Had a 3 hour Test drive in a 190, my thoughts...
11-07-2005 | 08:03 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Had a 3 hour Test drive in a 190, my thoughts...
Hi,
I have been lurking a while, I currently own a Mazda 6, 2.3 Sport hatch. My wife owns a Renault scenic and we are looking to change her car. I live in the UK.
This isnt meant as a troll, just my thoughts on the test drive. This also isnt written as a professional report, just my own thoughts and feelings, so I apologise for any grammatical errors in advance. It may be a bit disjointed as I will write things as I remember them too...
The RX8 wasnt out when I got the 6, but we are now seriously thinking of getting one, I managed to get my local dealer to loan me one for 3 hours, so I could take both kids and wife on a test drive, I was concerned about the rear visibility and the possible car sickness that may cause.
I took the car out yesterday, unfortunately it was raining, but I still had a very good run.
The car was a 190 demonstrator with 109ml on the clock, I let it warm up fully before giving it full throttle, at the end of the day, this will be someones car, so I didnt want to thrash it.
Initially, I set off with the kids in the back, but pretty soon they both started complaining about not being able to see anything, we have still got their old `booster` seats, so we called home and put those in, that made a huge difference.
I parked the car in the garage, the suicide doors make it much more difficult getting into when you are parked in a single garage, it was a bit of trial and error where the best place to stand whilst opening / closing the doors was !
I took the car on A roads, B roads, motorways and a local road called `snake pass` for a bit on the twisties..
Pulling onto the motorway under hard acceleration, I hit the buzzer for the first time, the car is definately quieter the my 6. The acceleration actually didnt seem as much as I expected. Once we got onto the motorway, I found that this car has almost zero acceleration in 5th, I can usually leave my 6 in 5th and cruise all day long, occasionally dropping to 4th for passing, 3rd if really necessary, but I found myself dropping down to 3rd pretty often when just moving into the outside lane.
I drove about 20 miles on the M62, which has several steep hills and the RX didnt seem to pull that well, I used the gears more than I normally do.
The gearbox is very smooth, I thought mine was good, but that one is even better.
Came off the motorway onto a nice A road into Oldham, found that the Bridgestones suffered in the RX as they did in my 6, I found them twitchy in the wet and didnt particularly inspire confidence. I took a corner that I normally go round in my 6 at around 60, same in the rx and it didnt feel as secure, even my wife commented that the 6 would have taken that corner better. Now I`m not sure if this is due to the 6 being heavier and giving a sense of stability purely due to its weight. If I had pushed really hard, the rx would probably have taken the corner easily, but my gut thought was that it didnt seem as good.
I changed the tyres on my 6 to some Goodyear Eagle F1`s, they are much better in the wet and I would certainly do that in the RX if I get one.
We then got into the town driving and almost stalled a few times at traffic lights. I am guessing this is due to the engine having low inertia, both my wife and I almost stalled about 3 times each when setting off, it wasnt the clutch, just not enough revs when starting.
Pulling out of junctions and accelerating hard, the rx is much quicker. In my 6, I can get wheelspin in 1st or 2nd when pulling out of a junction in the wet, being rear wheel drive probably helps, but I felt much more comfortable pulling out into a gap in the wet, I wasnt expecting the car to wheelspin and me sit there with cars looming which happens in the 6 sometimes.
We came back on snake pass, a great road and it was dry there too. The RX was much better in the dry, I felt a lot more confidence in the corners.
Again, I was using the gears more than I normally would, 2nd seems to be a particularly bad ratio, coming out of a hairpin, where I would normally be in 2nd, I found the rx got bogged down with no torque and that 1st was often better to get some acceleration of out the corner. The ratios look different on the 230 and it looks like 2nd could be a more useable gear when exiting slow hairpins etc... I dont know, it just seems a bad gear in the 190, I use 2nd a lot in my 6 and this was where I noticed the biggest difference all day.
All the time we were driving, the children were happy, they both sat in the front although my daughter didnt like it at all, hear head was just at the wrong height for the metal insert in the headrest and she kept hitting her head on it.
The car was very quiet, no rattles and quieter in general than my 6. The climate controls etc were the same as I`m used to, so no issues there.
