Today was the test drive for Queensland, Australia drivers at the Willowbank Raceway. Much anticipated the day finally arrived for all the family to go.

This is my honest and objective review:-

Style: Great effort at producing a 4 door 4 person sports vehicle.
Misses the WOW factor. Nice lines without the macho feel of some of its competitors.

Brakes: Great! What one would expect from a car in the 21st century.

Interior: Looks good. Questionable is the durability and wear and tear on the laquered areas and chrome look plastics on the drive train. I'm an analogue fan personally and the digital speedo is both difficult to find on the dash and read. 2-tone red and black leather really dresses up the interior so the red, silver, titanium and black buyers should be pleased. Cloth interior changes the look and feel - average.

Suspension: For my taste this is too soft and not sporty enough. AND YES there is some body roll if the car is driven hard.

Steering: Pin point accurate!! GREAT STUFF!! Hard to fault.

Turning circle: Could be better.

Engine: Smooth, linear and constant acceleration but IMO definately lacks low down torque and whilst overall power is adequate for its intended use the real sports drivers will find this not really up to speed. Fun only between 6,000 to 9,000 rpm. Needs more overall power.

Visibility: Good for most areas and for adults but small children cannot see out if sitting in the rear. When changing lanes care is needed as side mirrors are wanting.

Exhaust: Whilst twin they are small in size and definately don't look as sporty as they could. Rear end needs dressing up.

Rotary sound: Yes it's sweet but lacks real OOMPH - this could be improved - bad for us but the aftermarket guys will be happy.

Boot space: Enough room, above average for a car of this size.

Under the hood: Lacks in presence and presentation. Loses out on visual appeal - there's nothing to show off - only plastic covers.

Road holding: Tried really hard to shake her off but excellent grip and handling.

0-100: If you are prepared to rev to 8,000 rpm you may get 6.2 secs. Otherwise, who knows???

Overall: This car is easy to drive and drive relatively fast even for ordinary drivers. It is a very forgiving car. Fun car to drive if you want a faster and better than average Sunday drive, however, it lacks the "EDGE FACTOR" that I want in a sports car. Red lined the car 3 times and it was fun. Looked out for the car running hot - this was not a problem. The car sits nicely if not a bit too high.

Mazda has been brave in putting this car together. In trying to please all the people by the car's diversity it may have compromised itself and lost some of the edge it could have had.

I am still undecided about my pre-order and will wait until I can drive the car in the suburbs rather than a racetrack with only 2 other cars in very safe and controlled conditions. After my own drive, I was lucky enough to experience the car as a passenger whilst it was being driven by Tim (our guide and a professional race driver) who knew and really put the RX8 through the paces which was great fun.

Can't help but wonder how much better the car could be if it had not been compromised. Maybe the Mazda Speed RX8 or the next RX7 will really ZOOM ZOOM!!

Mazda put on a great day and most people seemed generally pleased. Everyone's expectations of what makes a great car are different so we all need to drive it for ourselves and not rely only on reports and reviews.

 

Thanks for the impressions M8!

 

Cheers, nice to know the cars really exist.

did you manage to get any pictures?

 

Disagree, it has the WOW factor in my opinion.
Agree about interior, unable to comment on the speedo.
I'll be using it as a daily driver so the compromise is what I want!
This seems VERY subjective. Other reviews say it has more than adequate power. I guess it depends what you're used to and remember it is not a full on sports car and wasn't intended to be.
Disagree, seen it and I think you're wrong.
Again this depends on the review. Anyway, I prefer a quieter car so I can hear the audio system.
That's what you pay for the tiny engine resulting in great handling. Hardly an issue!
How many manufacturers performance stats are easily attainable?!

 

Of which do you refer?

Personally, I am not aware of another 4 adult sports cars that looks just as good as the RX-8. Subjective I know.



Of what do you speak, specifically? And what would have been given up in exchange for the RX-8 to be more 'edgey' ?

 

Thanks for the review mate.


