The gas mileage.

First off, just want to introduce myself and say I'm the current owner of a 2004 Mazda 3. Really like the car, but since purchasing it almost three years ago, my income has gone up substantially. And of course while still young (if you consider 30 young) and single, I have been thinking about replacing my very practical Mazda 3 hatchback with something less practical and far more sporty. I was thinking about staying in the Mazda family.

I really, really like the 8. It's great looking, it has awesome handling, it's comfortable for long drives, and in the grand touring package has all the gadgets you could want in a $30,000 car. With the rear doors it's somewhat practical. I could even live with the supposed flooding problems and oil consumption. But the gas mileage, man it's just terrible. To drive the car aggressively and only get between 13 and 15 mpg is aweful. Even driving it sanely people are still reporting pretty poor mileage. This would be somewhat acceptable if we were talking about a V8 with far more horsepower, or even a turbo charged monster engine like the EVO or STI. But let's face the facts, the 8 simply doesn't have near enough horsepower and torgue to justify it's instatiable appetite for premium fuel.

This is a major bummer for me, because in my quest for a new sporty car the 8 is just about perfect for what I'm looking for. I know historically rotary engines have never gotten good gas mileage, and the 8 is no different. But with gas prices sky rocketting, I'm just not sure I could live with that kind of mileage. Or I should say, if I'm going to get that kind of mileage than I at least want something with far more hp and torque to justify.

Does the gas mileage bother any of you guys, and if you had known it would be so bad, would you have still purchased your 8? Any regets? Feedback would be welcome.

P.S. Other cars I've test driven and are considering: Honda S2000, 350Z touring, G35 coupe, and WRX STI.

 

What's your point. I am pretty sure everyone already knew about the fuel mileage. Truth is, it is more marketing and perception than it is reality. Do the cost analysis on what the saving really are at the pump and you will find it is not really that big. You like the car and deal with it or you don't.

Also, all the cars you mention are pretty close in fuel costs. Not one is that far better than the other, and performance is in the same league give or take.

Again perception.

For the record, my worse was 7mpg (on the track - same as my friends S2000 on the track and most every other car) and my best was 24mpg (mostly highway driving with cruise control set around 68mph).

My average is 19mpg mixed. This is more than reasonable for a modern sports car in my world so no, it does not bother me. Especially at the price point I picked up the RX-8.

 

Oh I realize there have been many, many threads about the poor fuel consumption of the 8. I just wanted feedback from others who own the car already that in hindsight knowing what they know now, would it have stopped them from making the purchase.

19 mpg mixed isn't too bad I guess. And 24 mpg is what the sticker stays, so I'm impressed you were able to achieve that at 68 mph. I usually travel more like between 70 and 80 mph if I'm on a road trip, so I'm guessing I would probably see more like 21 or 22 mpg.

All of the other cars mentioned felt significantly faster than the RX-8. I'm sure torque has a lot to do with that. The Honda S2000 and the 8 were similar in feel, but I know the S2000 is significantly faster with instrumented testing. Handling is probably a wash between the two. A convertible certainly has it's advantages too, but the insurance on the S2000 is crazy. I have a perfect driving record and my insurance company quoted me $165 a month on the S!

Still, straight line speed isn't everything to me, if it was I wouldn't be looking at the 8. But if I'm going to be paying out the *** for fuel every month, I sure do want the hp and torque to justify the expense. I'll wait for more feedback. A car purchase is such a stressful event, you want to make sure you get it right. Test driving is one thing, but speaking with owners who live with the car day in, and day out is the best way to gauge a purchase.

 

Flooding is not really an issue with 2005s and above...Oil consumption issues is only for the lazy people who cannot read a dipstick.

As you mentioned there is an insurance difference between the cars that you are considering. For me, the 8 was the cheapest to insure, it is considered a 1.3L and 4 door car. This really makes up for the difference in gas mileage, the difference for me was $300-600 for the other cars.

Also, the gas mileage isn't really as bad as alot of people claim. It's not good, but far from horrible. I get 100km per 12-15L of gas, usually around 420-470km on full tank, 60city/40hwy, I shift at 2000-3500rpm and I occasionally redline depending on traffic. My 8's gas consumption has also improved mildly as the engine has aged, as have many other 8s.

From the tone of your post you seem to be only considering HP/torque to gas consumption.

Did you take into consideration that the 8 has the best ride out of the 4 other cars you are considering?

Build quality is probably 2nd to only the s2000 (STI is bland inside, the nissan bros have nice design but horrible materials and quality). I'm sure you know what I mean by build quality, imo the Mazda 3 hatch has one of the best builds in any car.

Practicality is 2nd to only the STI (4 doors, but rear seat room is really not much better than the 8).

Exterior looks-wise is 2nd to the 350z (subjective opinion)...

 

lol o god
not this again...