I`m 6`1" and initially my head was touching the roof, I managed to lower the seat a bit, but I was still pretty close, I guess that rules out the sunroof option anyway !
The climate controls etc were the same as I`m used to, so no issues there.
In general, the interior seemed well put together, I dont like the silly handle on the handbrake, but thats a personal thing, I just cant see the point.
We all thought the removable `compartment` that lets you access the boot from the rear was really cheap, it really felt like it was an afterthought and just gave the impression of a cheap bit of plastic. The rest of the centre console worked well.
I put some petrol in the tank, when I started it was about 1/2 full, the light came on after around 90 miles, I put £25 in and filled to just above 1/2 way. I know the fuel consumption is an issue and I will buy one with my eyes open on that front.
I was planning on getting the 230, I really like the Xenons on my 6 and thought the 230 would be quicker once moving, I know it has less torque but now I`m not sure, I wasnt thrilled with the 190 low down, so how I`d be with the 230 I dont know....
My overall impressions were good, yet slightly underwhelming. I dont know if that was because I was driving the car in the wet, so taking more care or what. I am still pretty sure that when we change we will get an RX8, what else has 4 seats that are useable and is a sports car? My wife likes the look of it anyway, so thats that Very Happy
Perhaps driving the RX for a while will change my style of driving and I will get into the change gear more often habit, but after 3 hours, I was still getting stuck in too high a gear on occasion. Was I expecting too much?
Over a good A road, I know the RX is faster, but somehow it doesnt seem it sometimes. Its hard to describe, perhaps its because it just gets on with the job and is so quiet, you dont realise how fast you are actually going.
Anyway, I`ve typed enough, hopefully I shared some thoughts that other prospective RX8 ownsers may benefit from.
If / when we change, I will definately arrange a back to back with the 190 and 230, hopefully that will convince me which is the best for me. As it is, I`m more usure that before I went out yesterday !
Wh00sher.
hmmm, I`ve just re read what I typed and it seems a slightly negative report, I didnt set out to portray the car that way, actually, I really like it, but my overriding thoughts from yesterday seem to be of slight disappointment. I must set my expectations too high !!
I have been lurking a while, I currently own a Mazda 6, 2.3 Sport hatch. My wife owns a Renault scenic and we are looking to change her car. I live in the UK.
This isnt meant as a troll, just my thoughts on the test drive. This also isnt written as a professional report, just my own thoughts and feelings, so I apologise for any grammatical errors in advance. It may be a bit disjointed as I will write things as I remember them too...
The RX8 wasnt out when I got the 6, but we are now seriously thinking of getting one, I managed to get my local dealer to loan me one for 3 hours, so I could take both kids and wife on a test drive, I was concerned about the rear visibility and the possible car sickness that may cause.
I took the car out yesterday, unfortunately it was raining, but I still had a very good run.
The car was a 190 demonstrator with 109ml on the clock, I let it warm up fully before giving it full throttle, at the end of the day, this will be someones car, so I didnt want to thrash it.
Initially, I set off with the kids in the back, but pretty soon they both started complaining about not being able to see anything, we have still got their old `booster` seats, so we called home and put those in, that made a huge difference.
I parked the car in the garage, the suicide doors make it much more difficult getting into when you are parked in a single garage, it was a bit of trial and error where the best place to stand whilst opening / closing the doors was !
I took the car on A roads, B roads, motorways and a local road called `snake pass` for a bit on the twisties..
Pulling onto the motorway under hard acceleration, I hit the buzzer for the first time, the car is definately quieter the my 6. The acceleration actually didnt seem as much as I expected. Once we got onto the motorway, I found that this car has almost zero acceleration in 5th, I can usually leave my 6 in 5th and cruise all day long, occasionally dropping to 4th for passing, 3rd if really necessary, but I found myself dropping down to 3rd pretty often when just moving into the outside lane.
I drove about 20 miles on the M62, which has several steep hills and the RX didnt seem to pull that well, I used the gears more than I normally do.
The gearbox is very smooth, I thought mine was good, but that one is even better.