Totally agree - for those of us who are looking for a sporty practical car I don't think we'll be disappointed. From your review I suspect those who were hoping for a true sports car that happened to have 4 doors and seats may be a bit disappointed.

 

G'day, y'all

Thanks for the review! Very well put together & informative.

Given your immediate surroundings (& you're not Tim) concerning performance, I would probably have walked away with the same impressions. A racetrack can really skew perception of speed.

You were around other cars that were meant to be there, not in the suburbs. You were testing a car that is not meant to be there, but in the suburbs.

Also, the simplicity of a race track can really warp your perception of distance. True, a stop watch & markers can't be fooled, but your PERCEPTION of what it was like, can.

So, yeah, you're right, wait until you can drive one in the suburbs.

 

As said by racer rx8 ,the race trak can be deceptive in judging true feeling of speed and thats why i want to test drive the RX8 in the real world of driving .

I am always amazed at how many people are prepared to hand over their hard earned cash without properly testing the car before they comit to it ,even if you are leasing the car it is still a long commit ment ,it seems to me that a lot of people are keener to be seen in the car first ahead of others and that is their main prioraty THE COOL FACTOR ,as for me ,i want to make sure that the car doesnt loose the initiall 3 month love affair i want it to last for at least 3 years .

 

I just realized something. Besides the trunk and unless there are four people in the car, if needed we can also use the backseats to haul stuff (carefully avoiding scratches and scuffs of course).

And here I've been worrying about trunk space.....

 

You may recall this thread , 2nd picture and cueball1029's reply to my question. The rear seats don't fold down, but there is a small trunk pass through in the center. I'm assuming that's correct. Bummer, huh?

 

That's not what I meant.

I meant if we need to haul some extra stuff and the trunk is full, we can just throw the cargo (not literally) on the backseats. So trunk space + small backseat carrying capability = enough cargo space for me.

 

I've been thining about this... can I get my mountain bike in the back seat... the doors will give access and with the wheels off, if covered in a blanket... I wonder would it fit ?

 

I'd be extremely worried about damage to the rear seating area (even with blankets/covers).

I don't think it'll fit even if you remove the front wheel.... unless of course you had this bike (which should fit in the trunk np):
Military Bikes

 

Perhaps, but if you were involved in a crash you'd be toast. Something to consider when we start talking about hauling cargo in the back seats. Many injuries and deaths are caused by items in the car becoming projectiles in a crash.

 

The rear seats can be used for extra soft lugage carrying ,however anything solid will damage your seats and the drivetrain ,as stated in my review i had doubt as to the durability of the materials used on the interior of the rx8 .Dont forget that the drivetra
in wont allow much to be placed betwen the seats .

One problem with having 2 people in the back is the person driving has to go to both left and right of car to help passengers exit as it is hard to slide across drivetrain and for both passengers to exit from one side ,a real problem if its raining ,especially as tring to slide accross divetrain will result in scratches to both car and harm to passengers .steping out of the rear seats you have to keep eyes on the seat belts there is a possibility of getting entangled inthe seat belt specially for kids and elderly or drunk or clumsypeople. The alfa romeo 156 rear doors are a better soluti on than the rx8 .Rear seat passengers in rx8 are always reliant on front driver or front passengers for entry and exits.

 

I doubt that's necessary. My wife and I sat in one, and she just had to open the driver side door and I got out of the backseat by myself.

 

But isn't "a true sports car that happened to have 4 doors and seats" exactly what Mazda is advertising?

 

To clarify, instead of saying "cargo" for the backseats, I should have said soft luggage and the like.

Heavy stuff can go in the trunk, but my briefcase or gym bag can be tossed in the back seat. If I was travelling, then I'd toss the suitcases in the trunk (if they fit of course - may need to purchase smaller ones) and the soft stuff in the backseat.

 

The good news is that you can get your mother in -law inthe rear seat and leave her there if she becomes a pain in the buuttt...

 

Well, yeah. Common sensical, I think here. Just watch what you're gonna haul back there, especially if you're gonna use the "SureKill" expressway. That's how the Liberty Bell got a crack, you know...