Wing

Ok me = FREAK.

But I was just looking at my car in the garage and decided, what the heck, let's try the backseats (they weren't really a priority when getting the car).

Anyway, with my driver seat in my normal driving position I hoped into the back seat with no problems.

Then I sat there thinking WHOLLY S**T there is A LOT of room back here!

Head room was crazy, I almost felt like I would rather sit in the back.... almost.

I'm 5'9" and had LOTS of room. I would say I could sit back there for a LONG trip, not just a 10 minute jaunt in the city like some seem to claim.

When testing out cars I sat in the back of a BMW 320i and some other cars and they didn't really feel as big as the RX8 feels.

It's pretty damn comfy back there

Heck I had a tiburon before and it was like sitting in a car of sardines.

midniteblue

wow, so all that time you had your car, you never tried the backseat at all??? i mean yah they might not have been a priority but very odd that you wouldnt test out every part of the car thats accessible until now. haha but all good..glad you like the room

BRx8

haha...one of the first things i did was sit in the backseat...i mean, the BIGGEST draw of this car is the suicide doors and along with that comes trying out the back seats...

but i don't know if i'm a punk and i like to low ride but in normal position i have almost no leg room behind driver's seat...it's still easy enough to get in and out but very clausterphobic

B-Nez

After over 2 weeks and over 1100 miles, I still have not sat in my rear seats. The boys' booster seats went in while the car was still in the showroom, and they've mostly been in there since. I moved them to the trunk earlier in the week in case some co-workers wanted to ride to lunch (I like to share!), but hadn't managed to get back there myself. Heh heh, maybe next week. :D

mac

For those who actually sat back there

I found that looking from the outside the back looked cramped with little legroom but when I actually sat back there it seemed very roomy even for the legs.
Someone else on this board commented that the 8 is like the Tartus from Doctor Who, I have to agree. For a small car it's rather generous with the interior space. For those who say that the back feels clausterphobic, you better not sit in a Z3. Talk about tight.

midniteblue

still, sitting back there i do wish the windows would roll down to let more air in...

M-ster

That's was one of the first few things I did when checking out the 8 in the showroom. Adjusted myself in a comfortable driving position then move over to the back seat. No sweat, fit in comfortably. It is a very big selling point for Mazda to have these very acommodative +2 seater.

LiQuiDLaM

Sat on the 8 for my very first time today! the backseats are awesome! leg room was superb! but my hair was gelled up high so it brushed the ceiling! for a sportster, this car is amazingly spacious and comfy, even in the back!

Wing

Hehe, I figured I would be driving so what's the point. My g/f had sat in the back and when I showed my parents the car, my father and mother both tried out the back seats and didn't complain.

I sat in the back of my tiburon twice, both times was on test drives of other people taking over my lease 3 years after having the car.

I think I actually used the backseats of my tiburon a total of 4 max 5 times in 3 years!

So back seats was not a priority for me, heck I would have been happy with 2 seats. I just wanted a usefull trunk and no sports cars have this much room!

As for the front driver seats, I usually like it low, but in the 8 for some reason I have it set as high as it can go. I find my back doesn't hurt that way, must be an angle issue.

Shard

The back seats seem to have more leg room than shotgun in my friends RX-8.

BRx8

probably because the passenger seat is pushed too far up?

Shard

Well there's about "equal" space if that makes sense. It's just that the center intrudes on your foot space in shotgun.

Elara

My husband stuffed three coworkers in for a trip to Maryland today. On the way back, they got stuck in DC rushhour traffic for two hours- no one had any complaints, and two people fell asleep. The back seats are GREAT!

med_mx6

that's funny... so did I!
call me persnickety old man, but i would just like to clarify that the back seats are awesome only given how small/sporty the RX-8 is. I can totally see how those of you who are 5'-11" or taller have problems. The back seat was very comfortable... for my 5'-3" wife though! Anyway, I noticed the driver seat was probably all the way back (and not ridiculously reclined), and there were at most 3 to 4 inches between the front of the back seat and the back of the front seat. anyway, i still love the car... i have to say this is one of the very, very, very few advantages of being of small stature...

