Afternoon Gang!
The two RX-8's that are touring the country have made the stop here and all I can say is WOW!! Yellow 6spd Sport Pkg. and Green auto Sport Pkg. Both colors look great. Smoked the drivers down for some info. So far they've put 8500 miles on the cars. They have not experienced any mechanical problems on the trip. IE overheating etc. They are not babying them, avg speeds have been in the 80 - 90 mph range. Averaging 21 miles per gallon. Navigation system is large and easy to read. Large letters etc. Quality of interior seems much better than pre production units that were at Rev it Up. The car is so quiet and revs so effortlessly that the speed can catch up with you quickly. Should be taking a ride here as soon as the gaggle of people thins out and will let you know what a first time ride experience is like. One other thing, performance of the automatic is better than what I thought it would be. The drivers said it is definately quicker than the Mazda 6, so the specs in the RX-8 book that stated mid 9 sec 0-60 times was a little off.

 

Keep the reviews / updates coming...


BTW - Are the cars coming back through Houston this week? If so, where and when?

 

After they leave Austin they are heading to the Minn/St Paul area. Get new drivers there and then off to points west!

 

Just got back from driving the 6spd. Wow and double Wow! Very linear power delivery. Smooth all the way to redline. Quick, not brutal quick but sneaky quick. 1st to 2nd shift will put you back in the seat. Very nice steering, just the right feel and very direct. Didn't detect any weird creaks or groans from chassis or suspension. Suspension is stiff but does not have that buckboard feel and the roads around the dealership are not very good. Eccles will testify to that. All in all it was everything I was expecting and a little more. I think once you get to drive yours all the angst of the wait will fade into oblivion.

 

I had no doubts about the driving feel, but I was worried about the interior quality after seeing the Rev-It-Up car. Thanks for allaying my fears. Would you say the plastics are as good as a Mazda 6?

Glad to hear the 21mpg info too - not as bad as I expected if they are driving 80+mph.

 

Actually, I think the interior might be better than the 6. Everything felt and looked good. First time I'd sat in a cloth car and was pleasantly suprised. Also, while talking to the techs that were with the cars, the performance is much better than the pre production units that everyone has tested.

 

I thought I was excited before....this is very good news. The 21 mpg @ 80+ is great. I certainly can live with that.

Will the RENESIS get any better mileage once 'broke in' ?

Thanks once again budaman for your posts. Was there anything that was LESS than you had imagined?

 

Thanks Budaman for the info. Very encouraging! :D :D

 

I missed them today at Mazda South, but I'll try to catch them in the morning at Mazda North. I want to see the yellow, dammit! Not that I'm about to change my order or anything, but I want to see how it compares to the wife's yellow Miata.

 

Budaman:

Thanks for the great report on what we're all anxiously waiting to experience ourselves.
:D :D :D :D :D

 

Monday morning (7/14) they will be headed from St. Paul MN through South Dakota. Their first planned dealer stop will be Gateway Mazda In Aurora CO. I can find out what day if anyone is interested.

 

I was able to catch a glimpse of the RX-8 driving through Louisiana a couple weeks ago...
we were able to get a short clip of the yellow one... The clip has some wind noise so keep the volume low...


Sorry, I guess the clip did not make it through. It is a 1.5 mb zip file...