I'm looking at possibly purchasing an RX-8. A little background history:

I'm 18 (I do not like to be associated with my age group; I act nothing like your average 18 year old.) Like my older brother, I received a NROTC scholarship to Penn State which pays full tuition. Because a new car is cheaper than 1.5 years of college, my mom is going to buy me a reasonable car of my choice. I currently drive a 2001 Subaru Outback wagon with a 2.5L H4. My brother chose to get a 2003 WRX (purchased in 2002). My family has had very good experiences with Subaru and their exceptional reliabilty; we expect nothing less. Also, I love AWD. I towed a 240SX out of one of my friend's unplowed driveways. We don't get much snow, but when we do I'm the only one who can floor the gas coming out of the school parking lot. I've never gotten all 4 wheels to lose traction.

I am looking at the following cars:
Mazda RX-8 AT, Sports Package
Subaru Outback H6 VDC Wagon
BMW 325xi Sports Wagon
Nissan 350Z (ruled out due to outrageous insurance)

The RX-8 appears to be a very cool car, which also is practical. The fact that it has 4 doors and 4 seats should win over my mom on the practicality part. Mazda has a good reliability history; however, the RX-8 is unlike its other cars (except the old RX-7s). I have read almost nothing but good about this car. My only problem is that on these forums I have read about flooding and poor gas mileage. I've also noticed that almost everyone has a 6 speed manual. My family has no manual cars, except for my brother's WRX. Therefore, I have no opportunity to learn a manual, and I don't want to wear out the gearbox on a brand new car. (For the record, I know how to use a manual, I just have no practice.) As a result, I must get the automatic transmission. My questions are:
1.) How much am I going to miss my AWD?
2.) How bad is the flooding problem with the automatic?
3.) How bad is the gas mileage with the auto?
4.) Is there anything else I should be warned about?
5.) Is there anything exceptionally good about the auto?

 

I dont currently own this vehicle but i have been keeping tabs for it. I say if your buying a sporty car get the manual unless u really need the auto let every 1 else answer the rest of ur Q's

 

Get the 6 speed, you wont wear out the gear box or clutch in the 50 miles it takes you to learn and you wont be happy with an auto. This car sucks in the snow according to alot of people on here, I have no experience with it, but you will not miss the AWD accept for in snowy conditions(get some winter tires). If you are looking at the other two cars, why would you even consider the 8 since it isnt in the same class as the sub and the bimmer. Just my two cents, but I am a biased viewer.

 

To answer you questions:

1. Its a rear wheel drive car...in snow your gonna miss you AWD, but in the warmer months it will please you very much.
2. The flooding problem is not an AT/MT issue (unless you repeatidly stall the car). Very easy to take the necessary precautions to not flood the car.
3. MPG is "OK" ....it's not a prius.
4. The only warning I have is that this car is a ton a fun and with that can run up a heavy tab with mods if you go nuts.
5. The one good thing about the auto, and any auto for that matter is if you happen to drive in a pretty congested area you don't have to worry about limping in 6 mos.

And to add my own....the Insurance is not a killer, mine went up 60 bucks from a explorer.

Hope this helps

 

With snow tires this car is awesome in winter weather. I speak from personal experience. DSC does an amazing job of keeping the car under control in these conditions (again, and I stress WITH snow tires.)

If lack of practice is your rationale for not considering the manual then pretend you're an expert and get the manual anyway. This is my first manual and It has been a very easy car to learn on. You shouldn't have to worry about tearing anything up unless you're doing massive clutch drops.

I've never had any issues with flooding (or even close). A redline a day keeps flooding away! or so i'm told...

Wish I could help on your other questions, but I've never driven AWD and have no experience with the auto 8.

 

Wow, college AND a new car ?? Ok, Now I do feel old. My dad forked over $150 for my first car and I was extatic.

Seriously, Unless you have special needs, don't even think about the automatic. It's a sports car.

Mine has done fair in the snow. It's not something you want to plow through North Dakota with, but it will get down the light snow road. I traded a 4X4 explorer for my RX8 and I don't miss the offroad ability one bit.

Flooding problems are overstated. You tend to build up a lot of thread posting material on that long walk to the nearest phone. I've got 3500 miles on mine with no flooding at all.

Gas milage will be about the same. I'm getting about 19mpg with moderate to aggressive driving. (only had mine to 130mph so far he he he...)