RockyMts

I'm six feet tall and had no problem fitting into the back seat. Head room was tight, but leg room was adequate. It would be nice to have seats behind me after owning two Miatas.

mac

I got to drive a Volvo 5T on Thursday (just before the blackout). Cool "land yatch", lot's of power, very refined. I decided to try the back seat remembering this thread. Guess what, I had no more room then the 8. I don't get it, this thing is a boat yet the back seat has so little legroom. You have to stick your feet under the driver's seat just like the 8.

MEGAREDS

I must have been in the wrong car when I was at the dealer last week... with me in the front seat, my eight-year old son had to sit "indian style" in the back because the gap between the front and back seat was too small for his legs. I really thought the "room for four adults" language in the brochure was "major puffing" (not quite fraud, but close). Maybe in Japan. I will have to go back and check it out, but I suspect that those of you who think there is a lot of room in the back aren't sitting behind 6-feet-tall drivers.

I tried the back seats too. With the seat forward, I had a fairly hard time getting in. My legs were ankles together and knees spread to accomodate the front seat. Don't get me wrong; I'm glad the back seat is there. I just think I wouldn't force anyone I love to be back there for very long.

RX22

I'm 6'5" and sat in the back while my wife was test driving it. I was sitting behind the salesman and was totally comfortable. I had more room than I usually have in an airplane.

I was also looking at getting a Volvo S60R, or an Audi A4, but when I figured out he 8 offered just as much backseat room, those 2 didn't have a chance.

Honestly, there probably isn't enough room behind me when I'm driving, but that's the case in just about anything when I drive. Unless its some land boat that I would never consider buying.

Gord96BRG

I'm 5'10", with a 32" inseam. With the drivers seat set for me, I can sit comfortably in the back seat and my knees aren't even touching the seat back. My son is 6' tall, and he fits comfortably behind me. There is genuine room for 4 average adults in the RX-8. Freaks of nature are always exceptions!

Regards,
Gordon

Zonker04

I went through a comparison web site and compared the rear seat headroom, shoulder room and leg room of the RX-8 to that of the 3-series BMW (a true compact sedan). IIRC, the RX-8 was equal to or better the Bimmer in everything but leg room, and in leg room it was almost as roomy. (Again, that's IIRC.)

mikeb

everyone that I show my car too is like wow you really do have back seats

jtimbck2

I've had people in my back set a couple times now (haven't yet tried it myself though, and I have 2300 miles on mine!). Nobody has complained, and one guy said "There's a lot more room back here than it looks like there would be". I wouldn't want to sit behind me though.

Slice

I like the pop-out rear windows! Likewise, I really rear seats. Thee only problem is I like driving soooo much, I'll never be in the back seat :D

B-Nez

For those who have posted about lack of space in the rear, here are a couple of tips I've figured out to get the most space front and rear. First, some background. I'm 5'10", and usually drive alone during my daily grind. Weekends the wife and kids ride with me. The kids are 4, and use booster seats in back. The challenge with them is that their legs don't reach the floor - their feet lie directly behind the seatbacks. Normally, I keep my seat reclined to where my wrists will just reach the steering wheel, and the seat back to where my foot can just bottom out the clutch pedal. When my son sits behind me, there is no room for his toes (e.g. dity shoes) behind my seatback. What I've found, is that decreasing the recline of the seat and sliding the whole seat back a little still gives me the perfect position to heel & toe and drive, and gives my son more toe room. For an adult-sized passenger this would net a bit more knee room perhaps. Now, I've gotten so used that seating position, I just leave it there all the time.

Rhumb

I'm researching my next car and the RX-8's on the short list. I too was quite impressed by how much room was back there, certainly a lot more than my current Probe GT. And the suicide doors make getting back there reasonably easy too.

On the down side, it felt like sitting at the bottom of a deep, if roomy, well. I'm not at all a fan of this high-silled, gun slit window look that seems to be in vogue these days, especially for performance cars, which, in my mind, ought to be about interacting with the outside environment, not hiding from it. While my Probe's back seat is definitely tighter, at least the passengers get a nice panoramic view. In the RX-8, all you could see were the seatbacks, the other backseat hermit, and if you strained like a giraffe, a peek at the outside world.

I would also miss the near station wagon like versatility of the Probe's hatchback and fold down seat backs. While I certainly understand and appreciate the RX-8's structural rigidity and the necessary bracing that precludes both the full hatchback and fold down seats, I too would have to mark that in the debit column.

Oh well, just thinging out loud here...