Came off the motorway onto a nice A road into Oldham, found that the Bridgestones suffered in the RX as they did in my 6, I found them twitchy in the wet and didnt particularly inspire confidence. I took a corner that I normally go round in my 6 at around 60, same in the rx and it didnt feel as secure, even my wife commented that the 6 would have taken that corner better. Now I`m not sure if this is due to the 6 being heavier and giving a sense of stability purely due to its weight. If I had pushed really hard, the rx would probably have taken the corner easily, but my gut thought was that it didnt seem as good.
I changed the tyres on my 6 to some Goodyear Eagle F1`s, they are much better in the wet and I would certainly do that in the RX if I get one.
We then got into the town driving and almost stalled a few times at traffic lights. I am guessing this is due to the engine having low inertia, both my wife and I almost stalled about 3 times each when setting off, it wasnt the clutch, just not enough revs when starting.
Pulling out of junctions and accelerating hard, the rx is much quicker. In my 6, I can get wheelspin in 1st or 2nd when pulling out of a junction in the wet, being rear wheel drive probably helps, but I felt much more comfortable pulling out into a gap in the wet, I wasnt expecting the car to wheelspin and me sit there with cars looming which happens in the 6 sometimes.
We came back on snake pass, a great road and it was dry there too. The RX was much better in the dry, I felt a lot more confidence in the corners.
Again, I was using the gears more than I normally would, 2nd seems to be a particularly bad ratio, coming out of a hairpin, where I would normally be in 2nd, I found the rx got bogged down with no torque and that 1st was often better to get some acceleration of out the corner. The ratios look different on the 230 and it looks like 2nd could be a more useable gear when exiting slow hairpins etc... I dont know, it just seems a bad gear in the 190, I use 2nd a lot in my 6 and this was where I noticed the biggest difference all day.
All the time we were driving, the children were happy, they both sat in the front although my daughter didnt like it at all, hear head was just at the wrong height for the metal insert in the headrest and she kept hitting her head on it.
The car was very quiet, no rattles and quieter in general than my 6. The climate controls etc were the same as I`m used to, so no issues there.
I`m 6`1" and initially my head was touching the roof, I managed to lower the seat a bit, but I was still pretty close, I guess that rules out the sunroof option anyway !
The climate controls etc were the same as I`m used to, so no issues there.
In general, the interior seemed well put together, I dont like the silly handle on the handbrake, but thats a personal thing, I just cant see the point.
We all thought the removable `compartment` that lets you access the boot from the rear was really cheap, it really felt like it was an afterthought and just gave the impression of a cheap bit of plastic. The rest of the centre console worked well.
I put some petrol in the tank, when I started it was about 1/2 full, the light came on after around 90 miles, I put £25 in and filled to just above 1/2 way. I know the fuel consumption is an issue and I will buy one with my eyes open on that front.
I was planning on getting the 230, I really like the Xenons on my 6 and thought the 230 would be quicker once moving, I know it has less torque but now I`m not sure, I wasnt thrilled with the 190 low down, so how I`d be with the 230 I dont know....
My overall impressions were good, yet slightly underwhelming. I dont know if that was because I was driving the car in the wet, so taking more care or what. I am still pretty sure that when we change we will get an RX8, what else has 4 seats that are useable and is a sports car? My wife likes the look of it anyway, so thats that Very Happy
Perhaps driving the RX for a while will change my style of driving and I will get into the change gear more often habit, but after 3 hours, I was still getting stuck in too high a gear on occasion. Was I expecting too much?
Over a good A road, I know the RX is faster, but somehow it doesnt seem it sometimes. Its hard to describe, perhaps its because it just gets on with the job and is so quiet, you dont realise how fast you are actually going.
Anyway, I`ve typed enough, hopefully I shared some thoughts that other prospective RX8 ownsers may benefit from.
If / when we change, I will definately arrange a back to back with the 190 and 230, hopefully that will convince me which is the best for me. As it is, I`m more usure that before I went out yesterday !
Wh00sher.
hmmm, I`ve just re read what I typed and it seems a slightly negative report, I didnt set out to portray the car that way, actually, I really like it, but my overriding thoughts from yesterday seem to be of slight disappointment. I must set my expectations too high !!