 

I agree for the most part... Save for the you wont miss the AWD part... You might miss it, I know I did when I got rid of my AWD DSM. With AWD you can do things that would send a FWD or RWD car into a spin, even one that has superb handling. But I doubt you're used to the kind of AWD experience with your outback that I was with the TSI, A4, and now the WRX. Keep in mind even if you don't get snow much you'll still need a different set of tires in the winter for your RX-8. If you get the 8 just get the MT and learn to drive it, it's a good tool to have and helps you really appreciate the driving experience.

 

If I were you, I would convince Mom to go for the 8. Please go manual because in a few months you will be glad you did, after all you already know the basics. PSU has some great driving roads all around the school. Just save up for snow tires, without them the car is horrible in the snow. Everyone I know who got them was pleased. Pay attention to procedure and flooding won't be a problem. Gas consumption isn't great, but its not like your comparing it to 42mpg cars, you should be okay. Plus, the 8 certainly won't hurt your popularity at school.
If you must go auto, still take the 8. It is not as quick, but it does everything else well (brake, handle, looks, trim). Good luck with the decision and with school.

 

I'm only 17, so I don't have much experience driving a manual (although I do know how), but I love my AT 8. I find myself putting it in fully automatic mode more anyway since its more convienient. You will miss your AWD in rain or snow, but snow tires will help resolve that problem. As for flooding, you won't have a problem with flooding so long as you don't start the car from a cold start and shut it off immediatly. Reliability.... my CEL came lit up during the drive home from the dealership, but it was completely due to the delearship not flashing my PCU with all of the recent flashes before I left (which I asked if they did before I drove it ), but other than that, never had a problem with it. For anyone who would ask, I would highly recommend the 8 to anyone who could afford it.

 

I just test drove the AT last week, I was very disappointed. If I were to get the 8, the only way to go is the manual. Coming out of a turn, the car feels VERY sluggish. Plus, a 4-speed auto in a sports car is just a bad idea.

I know some AT owners say there's not a big difference between the two, but I totally disagree. I can see your point about shifting in traffic, but that doesn't convince me.

Someone your age you will pick up manual in less than a few days. If you get the AT, you will regret it, trust me.

 

I have had 12 rotary mazdas, You wont regret it. I got the auto because of medical reasons and am glad I did. I have got as much as 27.5 mpg on the hwy with cruz set at 65mph. The power is good for normal driving, if your a racer get the 6spd is more fun.

 

for some unknown reasons, i believe the MPG issue will be fixed within 6 months by the RX8 Owners:D

as some of the members mentioned be4, the RX8 Engine isnt been fine tuned yet....

 

Guys I lovehow whenever someone mentions something about the automatic Rx8 theres always a bashing squad of forum membersthat down right bash the car. It really makes a fellow Rx8 owner andmember of the forum who has the car in automatic feel great. I just wanted to begin w/that statement.

Prod youdo not have to worry about flooding too much it would probably be morelikely on a manual version b/c of stalling the car before it has hada chance to warm up. The only way youll flood it on an automatic is if you turn off the car before the temperature meter has warmed up. So if youare in a hurry to go you dont have to worry about possibly stalling the car while its still cold since you are driving automatic.

The poor gas mileage isa reality but its not that bad. I get 240 miles out of a tank from full to empty but thats b/c I only do city driving and I tendto drive like an ******* --fast-- sometimes for no good reason. You get the urge to do that sometimes inthis car. I willgetback to that in a minute. If you drive a combination of highway and city like mostpeople then you will most likely see at least 260 outof each tank.

I donot know how much you willmiss AWD but the traction control and DSC systemin the Rx8 is really great. You maystill lose traction but it corrects itself in most cases and I stillhave never had any major spills in this car.

The automatic Rx8 doesnot have much of an instant pickup. You have to get the RPMs past about 4500 beforeyou feel any real surge. A typicalsituation in my automatic is that the car is taking forever to get to 45 - 50 mph or so but then after that it just flies to 75 - 80 in no time. This iskindof scary b/c youdont really feel that speeding sensation until youre already past 50mph.

The onlytimes I have wished I had a manual Rx8 arewhen idiots similar to the guys onthis forum that insult automatic sports cars come up to me and ask me about mycar and then annoy me w/little insults like --you should have gotten it in stick. The other time is when I have the urge to race other cars. You see the automatic cannot beat too many CARS in a straightline race b/c it doesnt have the equivalent horsepower or high redline of the manual but dont be fooled. While the manual can beat many CARS in a race it cannot take on too many SPORTS CARS b/c it also is not that great of a performer on a straight line. Yes you do feel much more pick up in the manual thanks to higher redline extra horsepower and of course the fact that it has a clutch and not a torque converter. The manual is definitely zippy butit still lackswhat it needs to be a major contender. Toput it in other words a stick Rx8 will push youback into your seat from 0 - 60 and give you a speeding sensation whereas in an automatic Rx8 rarely does this happen untilyou are already going 55 mph.

