well, first of all, it is AMAZING looking in person. pictures in no way describe how cool this car looks.

second impression was the fact that the interior is cramped. 4 adults? hah
it's not that it is really that small inside. just snug from left to right. and I am a small guy. 5'9"
Maybe not that small, but everything that mazda is touting, and from pictures it looks so much larger

performancewise?
It rev's really nice. is really quiet. and is begging to be ran up to redline. and the cornering. wow. this car is awesome. Every gear slams home perfectly.
I almost walked away with one today, it feels very very sporty. and is a great drive. I really enjoyed it.

I think what finally swayed me was the gas mileage. I don't think I am getting 18/24 mpg worth of performance.

It is a sweet car, and I wish I could have one, but I think I'll be sticking with the WRX for a while until something more compelling comes along.

 

I think if it met mazda's initial estimate of 30 mpg, I would have one right now.

it really is very nice.

 

yes,gas mileage is going to be an issue for lots of potential buyers,im starting to wonder myself but will wait for a test drive.just for comparision 390hp v8 svt mustang city 16 hgy 22 305hp v8 mach 1 17/25.

 

With all the gas mileage talk you would think this is the Honda Civic forum :D It is a sports car -- who really care about the gas mileage? I don't remember what kind of mileage my 1st gen 79' RX-7 got and 20 years from now I doubt I will care or remember what kind of mileage my 8 got either -- but I will surely remember the smiles they put on my face :D

 

not worried about the actual mileage,its just that i find it hard to believe that i can get 390hp sc v8 for close to what the rotary is getting.please dont flame me here cause i still love the rx8 and im not backing out of my preorder(unless they dont deliver buy mid aug).

 

You'll be lucky to get those numbers from the cobra if you coast downhill in neutral

Yes, if your grandmother drove the cobra she might get that mileage... don't forget that the type of car you drive affects the mileage a lot. In other words, yes the RX-8 may be capable of 18/24 in optimum conditions in a lab, but it's a hi-revving sports car and you will find yourself taking advantage of that fact and therefore lowering your mileage. Same thing in a Cobra.

Honestly if you are nitpicking over a few mpg, you are driving the wrong car. As long as my RX-8 gets better than 8mpg, I could care less

 

I understand what akrx8 is saying. We've been hyped by how efficient the rotary is and how the modification of the exhaust ports gave it better emissions. Our expectations were just brought to high, I guess. I agree that it's a high-revving sports car and therefore the mpg numbers are going to reflect that, but I'm just a little disappointed because of the hype. Anyway, as long as we don't have to pay that gas guzzler tax, we're ok, right?

 

OMG stop moaning about the gas milage.

You get your gas practicaly free. Biggest real cost of a car is its depreciation anyhow.

 

Well, I figured I'd chime in a bit about the gas milage, just because I just got mine and can do a decent comparision.

Right now it looks like I'm going to get between 17/18 MPG for this tank. I'm driving the car "spiritedly" (i.e. not babying the hell out of it, and normal shifts around 4-5k, taken up to about 7 for brief shifts every once in a while...manual says not about 7 for a bit, I'm listening). Anyway, I'd say I'm driving this car similarly to how I drove my Z28 before I got rid of it...and let me tell you the pickup is a hell of a lot smoother, very similar in speeds, and can still bounce you back in the seat a bit. Guess what, I'm also getting the same gas milage I got from my Camaro Z28 driving that way too. So, I'm happy...we'll see if that changes when I start hitting the rev limiter and hearing that buzzer. However, if the car can hold its own against my Camaro now, I'm sure it'll beat it once I start "driving" it.

Basically, I'm really happy; steady, smooth, very deceptive accelleration very similar to my Z28 with quicker more precise and smoother shifts in between gears. That's taking the car to 4-5k revs before shifting too (right about where I HAD to shift my Camaro before the engine felt like it was going to blow). It does this while getting similar MPG...yeah, I'm happy.

edit: Oh, and I have everyone's attention at the office, they're all peering out the window at the car wondering who's it is as I strole by with a smile and pretend I have no clue :D. I never receieved that response with my Z28 (well at least since I had the stereo stolen and stopped shaking all their office windows when I pulled in :D).

 

i went to go take a look at the X-8 yesterday and on the sticker it said Average Annual Gas Cost: $1248.00...

 

I drive a Chrysler New Yorker 5th Avenue now. I commute 52 miles to work each day (round trip) and spend about $100 a month on gas getting about 20-21 miles per gallon.

Change from regular to premium, maybe 17-18 mpg instead, it turns into $50 or so more a month.

Pennies when comparing the enjoyment on an RX-8 vs a 91 beater.

 

I think mileage should be an issue. Why should a car with 4 cyl torque and 6 cyl HP have 8 cyl gas mileage?

 

But what could you get for what the Renesis weighs?