11-07-2005 | 11:15 AM
#5
Oil Injection
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,672
Likes: 2
From: Orlando, FL
Great review, the 4port (190) version is quite a bit slower than the 6port (230) the torque is pretty much the same, so for a daily drive in the city it wont make that much difference, but on the highway and when you want to feel that power, the 230 pulls much harder in the upper rev range.
11-07-2005 | 11:25 AM
#6
Listen to Zoom44
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,330
Likes: 0
From: Overland Park
Originally Posted by Raptor2k
You drove a 190? Of course that would be underwhelming.
I suggest he takes both versions on a city and highway tour back to back to determine which version he likes better and if the car is suited for him and his family at all. Great review BTW.
11-07-2005 | 12:28 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Its funny you should say that, the 190 is actually better for round town driving, it has more torque and 1000 rpm lower I believe too...
All the reviews that compare the 2 say for low end pull, the 190 is better.
All the reviews that compare the 2 say for low end pull, the 190 is better.
11-07-2005 | 12:34 PM
#9
I like rusty spoons
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,959
Likes: 0
From: Calgary, Alberta
Originally Posted by Wh00sher
Its funny you should say that, the 190 is actually better for round town driving, it has more torque and 1000 rpm lower I believe too...
All the reviews that compare the 2 say for low end pull, the 190 is better.
All the reviews that compare the 2 say for low end pull, the 190 is better.
Torque isn't everything...you should know that
It's better to make torque at high RPMs rather than low RPMS because you can take advantage of gearing. Anyways, does anyone know what the actual 0-100 times are of the UK 190 vs. 230?
11-07-2005 | 12:46 PM
#11
脾臓が痛みました
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,527
Likes: 2
From: Land of Peaches, Pecans, and Peanuts
the difference in the amount of torque is only 5 lb/s. almost completely negligable. not sure what the differernce in where the peak torque occurs is, but in the case of torque, it is much better from a drivability standpoint to have it occur lower in the rpm range.
11-07-2005 | 12:53 PM
#12
I like rusty spoons
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,959
Likes: 0
From: Calgary, Alberta
Originally Posted by Glyphon
the difference in the amount of torque is only 5 lb/s. almost completely negligable. not sure what the differernce in where the peak torque occurs is, but in the case of torque, it is much better from a drivability standpoint to have it occur lower in the rpm range.
So yeah, it looks like the 190 would launch better, but the 230 would leave it in the dust. What's really important when you consider what the RX-8 was intended for? It sure aint a dragster
Last edited by khtm; 11-07-2005 at 12:55 PM.
11-08-2005 | 12:22 AM
#14
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
I am certainly planning to test the 230, but from reading numerous comparisons between owners of either model in the UK, the general consensus seems to be for normal day to day city driving, the 190 is easier to drive, if you want that little bit more top end, go for the 230, but most say swapping between cars, the benefits of one somewhat cancel out the negatives, so really, drive both and get whats best for you.
Thats what I intend to do anyway.
Thats what I intend to do anyway.
11-08-2005 | 12:47 AM
#15
there's no point in getting this car if you're just planning to putz it around at 3000rpm all day.... get a V6 if you want to do that
the rotary engine is meant to be revved, HARD.
the rotary engine is meant to be revved, HARD.
11-08-2005 | 01:01 AM
#16
I dunno I have the 230 version (238 here in america) and its no problem driving it in the city. I live in Chicago so there is plenty of stop and go traffic. When I first bought the car, occasionally I almsot stalled it, but it never happens now. I dunno if the torque is really that important when driving around in the city. I drove a friends 350 for a couple of hours, whose torque is almost double that of the rx, and to me it didnt make much difference. I know this might be because I have gotten used to the rx but I think the 230 version will be much moer rewarding in the future.
11-08-2005 | 12:06 PM
#18
Follower of CHRIST!!!!!!!
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 3,241
Likes: 0
From: Planet Earth
Fair enough review of an auto RX8, but I must say that in MY OPINION...the 6spd is the way to go with the RX8.