I will say thisin the defense of the manual since you are a young driver. The stick Rx8 redlines at 9000 so it woulddefinitely be one of the easiest manual cars to driveI wouldsay. Its very smooth and easy to shift and thanks to its high redline you wont have to shift anywhere near as much as you would in other cars. There would be more fun to have in this car in manual for the sacrificeof some convenience. Again there are veryfew cars out there that redline at 9000 and rightnow the only way toenjoy that in an Rx8 is with stick shift.

Speaking of shifting the automatic has a tiptronic shifting mode you can place the car into and has paddleshifters on the steering wheelthat you can press to shift gears. A problem thatdoes not happen that frequently butsomething that you will eventually notice is that sometimes the computer doesnt respond as instantly as you would like for changing gears when you suddenly floor thepedal in the middle of normal driving. When you want to abruptly speed youshould definitely engage tiptronic mode. Another reason why you will want to use the shifting at times isb/c the automatic redlines at 7500 RPM butin regular mode the computer will shift to the next gear at 7000 RPM butthe automatics top horsepower isnt unleashed until 7200 so you will rarely if ever achieve maximum horsepower or hear thewonderful redline noise unless you drive in tiptronic mode.

WellI have pretty much covered the automatic Rx8. Thebottom line is that you should test drive both cars. If youare really into the stoplight racing and youreally want to feel some umph inpickup then youwill bebetter off in a manual. Just keepin mind that you are still goingto lose to a lot of sports cars out there. Last timeI checked a sports package manualwas only $900more than an automatic w/sports package.

All in all youre really buying this car for great handling fun and above all else -- looks -- and I dont care what the manual Rx8 owners tell you. A lotof these manual Rx8 owners bash us automatic owners calling us morons for buying a sports car just for looks andnot taking advantage of its full potential and speed. Its really ironic b/c these guys who insult us are the same ones who say they turndown challenges from other sports car at stoplights in other posts b/c they are fully aware that they will not win and yet they end up retorting to excuses like --at least Im driving the better looking car. So when it really comes down to the nitty gritty those manual Rx8 owners arent that much better than us at all.

 

We don't bash the AT RX-8 because it's slower (well, some of us do), but simply because the MT is more fun to drive for many of us. Street racing has nothing to do with it! If someone is considering the car but possibly avoiding the MT because they don't have a lot of practice driving one - then they should not worry, and get the MT.

Regards,
Gordon

 

Well, I looked into both the Manual and the Automatic when researching the RX-8. Since I do a lot of highway driving in traffic, there was some appeal to the Auto transmission.

However, my first three cars (Ford Escort, Chevy Blazer and Nissan 240SX) were all manual transmissions. After a stint in an automatic VW Cabrio and auto Nissan Xterra, I was longing for the interaction that the Manual brought to the table.

So, I test drove both.

The Auto RX-8 is a fine car. The AT meant focusing more on getting around and less on gauging the RPM's for optimal performance was nice, but, I found the acceleration wanting, especially at highway speeds. Zipping around town was alright in it - but I just didn't feel safe driving on the highways of Dallas.

The MT RX-8 has a much more visceral thrill to it; now, keep in mind I haven't driven a manual transmission, regularly, in almost 5 years. The Clutch/Stick combo in the MT is, by far, the most elegant combination I have ever driven in a MT car (including BMW's, Mercedes, Subaru and Infiniti). The clutch is responsive and easy to find and the short throw on the stick means you fly through the gears as fast as you fly throught the RPM's.

My wife, who has even less experience in MT's than I do picked it up in a minute and spent the rest of the morning zipping around with a huge grin on her face. The first thing she told me when we finished her 'familiarization ride' was: "I never knew Manual Transmissions could be so fun!"

Her only experience with an MT came at the hands of a.....Ford Festiva (no laughing from the peanut gallery). While she drove my 240SX a bit, she prefered her Jeep Wrangler - in love with the tall views and its AT. Can't say that I blame her on that - the Festiva makes Daewoo cars seem gorgeous and fun to drive by comparison.