 

If you can afford the current sticker price for this car, you should have no problem spending an estimated $250 more / year in fuel costs.

Get over it or don't buy it. Leave more options for me to pick and choose from.

 

I don't think anyone ever said the rotary was FUEL efficient. It was the displacement/hp/engine size efficiency they were talking about. I don't like a gas guzzler as much as the next guy but 18-20mpg I can live with.

 

18/24 is about right for a 250hp car. My previous S2000 got an average of 25 mpg.

 

Please no offence jbebernes, but if you are asking that question the RX-8 is not the right car for you.

 

Just like to agree with RobDickinson -

Your fuel is practically free anyway - what on earth do you care if it does 20 or 22 mpg ?
Really not an issue in the slightest.

I am very interested in what the owners are telling us concerning MPG because in the UK it is a very real issue.
We pay ~6$/gallon (our gallons are a bit different so it works out at ~$5/gallon equiv).

It gets a bit irritating hearing people who pay 1/4 that moaning about MPG. We see it as you are moaning about the car only doing 80MPG - as that is what we would have to do in order to match you price/mile ! ! !

Anyway - nuff said. Real info gratefully received.

regards to all -

morgan.

 

No offense taken - and, since I have not bought an RX-8, it could be considered self evident that it is not the right car for me.

However, as a long time fan of Mazda I am concerned about the 8. I fear they have created only a niche car that will appeal (OK, greatly appeal) to a few true enthusiasts. Like a lot of the people on this board, I am hoping for a lightweight, 300+ hp RX-7. As Mazda's first foray back into the rotary world, the 8 has to be a strong seller for the 7 to be reborn. To the masses, things like ergonomics, bullet-proof reliability, and, yes, gas mileage count for a lot.

 

MorganRogers - in most countries a car is a luxury. In most of the USA it is a necessity, there is no public transport option. For example in Houston (4M population, 4th biggest city in the USA, over 2000 square miles) there is no public rail, no subway, and almost no buses or taxis in the vast suburbs so almost everyone HAS to drive. New York, San Francisco and Chicago do have good to reasonable public transport, whereas Los Angeles is even worse than Houston. Most families have one car per driver if they can afford it, even if they are heaps. And the sheer number of miles that people drive outside the big cities is huge - between our two cars my wife and I do well over 30k miles a year (and she doesn't work). So petrol needs to be cheap - I know people with $300 beaters that spend 5x the value of their car in petrol every year.

Remember that gasoline costs the same per barrel throughout the world, it is only local taxes that make the final price different to the consumer. In the USA that added tax is <10% in most places because it is a necessity for life here (like electricity etc), whereas in the UK it is more like several hundred percent - complain to your politicians...

 

Pelucidor -

No offence intended or implied - I am painfully aware that any gas prices are at the mercy of politics !

My point is merely that (through no fault of anyone here be they US or UK citizens) your cars do cost (relatively) naff all to run.
20mpg is perfectly acceptable in a country with gas prices as low as the US.
(hence monster V8s being commonplace - try finding them in the UK !)

Coming back to the point - Facts on the RX8 consumption in the real world is extremely interesting.
Moaning about MPG figures when viewed from areas with different laws to your own *is* irritating.

Anyway - A smiley to prove no malice.
All opinions purely my own etc etc....

Morgan.

 

(On gas prices) I do 20000 miles a year here in the UK, equivelant price of 80000 miles a year in the US - petrol(gas) being 4 times the cost here.

Yes it is because our polititians have put so much tax onto our petrol its now 80% tax, and about the highest cost in the world.

And if you think we have a usable public transport system your dead wrong. The London underground is about as good as it gets, and thats not great. Rail network is appaling if and when the trains turn up, busses are only in cities but are slow,smelly, crowded, bad routes etc - and in my home city of liverpool often full of scallies(young agro lads) and smokers etc. Busses dont run outside of cities either, and we do have some countryside left you know..

If I wanted economy I'd be looking at some small deisil thing (by small I mean small, not focus sized - thats medium here) - Audi A2 or something.

 

Just wait and get a K&N filter charger you can gain a mile or two per gallon if you drive normal (ha)

Then when a true dual exhaust comes out you can gain a mile or two off of that.

Then you can have more HP and better Gas milage (money well spent)

 

I wouldnt put another air filter/system near my 8..

I'm sceptical another exauhst system will be any better too.

 

The thing to remember when counting fuel economy is the relative difference. If car A gets 20mpg while car B get 22mpg the real difference is 2mpg. If you spend $2000 on gas for the year on car A, car B will only cost you 10% more or $200. Big deal. Over the time you own the car, average 4 years that's $800. You lost more then that the min you drove it off the dealer lot.

Yes it might hurt when you are standing at the pump but if you are that worried about the cost, you should have bought an old beater for $500 so that the car will not depreciate on you.