My personal experience...(almost 6k miles now)
Fuel economy: 19+mpg ALL city (moderate city, not NY or Virginia/Norfolk traffic)
This is something I worried alot about before I got the car because I heard stories of 10-13mpg city no matter how people drove. I was skeptical but enough people complained that I worried about it. So far my range in fuel economy has been no less than 18.6mpg and no greater than 20.59mpg. Considering that I've never spent more than 50 miles on the highway and this is a sports car I'm satisfied with the fuel economy. Sure, If I beat the heck out of the car I probably could reach 16mpg but in everyday driving and not trying to kill anyone on the road I found that the fuel economy complaints regarding the RX8 (for ME at least) was nothing but overdone hype.
Speed/Power/Performance: Enough in 99% of REAL WORLD driving
First, like all of us (basically) I think we would like another 50HP but I came to an honest conclusion. For what? This car is faster than at least 90% (I’m pretty sure of) of the cars on the road and most of my driving is to and from work. When you add cops, school zones, traffic, and bad drivers in the mix there is frankly not enough time nor the driving conditions to experience the upper performance range of most cars. Unless you take your car to the track often, most of the power and capability in a car goes unused most of the time. So I don’t really listen to the complaints of lack of power anymore because again in most of my normal driving I won’t be using half the horsepower. Again…with that said I know I would like about 50 more HP and throw in there 2-3 more mpg’s, but in NO WAY is the RX8 slow. I’ve chirped the tries in 4 gear (or is it 3rd, I forget) without abusing my tranny/clutch and any car that can do that has enough power for the REAL WORLD.
My conclusion, while I love power and HP too, it’s more for testasarone or bragging rights than for everyday use.
Handling/Stabablity: Proven in test after test and some real world near accidents from members here
One thing about the RX8 is that it comes with “summer” tires and any northern RX8 owner will tell you that Winter tires are a MUST! I’ve never experienced the RX8 feeling twitchy but then again I’ve never pushed her under bad road conditions. Frankly, it’s a risk that I’m not willing to take with a car I love. The RX8 has pretty good grip (while I wouldn’t mind a little more) and one of its best points is the balance it has. What makes this car such a great track car is how easy and forgiven it is to drive. It lets you know the limits and even when you have passed them it wont bite back at the driver but relaxes it’s grip without excessive drama. That’s all I can say so far since I’ve never had my 8 scare me (THANK GOD) like my two previous FWD cars did when ever there was a little rain, a drop of oil on the road, and I had to break with a little more force.
Maintence
Check the oil at each fill up (about 2 weeks time span for me) and add oil as needed. So far, sure she eats a little but nothing out of this world. Make sure she is warmed up before you shut her down and most likely you will NEVER see the flood monster. This is probably the holy grail of anti-rotary people. I heard all sorts of stuff about maintaining the Rotary and after owning my 8 for almost a year I say…
BLAH! Pretty much standard stuff you should follow even with a piston engine, love your engine and she will love you back.
Engine: An engine like no other that actually is a lot better, but obviously not perfect, than most none Rotary people claim it to be
9K makes me feel like a race car driver and brings me many a smile. I had to kind of learn to drive this car with such a high RPM range, but I’ve found myself a little too in love with the upper rev range shifting more in the 9.2K range than the 9K range I should shift. Also, it’s strange to me that while I read/researched so much of what could go wrong with a rotary and the not so good experience of the RX7 rotary with the Renesis I’m left feeling more secure. I guess I’m under the 3-moving parts spell or something but I worry more about my wife’s I-4 than with my little rotary.
It’s a shame more research and development money has not flowed into such a simple and power efficient engine.
Interior/comfort/space/quality/ride: A solid B grade in my opinion
Rear leg/knee/foot space is 2nd to only the GTO as a 2+2 sports car. Rear access is great considering the rear half doors. Interior quality is very good mostly just not very scratch resistant. Interior workmanship is very good with just a few rough edges inside. Seat comfort is pretty good also while not as good as the GTO but then again the GTO seats probably outweigh the RX8 seats considerably. Trunk space is good while the opening is small. The rear pass through to the trunk does feel cheap but still a nice addition since we didn’t get rear folding seats. I have the base 6spd but my radio works great and is a lot better than what I expected, while no mp3 or easy upgradeablity is really annoying. For a sports car it rides pretty well, firm but not spin busting FIRM. Finally, the space inside is a little more personal but still spacious enough not to get annoying.