I got the car knowing it's going to have a bad gas mileage.

I've been cruising around this forum before I got my car, and as you mentioned too, the only "negative" feedback that I found was the gas mileage. Oh and the flooding issue, I think it's just stupid that people flood the car. I'm not even going to go there.

However, I am very pleased with my car overall.


I proudly can say I have the best Rx8 in the world.

going over 2 years of ownership, I absolutely have zero problems with the car.
not even a hint of rattles, breaking parts of interior.

I have no problem with the gas mileage. I mostly do city driving, but mix driving of aggresive and gentle touch on the gas. I get about 18, which is fantastic.

Hey, If I love eating so much that I go out and eat a lot, finding out new restaurants and good food, Why can't my baby ?

Oh and one last thing.
You might want to put on a flame suit

 

The RX8 is like a cat: she chooses her owner. You seem reluctant...

Kidding aside, reading the MPG threads you'll have more than enough feedback on the subject. Then it's up to you to do the math, listen to your guts, and decide to join this crowd that enjoy the 8, low MPG or not.

BTW, welcome...

 

My feeling on this, if you can afford the 30k car, you can prob afford the extra $10 a week more in gas it costs you. The diff between 20 mpg and 25 isn't really a whole lot unless your commute is very far away.

 

 

Mileage is just one of the costs associated with a car. (Al Gore may see it differently, but I'll let him do his own post.) You're already looking at spending $30K on a car when you can buy basic transportation for half that. Just figure how much a great driving experience like this is worth to you, and proceed accordingly.

Ken

 

 

i dare them to mess with rx7club.

 

This is my first time ever responding to a MPG thread... I'd like to caveat it with the fact that I love my 8 and that MPG isn't a huge care of mine, and I would buy my 8 all over again if given the choice, but it's really been put into perspective for me in the last month:

For the last month I've been driving around in a friend's Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. It's a 302 HP/ 302 lb-ft monster with a 4.3L V8, tipping the scales at about 3,461 lbs. It hits similar 0-60 times despite carrying an extra 500 lbs of fat, with an engine 3x larger. In spirited 50/50 city/highway driving I've averaged ~18 MPG. Don't get me wrong, it's a shitty car that I would never in my right mind purchase, but my lil 1.3L 3,029 lb rotary just barely gets similar MPG numbers as that beast. There's really no other way of saying this except that our 8 really isn't using our dwindling supply of fossil fuels judiciously. Does its 9,000 RPM rotary engine justify its gasoline-chugging behavior? That's how I justify it... ...but it doesn't help that I graduated from a renown pot-smoking hippie-loving tree-hugging university. Cuz of that I'm starting to feel kinda guilty about how much I love my 8. It's a good thing I can deal with guilt.

-P23

P.S. I do realize a direct comparison of a 4.3L piston with a 1.3L rotary is not an accurate comparison.

 

Some people get bad gas milage, some people get good gas milage. I think a lot of it has to do with how the car is broken in when new. The only threads you will typically see are the bad ones. Not many people start a thread saying "I got 20 mpg today". Some people run 87 octane, some people run 93 octane. I have documented every fillup for 42,000 miles and am always around 20 mpg. I only use "good" 93 octane gas. I redline the car at least once a day and get plenty of SMILES per gallon. The RX-8 is not a slow car in the real world of everyday driving. I get tired of people always comparing it to STi and EVOs. Hell, what isn't slow compared to those impractical beasts? The 8 is a different animal. Either you get it or you don't. No regrets here and I don't consider averaging 20 mpg to be so bad.

 

The 8's mileage doesn't bother me—I knew all about it long before I bought the car. I get between 17 and 22, by the way, which is more than fair when I consider what I get back in the deal. Remember, you have to think different(ly) about the 8: every other car in the world with a small, light engine offers you good mileage in return, so naturally that's what we subconciously expect from this small, light engine—which, of course, is very different from all the other small, light engines on the planet. Instead of offering us great fuel economy, the Renesis gives us something else—sublime feel and handling, a direct result of the little engine's placement so low and far back in the car. Many have commented on how good the 8 "feels" to drive. It's something that's not measured in skidpad and slalom numbers—it really is just a special, well… feel—light, precise, agile—call it what you will. (This is a Mazda thing, by the way, as you probably sense from your 3. The Miata has always put a much bigger smile on its owner's faces than the "numbers" would suggest.)

Flooding is not an issue with me, and never will be—I simply remember to never turn off the engine if it's cold. Big deal.

Frankly I'm really getting tired of people throwing out oil consumption as an "issue"—it's quite deceptive and misleading—almost Republican—because traditionally, when someone says there's an "issue with oil consumption", it means the engine in question is a little bit defective—drinking oil between oil changes, which is something modern engines don't do. The Renesis sips oil by design, and just a small amount, which is something completely different than a traditional engine with an "oil consumption issue". If you think adding a little oil now and then between changes is a pain-in-the-***, fair enough. (It doesn't bother me.) Just don't say the 8 has an oil consumption "issue".