I don't race, and chances are, I won't MOD my RX-8 out all that much, but I feel much more in control and safer on the highways with the MT. If I need more speed to zip around, I drop her into 4th Gear and hit the gas. Zoom Zoom, away I go

The choice is yours, but I would definitely take BOTH for a spin before you make the final decision, taking the time to drive them on the highways as well as rip through the backroads of Pennsylvania - make sure that the car suits you in all aspects of driving

 

I would never have encouraged prod to buy a manual instead of an automatic except that he made it seem like the only reason he wasn't going with the manual is that he was worried about wearing out the clutch while learning. And although that is certainly valid, I think he will learn quickly enough not to destroy the clutch. I am not dissing autos at all, I just think he will be happier with the manual. If he said "I don't want a clutch", I would still encourage him to go with the 8!

 

Well since this has turned into a MT/AT thread, I will throw my 2 cents in. For all of us AT owners out there, unite! We chose the AT for whatever reason, for me there were several practical ones. I test drove both, loved the manual. LOVED IT! But, the practical side won out. Let this very lucky kid decide for himself. DO test drive both though. Even if you buy the AT, you have to have fun in the MT at least once in your life. Snow tires will be a must. Flooding, just follow the threads advice and you will be fine. Insurance, not too bad. Pure enjoyment will follow this purchase, no matter which transmission you get. By the way, tell you parents you love them, 'cause I do, just for buying you an RX8.

 

i was in the same situation as you Prod when it came down to my decision for the RX-8. I didnt have much practice with manual and i ended up getting the automatic. i dont regret not getting the manual because traffic sucks in my area and automatics do have tiptronic. i like using the shift paddles when there isnt traffic and not worrying about the clutch, but thats my opinion. another spec that the automatic has over the manual is more low end torque. its not much, but its more than the manual.

to answer all of your other questions, MyRx-8yourcar did a good job with answering them. hope everything helps with your decision.

 

I appreciate the help. I wasn't even thinking about test driving the manual, but I'll definitely do it. I haven't raced anyone with my Outback, and I don't see myself racing often. The only people who I want to race are my friends who have comparably bad cars in the acceleration arena. If I got an RX-8 I wouldn't care to race them because I know I'd win, but I'd like to race them in the Outback because it would be close then. Only 2 of my friends actually have fast cars, one has 1992(?) 5.0L V8 Mustang and the other is a Trans Am Firebird (not sure on th year, somewhere between 1998 and 2000). I'm guessing the RX-8 can beat the Mustang just because it's got a lot of heavy steel weighing it down. I don't know how fast the Firebird is. In either case, the RX-8 is cooler. I heard about the RX-8 being slower than the WRX STi at the barber shop, so when I looked at the car I knew I wasn't getting the fastest car in the lot. However, I know I can beat all those idiots with their Civics, Accords, Integras, and Type-R stickers.

EDIT: By the way, can someone who is 6'3" (e.g. me) fit in the car?
Being the huge nerd that I am, I attend something called LAN parties. Does the RX-8 have enough trunk space for a computer, CRT monitor, and accessory bag? I haven't seen the car in real life yet, I'm going to the dealer this weekend, at which point I'll be test driving it as well.

 

Don't get a new car and take it to college, especially an 8. Car that sticks out + drunk kids = trouble.

 

Alright, well, on the size issue...

I'm 6'2", 220lbs...and I fit great in the car. The seats fit me just right - love it love it love it. Of course, I chose the MT as stated before...of course, I'm of the opinion that it just isnt a sports car if it has an automatic transmission

As for trunk space - are you getting the spare tire kit or not? If not, then, well, yes, there should be enough room if you set your monitor into the trunks 'dent' area and lay the tower down back there as well. The accessory bag can go in the back seat

For the record, fit 4 6' folks in my RX-8 no problem (some other LD's on my team and I went to lunch today).

 

There is simply not enough midrange torque in this engine and it's especially noticeable when paired with the AT (BTW, a 4-speed autobox is just a joke in a car as special as this). The MT gives you the option of keeping the revs high in the sweet spot coming out of a turn. What's up with the stereotype that MT owners are always racing, we just want a car that's responsive. What's wrong with that?

 

Depens on what you like, I got the auto and still love it. The 8 is just a great, fun car to drive no matter what transmission you have in it. For the insurance? I had a 2002 Millenia before I got the 8 and my insurance went down 40 bucks! Strange but true!

 

get stick. i absolutely love it. before i even had the car i barely knew how to drive manuel... and the first week i was thinking of trading it in for auto but after awhile it gets on you and kicks some @$$. heck you might even convince your mom to get an auto for all those rush hours.

 

as for size, I am 6-2 and 195 and am very comfortable in the 8. The nissan was also comfortable, and faster, but for quality and sytle, stick with the 8. Trunk recommendation, dont get the spare tire, you will lose all your trunk space.