Safety: Very secure
Just read a recent post of an 8 that got flipped and countless other accidents (sadly) that look very bad, yet the occupants came out with hardly a scratch on them. Air bags all over and STIFF side impact protection (along with 4 star or better crash worthy ratings) makes this car very safe. Top’s among sports cars I think…
Looks/style: Sweeeetttt!
Curves and a nice butt, can’t go wrong with that.
Before the fan-boy comments start, trust me I know the limitations and issues with my car. Like stated, a little bit more grip, HP/torque, and fuel economy would make this car near perfect.
The lack of self locking doors when the car starts moving is a bit of odd and annoying.
Lack of cheap go-faster parts or upgrades so far are not ideal.
Ummmmmm….
Easy scratch interior, a bit colder AC, sensitive paint, and no oil cooler grills from Mazda about finish all my complaints.
But overall, it’s a great car and one that I’m happy to be an owner of. Truly, when I thought no car company built a car for me…
MAZDA came and gave me the perfect option!
Lol, no one asked me for this review and I probably lost most of the readers a long while ago but here it is anyway.
So take this review and SHOVE IT!
My personal experience...(almost 6k miles now)
Fuel economy: 19+mpg ALL city (moderate city, not NY or Virginia/Norfolk traffic)
This is something I worried alot about before I got the car because I heard stories of 10-13mpg city no matter how people drove. I was skeptical but enough people complained that I worried about it. So far my range in fuel economy has been no less than 18.6mpg and no greater than 20.59mpg. Considering that I've never spent more than 50 miles on the highway and this is a sports car I'm satisfied with the fuel economy. Sure, If I beat the heck out of the car I probably could reach 16mpg but in everyday driving and not trying to kill anyone on the road I found that the fuel economy complaints regarding the RX8 (for ME at least) was nothing but overdone hype.
Speed/Power/Performance: Enough in 99% of REAL WORLD driving
First, like all of us (basically) I think we would like another 50HP but I came to an honest conclusion. For what? This car is faster than at least 90% (I’m pretty sure of) of the cars on the road and most of my driving is to and from work. When you add cops, school zones, traffic, and bad drivers in the mix there is frankly not enough time nor the driving conditions to experience the upper performance range of most cars. Unless you take your car to the track often, most of the power and capability in a car goes unused most of the time. So I don’t really listen to the complaints of lack of power anymore because again in most of my normal driving I won’t be using half the horsepower. Again…with that said I know I would like about 50 more HP and throw in there 2-3 more mpg’s, but in NO WAY is the RX8 slow. I’ve chirped the tries in 4 gear (or is it 3rd, I forget) without abusing my tranny/clutch and any car that can do that has enough power for the REAL WORLD.
My conclusion, while I love power and HP too, it’s more for testasarone or bragging rights than for everyday use.
Handling/Stabablity: Proven in test after test and some real world near accidents from members here
One thing about the RX8 is that it comes with “summer” tires and any northern RX8 owner will tell you that Winter tires are a MUST! I’ve never experienced the RX8 feeling twitchy but then again I’ve never pushed her under bad road conditions. Frankly, it’s a risk that I’m not willing to take with a car I love. The RX8 has pretty good grip (while I wouldn’t mind a little more) and one of its best points is the balance it has. What makes this car such a great track car is how easy and forgiven it is to drive. It lets you know the limits and even when you have passed them it wont bite back at the driver but relaxes it’s grip without excessive drama. That’s all I can say so far since I’ve never had my 8 scare me (THANK GOD) like my two previous FWD cars did when ever there was a little rain, a drop of oil on the road, and I had to break with a little more force.
Maintence
Check the oil at each fill up (about 2 weeks time span for me) and add oil as needed. So far, sure she eats a little but nothing out of this world. Make sure she is warmed up before you shut her down and most likely you will NEVER see the flood monster. This is probably the holy grail of anti-rotary people. I heard all sorts of stuff about maintaining the Rotary and after owning my 8 for almost a year I say…
BLAH! Pretty much standard stuff you should follow even with a piston engine, love your engine and she will love you back.