Bottom line—I love what the 8 brings to the table. If you're one who always feels a sports car should be torquey and fast in a straight line—or if you believe all little engines should give you superior fuel economy, buy something else.

 

I'm anticipating averaging around 18MPG most times, thats 3-4 MPG less than what I was used to, I knew this going in. I figure I could have spent another 5k for a used M3, gotten better mileage and a faster car but it would in no way make up for the price difference and lack of warranty. Same reason people buy a Dodge SRT8 or any other poor mileage car the pros out weigh the cons. If MPG is an issue for you then the 8 or any large V8 car is not a good choice for you. Me I'll spend the extra Benjamins and enjoy the ride.

I looked at a 3 while I was at the dealership getting my 8. Very nice little car withmore room inside than I expected. Once I pay off the 8 might get one to reduce the mileage on my fun car.

 

Something you might want to consider

Depending on the area you live in you can get a GT 8 in the 26-28 price range. That 2 grand goes a long way in the difference between gas milage of what you expect out of it and what your actually getting.

On another note. Most of those 8 that were getting less then 16 mpg were almost all early models 03/04's. I have not heard of an 05 or newer getting that kind of milage. You should expect 17-19 mpg in most conditions. Wether I drive mine hard or baby it, it gets about the same. The big difference is in highway driving where you should get 20-23 or better.

So, save a few buck by getting an 05 and that will temper you wallet at the gas pump...and besides...10 bucks a week extra is not really a big deal, and if it is, maybe you shouldn't be looking at a $30K car...

 

Hey another Gas Mileage thread... never seen one of these before........

Its a sports car. Thats not my excuse thats my reasoning with the mileage. If I wanted "great mileage" I would of bought a Mazda 3 or 6. The worse I've got in terms of mileage is 10.6mpg, best is 16.8, but thing is its my driving. I do 80/20 City/Highway, and most of my trips are short distance which is aparently well known.. our 8's dont like much for mileage. I knew about the mileage issue before I bought the car and before I found this forum (wish I found it before hand but 'eh! lol). Overall if this is the major issue keeping you back then maybe you should forget a sports car all together and buy a Camry.

 

Original poster made a comment about asking people who live with the car, day in, day out.


Everyday when I wake up for work, the first thing on my mind is not how much I dread waking up, or how long the day is going to be. No, my first thought, every single morning, is how awesome my 2 mile trek to work is going to be.

I look foward to driving this car every second of the day...its just that good. No other car has ever had this effect on me.


Gas mileage...meh. I'll have more fun with my 15mpg then you would with 19mpg in a 350Z. I've ridden in a 350Z...it's tacky in comparison with the 8, and the handling is...arguably worse.


8 FTW!

 

Harvard?

 

The gas mileage issue has been totally blown out of proportion by the whiners. As you can see, the RX8's mileage isn't much different than the other cars you listed.

S2000 20/26
350Z 19/25
G35 19/26
WRX STi 18/24
RX-8 18/24

 

I love my 8 and I can afford the gas; however, the excessive gas consumption takes the 'fun' out of driving it and I am going to get rid of it next summer. I travel a lot of business miles and every other day I am putting $50 in for gas. This is not practical no matter how much I love the car.

 

I too just bought my 8 a few weeks ago, and I must say I have never enjoyed driving the way I do now with this car. I have done things in this car that I never thought I would.

Gas wasn't an issue for me since I wasdriving an 04 Pontiac GTP, nice car as well bt I wanted a sports car this time. The GTP would give me 21MPG bt wasn't half as fun as this car. I have even stoppped listening to the radio since the sound of the engine to sweet (wife hates the no music part :D)

I do tend to drive the car hard so my mileage has always been 16-17 MPG.

But seriously if gas is an issue I would buy the 8 and then by like a $5k beater or so. That should even things out.

BTW I too test drove the 350Z and it just felt very very heavy, yes it did have more umph due to the low end torque bt in the end I just liked how light the 8 felt and yes the rotary noise, feels like an engine on perpetually on steroids.

 

estimate gas mileage? are you guys really getting these numbers? i dont think so.

 

if you can't afford buying the gas then don't buy the car...as simply as that..go and buy a honda hybrid if you're so worried about it.

 

I've been averaging 21 mpg lately, though that is about a 30/70 mix of city and highway; but up here in the morning commute you're guaranteed to be in some traffic somewhere. My commute is 22.5 miles long and once my lease is up I'm going to be looking towards moving somewhere closer to work so that I can put less miles on my car. That's because I feel every mile that is spent commuting in traffic and not tearing up mountains is a mile wasted.