Edmunds.com is keeping their long term RX-8 car and even though they pick on the fuel mileage and oil use, they still like it. They also have plans for thier RX-8 :

"We liked this RX-8 so much that we've decided to keep it and use it as our first Inside Line project car. Stay tuned to see how we try to improve this already fine sports car."

Interesting note:

Edmunds averaged 17.5 mpg for 18,805 miles on their RX-8. And they constantly complained about it, but did admit their spirited driving probably didn't help the Fuel economy. The SCION TC they are testing is only averaging 18.7 mpg and not a single word about the MPG! I mean the Tc should definitely get better than 18.7 mpg and certainly one would expect it to.

 

OUCH! As an aside, my mileage over the first 3000+ miles is almost exactly what Edmunds found. Don't like it, especially since my Prelude averaged in the mid-20's, but if I'd bought a Scion and was getting 18.7 mpg, I'd be LIVID.

 

haha Toyota's Scion brand is supposed to have Toyota's high MPGs too, oh man livid is an understatement :P

 

^^wow taht really sucks...aren't they supposed to get liek high 20's in town and liek mid 30's on teh highway....lol i'd be pissed to if i was making 10 less mpg:p hehe and i thought i had it bad with my 8:D lol jokes on teh Tc

 

Interesting how some many articles focus on the mpg of a sports car and ignore it in other cars that should obtain higher figures.

 

My old '94 Integra LS with an AEM SRI got around 30mpg, sometimes over 33 and that was with over 190,000 miles! Am I upset with my 19mpg I get in my 8? Not when I'm sliding the back end out through a turn i'm not... :D

 

Mine was 19s when I first got it, down to 14s after break in and now with about 6500 miles the last two tanks have been in the 16-17 range. Smile still the same through every tank though.

 

Nice post 6speed8!! I think the whole MPG thing is blown way out of proportion with the 8. At the end of the day...I was able to afford the car, I knew about the bad MPG, I bought the car, I cut the check every month and I love my 8!! Did I mention I love my 8.

Now the Tc getting 18MPG........as you guys already said...I would be pissed!

- Irish

 

I think the real reasoning of why they rag on the RX-8's gas mileage so bad is because of the rotary engine. Of course there are other cars that are piston based that suck up a helluva lot of gas too but there are also other things wrong with the engines so they focus on those things instead. With the 8, you can't really find much wrong with the engine so they focus on the fuel economy...Well, that's what I think at least

But I did think the SCION would be better on fuel...I guess not!!

 

Yep, I don't care about the gas mileage either...To me it's not that damn bad and plus I can afford it. I have another ride that I take to work and dog the hell out of anyway so I'm not using that much gas in the first place. My 8's my baby and she can have as much gas as she wants :D

 

Yeah. Those idiots look at total mpg, not what car should get. That 160hp Scion getting 18.7 is like the rx8 getting 12mpg. I'm confused about that mpg reading. It's listed at getting 22 city and 29mpg highway. Maybe they are really beating the **** out of it, or that is way overrated. That's where the rx8 is different. There is not that huge discrepency in city to highway mpg like many cars. My STI gets 25mpg highway, but in city a dismal 16. I can get like 10mpg if I jump on it hard too. Go figure.

 

For how much fun the car is to drive I think the mpg is worth it. When I first got the car I was so scared of driving it hard in fear of always being at the pump but like my friend said "You bought a car cuz you thought it was fun. So go have fun and quit worrying about gas mileage!" If I wanted great gas mileage I would have gotten a Corolla.

 

I care less and less about fuel economy as I put on the miles...

I have 1625 miles on my 8 and I have NEVER (so far) gone under 18.7mpg. My last tank was the worst one so far and it's still higher than the city avg. I really pushed her alot more than normal last week and I was still able to get pretty good fuel economy for a sports car.

I can't wait to take a trip in my 8 so I can see what a full tank in the highway will give me.

I can't wait to hear more about Edmunds RX8...

 

I'm not surprised Edmunds is opting to hang onto the 8 and play around a bit.

As for the mileage issue, for us on the board it is, of course, a dead horse...

For a small displacement 4-banger, the Scion's mileage is beyond abysmal. Even after 11 years of flogging, I used to get 25-26 MPG city in my old trusty Ford Probe GT, and that was a 2.5L V6 rated at about the same peak power (~160 HP).

Anyway, when we moved to cooler climes (to DC from Alabama), my RX8's mileage in the city took a dip from around 19 down to 17 this past winter. Finally got around to getting the "N" flash, however, so I'm thinking I'll prolly see a little improvement. Bottom line, though: I really couldn't care less about the mileage -- it's worth the (slightly greater) cost of admission to drive the RX8.

 

I don't understand how the mileage thing continues to be beat into the ground... it's a friggin' sports car. Drive it like a sports car. Refuel and repeat. I'm still amazed at those that buy a car like the RX8 and worry if they're getting what the EPA rated the car at. The Scion however is a different story- it's just a sporty econobox.

I think Mazda set expectations too high when for years before releasing the 8 they talked about how great the Renesis was for emissions and fuel economy (compared to the 13B). Now the magazines seem to harp on it continually. You don't seem them say that about a Porsche ever...

 

Yeah...In all city driving I would get 24.5mpg on my Probe GT too...that little car was very reliable and it's a shame FORD punked out on it.

I know this topic has been beat to death...but as long as people care about money or range in a car...people will complain, so I understand the complaints. Heck...if I was getting 10mpg I'd be taking a trip to Mazda's HQ. LOL

 

Weren't the Mazda MX-6 and the Ford Probe basically the same car, with the same chassis and engine? If so, then the engine was built by Mazda! At least, it was in my old MX-6.

 

Yeah...your right, the Probe was built by Mazda for Ford...it that engine had 200HP and was RWD...I think I would have kept it.

 

The entire powertrain was built in Japan and integrated into the PGTs and MX6s on the same assmbly lines in Flat Rock MI. The PGT was spec'd to have more aggressive suspension and tires, but other than the PGT being a hatch and the MX6 having a trunk, they were the same car (along with the 626).

1993 ( when I got my PGT) was indeed a banner year for Mazda -- the PGT took Car of the Year honors, and the (new "FD") RX7 took "Import" Car of the Year honors, when Motor Trend was still distinguishing between imports/domestically-built cars.

The PGT was a great car -- that's why I kept it so long. Learned a lot about cars by playing around with it. I did a lot of "maintenance" mods -- nothing extreme, but as old parts wore out, I'd replace them with parts that were more modern or higher quality/performance -- nothing cheap, though. Spent a lot of time on another really great online forum -- ProbeTalk

When I decided to get the RX8, it wasn't worth trading in the PGT, so I "gave" it to my younger bro for $1500.