Engine: An engine like no other that actually is a lot better, but obviously not perfect, than most none Rotary people claim it to be
9K makes me feel like a race car driver and brings me many a smile. I had to kind of learn to drive this car with such a high RPM range, but I’ve found myself a little too in love with the upper rev range shifting more in the 9.2K range than the 9K range I should shift. Also, it’s strange to me that while I read/researched so much of what could go wrong with a rotary and the not so good experience of the RX7 rotary with the Renesis I’m left feeling more secure. I guess I’m under the 3-moving parts spell or something but I worry more about my wife’s I-4 than with my little rotary.
It’s a shame more research and development money has not flowed into such a simple and power efficient engine.
Interior/comfort/space/quality/ride: A solid B grade in my opinion
Rear leg/knee/foot space is 2nd to only the GTO as a 2+2 sports car. Rear access is great considering the rear half doors. Interior quality is very good mostly just not very scratch resistant. Interior workmanship is very good with just a few rough edges inside. Seat comfort is pretty good also while not as good as the GTO but then again the GTO seats probably outweigh the RX8 seats considerably. Trunk space is good while the opening is small. The rear pass through to the trunk does feel cheap but still a nice addition since we didn’t get rear folding seats. I have the base 6spd but my radio works great and is a lot better than what I expected, while no mp3 or easy upgradeablity is really annoying. For a sports car it rides pretty well, firm but not spin busting FIRM. Finally, the space inside is a little more personal but still spacious enough not to get annoying.
Safety: Very secure
Just read a recent post of an 8 that got flipped and countless other accidents (sadly) that look very bad, yet the occupants came out with hardly a scratch on them. Air bags all over and STIFF side impact protection (along with 4 star or better crash worthy ratings) makes this car very safe. Top’s among sports cars I think…
Looks/style: Sweeeetttt!
Curves and a nice butt, can’t go wrong with that.
Before the fan-boy comments start, trust me I know the limitations and issues with my car. Like stated, a little bit more grip, HP/torque, and fuel economy would make this car near perfect.
The lack of self locking doors when the car starts moving is a bit of odd and annoying.
Lack of cheap go-faster parts or upgrades so far are not ideal.
Ummmmmm….
Easy scratch interior, a bit colder AC, sensitive paint, and no oil cooler grills from Mazda about finish all my complaints.
But overall, it’s a great car and one that I’m happy to be an owner of. Truly, when I thought no car company built a car for me…
MAZDA came and gave me the perfect option!
Lol, no one asked me for this review and I probably lost most of the readers a long while ago but here it is anyway.
So take this review and SHOVE IT!
11-08-2005 | 01:49 PM
#21
Pistons are Over Rated
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 152
Likes: 0
From: Orlando, FL
The 230 (UK) spec RX8 has a 3.76 1st gear and a 2.27 2nd gear with a 4.44 final drive ratio, the 190 with the 5spd, has a 3.48 1st and 2.015 2nd with the same final drive. This means that the torque multiplication is not as good in the 190 and I believe that the 190 version also has 16" wheels, unless the one you drove had the 18" wheels. This will make a slight difference in acceleration and a larger one in handling. So as other posts have stated, drive the 230 with the 6spd and I think you will feel that it is a completely different car.
11-08-2005 | 02:54 PM
#22
Originally Posted by rx8wannahave
Huh? I never heard of such a RX8???? HUH...confused???
11-08-2005 | 02:56 PM
#24
Originally Posted by ucfracerx8
The 230 (UK) spec RX8 has a 3.76 1st gear and a 2.27 2nd gear with a 4.44 final drive ratio, the 190 with the 5spd, has a 3.48 1st and 2.015 2nd with the same final drive. This means that the torque multiplication is not as good in the 190 and I believe that the 190 version also has 16" wheels, unless the one you drove had the 18" wheels. This will make a slight difference in acceleration and a larger one in handling. So as other posts have stated, drive the 230 with the 6spd and I think you will feel that it is a completely different car.