3.5 seconds. I left the A4 around Thatcham and headed for some twisties. I hit the DSC switch and made sure it was off (Displayed on the odomoter) approaching a mini-roundabout at speed and opened up the throttle on turn-in and the screech of the back tyres brought a smile to my face as I corrected the rear-end. This car even without the DSC has amazing amounts of grip. I joined the A4 again and then got the opportunity to open the throttle. The car is so rewarding to drive even at low speeds.

I managed to play with the Sat-Nav and it's very intuitive. I selected route and tapped in my postcode. Selected the street name and hit "Quickest route" within seconds the lovely dulcit tones of Sat Nav were directing me to do a U turn in 300m :D

Amazing!

One thing which struck me was the driving postion. It's very good but makes putting your elbow on the window frame on a hot day almost impossible.

All in all a great SOLO test drive (Who knows maybe a first?) but it was well worth the wait. I didn't for one minute think that I would be let down or want to cancel, but it was amazing to test drive this baby on a beautiful afternoon like today.

I would like to Thank Andy and Ian at Newbury Mazda for making it possible in such short notice (The car had just come off a transporter 5 minutes earlier)

RX-Late

Nice review - thanks. Didn't get to play with the DSc myself on my test - that will have to wait until November

whiteco

After reading all the bad press covering bhp and mpg issues etc, I always like cheering myself up by reading the test drive reports from forum members which seem to melt away all the negative points that come up for discussion.

So what if the 0-100 time is 0.0004 seconds slower than an Audi S1000000 or a BMW 500000 series, I`m not buying this car to beat another car off the lights, and see who can reach 100mph first

rich606

Couldn't agree more! !Although am still turning green!!)

MarkW

Nice review and great pics on the Vel Red

What did you think of the black/red leather?

Contigo

Yeah Mark I really like it. When I first ordered the Vel Red I wanted to change the steering wheel to black as it seemed a bit over the top, but now I have seen it in the flash, it looks really nice.

The whole interior was really well built, don't worry I opened every possible thing in there to check its build quality. I am really pleased that I have had the opportunity to test drive the car and can't wait till November.

:D

Sexy Rexy

All I will say firstly, WHAT A CAR. Just had the test drive at Newbury Mazda, I was let out in it alone for 30minuts!!!!. As I pulled up to the showroom I could see the BEAST parked outside the front door. The car is exactly the same specification as the one I have on order. The engine sounded so sweet when I started it, I will be honest to say that I have not driven anything like it!!!!!. It keeps pulling and pulling in 2nd and 3rd, the lovely noise of the rotary gets louder as the foot is pushed more down!!!. It handles perfectly, the sound system is great, the car looks stunning, it has more than enough power for me. All I can say is I am very lucky to have driven it, if you fellow pre order members have not yet driven it, it will be worth the wait I can assure you. I suppose Contigo has mentiond everything that needs to be said. Can't wait till NOVEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!

mikegwyer

Summary - AWESOME.

Got to take it our for 30mins with wife and baby daughter ( who immediately went to sleep - excellent ! )

Took it through Newbury, down the A34 for a blast and back.

There have been many many reviews so I won't ramble on, but would just say -

- The ride was very smooth and quiet
- The handling/grip was excellent
- The fittings were good
- This is a real sports car - it go fast !

I currently drive a VX220 which is pretty quick, but has loads of wind and road noise - you really know you're moving. The RX8 experience was totally different - little road noise and a quiet, smooth engine. You just pull away and you're off. It's only when you look at the speedo that you realize just how fast you're going ( this car will be hard to drive under the limits ! ). Corners well and had plenty of pull for overtaking.

I drove to Newbury wondering what I would do if I didn't like it - I needn't have worried. This car absolutely rocks and I can't wait till mine gets here.

Thanks to Andy at Newbury Mazda for setting up the test drive.

MarkW

Good to hear some more positive reviews.

Got my test drive part II tomorrow, looking forward to it!

druck

Whats 70-90 like in top, and a couple of cogs down?

---Dave

mikegwyer

Didn't really spend any time in 6th ( sorry ! ), but in 3rd and 4th it seemed pretty responsive at pulling - it was actually a real struggle to stay within the ballpark of the speed limit on the A34.

The one opportunity to overtake that I had off the dual-carriageway was after pulling away at a roundabout behind a slow peugeot - the moment we were through I revved it up in 2nd we pulled away, out and just flew past the pug.

Edo

70 in top was about 4k IIRC. Acceleration felt poor (compared with doing the same in the TT), but 4th or 5th was a different story.

mr_digital_uk

Even in my Xedos I rarely use top -- only for long distance cruising ....

If I want to overtake I always drop down one gear and occasionally two; seems like second nature, so I'm expecting the RX-8 to be an easy drive in that respect