Mazda RX8 Thoughts

[ex-sco77morgan]

Mrs looking for new car any feedback or experiences with the above would be great

Cheers

[GRB]

There are quite good, plenty of kit for the money, the only downside can be if you drive them using low revs they can seem quite flat in performance as you need to rev them to get the best.

Also check out the tax cost as they are in a high group for emissions.

Go Drive one maybe enough for the mrs and a howler for the weekend drive

[tim-b]

low 20`s on mpg aswell

[jcb]

We have three at work, and they are nice comfortable for motor way cruising, pretty easy going round town and a hoot to drive on the country lanes. Ours have all proved very reliable and you can't fault the Mazda dealer network for customer service. Not quite as quick as I think they should be and it's no replacement for the RX7, but they still look fresh and there are not loads about. Expensive on fuel (average about 18 - 25 mpg depending on engine variant) and even worse if it's for a company car as the co2 (band G) is through the roof, depreciation if it's new is horrendous to.

Other cars to consider would be the Nissan 350z, BMW 3 series coupe, Alfa Romeo Brera or GT, Audi TT, BMW Z4, lotus Elise, all depends on what you are after out of the car as it's not really one thing or another.

[jim76]

Originally Posted by tim-b

low 20`s on mpg aswell

lol, that's if you drive it REALLY careful! MPG in the teens for normal driving!

and they drink oil like a fish.

Mr Doughty drives one, drop him a PM

[ex-sco77morgan]

Thanks lads this is great. Any known problems to watch out for ?? Got a TT at moment but time for it to go, so looking at something else needs two reasonable kids seats in back so Elise, Z4, 350z are not option. Any other ideas ?

[showtime]

Doughty actually owns/drives one & he loves it

i'd wait for his feedback

[GRIFF55]

A nice 135 coupe would be good, then you can get the daddy long legs in there too You can get rx8's for good money at the mo.

[ex-sco77morgan]

Seen a cracking prodrive one !!! Tried to get her to get M3 but wife not keen.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by tim-b

low 20`s on mpg aswell

if your carefull, thrap one and ur under 10 mpg

Originally Posted by jim76

lol, that's if you drive it REALLY careful! MPG in the teens for normal driving!

and they drink oil like a fish.

Mr Doughty drives one, drop him a PM

yup oil users too, my suggestion ask Chris

Originally Posted by showtime

Doughty actually owns/drives one & he loves it

i'd wait for his feedback

he got his from our dealership, was a good deal

[GRIFF55]

Originally Posted by sco77morgan

Seen a cracking prodrive one !!! Tried to get her to get M3 but she not keen.

Dont get the m3, useless. Well, i wouldnt be pestering to get one then

[showtime]

you need something with a V8 or V10 nowadays if you're prepared to pay for fuel consumption in the teens

[bodgit]

I seem to remember a post from long ago that if you moved them just a few yards eg to swap cars on the drive, if you did,nt follow a set close down procedure then they would not start next time. Flooding or something.

[GRB]

Originally Posted by bodgit

I seem to remember a post from long ago that if you moved them just a few yards eg to swap cars on the drive, if you did,nt follow a set close down procedure then they would not start next time. Flooding or something.

A guy at work had that problem, they fixed it with a software update though.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by bodgit

I seem to remember a post from long ago that if you moved them just a few yards eg to swap cars on the drive, if you did,nt follow a set close down procedure then they would not start next time. Flooding or something.

Originally Posted by GRB

A guy at work had that problem, they fixed it with a software update though.

yup to both

[DaveG28]

Originally Posted by mark christopher

yup to both

Really?

When I looked at buying one the salesman said the problem was "fixed", but when I pressed him on it the "fix" was to tell the customer to start the car and leave it running for 5 minutes before ever moving it, in case you stalled! Plus they were planning to then charge the owner for making it work again if it did fail, as it was now "fixed" and the customers fault for ignoring advice and not waiting for it to warmup....

I assume they have now actually fixed it properly then??

[BagofSkill]

If you love it get one. You already know the bad stuff, mpg, oil, warmup, no torque.... and you're still asking so buy with your heart not head. (It can be very satisfying).

But I got a Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 V6 instead. Fast, Comfy, lush interior, good seats for 5, big boot for RC kit or bikes, 25mpg, loads of fun and the girls love it!

[Colinevan]

I read that its still a problem upto a certain age.... 2005 onwards cures it i think.

You can get around it, by reviing to 4k and turning off as it burns the fuel up prior to cutting off, but i cant remember the proper procedure, i joined a mazda forum to read up on what goes wrong.

My choice is the M3 though, i had the older evo model, and one day will go back to an M3,

[bodgit]

A bit from parkers review

Performance
One engine is available in the RX-8 but it comes in two outputs of 192bhp or 231bhp. Confusingly the less powerful engine has more pulling power but comes with a five-speed gearbox rather than the six-speed in the higher output version. The engine itself is actually only a 1.3-litre unit - it's small size is down to the unusual rotary design, but while the power figures are good the engine does need to be worked quite hard to get the most from it. It has a characterful buzzy note and revs all the way up to 9,000rpm - but find yourself in too high a gear and the RX-8 will struggle to gain speed, which can make motorway driving tiring. But that's not to say the RX-8 is slow. The 231bhp variant races from 0-60mph in just 6.4 seconds and it's an enjoyable unit to exploit on a back road. Unfortunately fuel economy soon suffers as a result and while Mazda claims a figure of 25mpg is achievable (27mpg in the lower output car) in reality you'll be lucky to see more than 20mpg in everyday driving.

Car owners reviews
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/owners...transmission=M

[cjm_2008]

scott, have you actually tried fitting into a lotus elise?

LOL!