kvndoom

...and time doth fly.

So, in July of 2007 I drove home an RX-8. I haven't put a lot of miles on it because it's my weekend toy, but I am definitely still in love with this car. 5 days a week I ask myself what the hell I was thinking, but as soon as I sit in that car and start driving, all doubts melt away. So here are my thoughts after those first 12 months.

First off, I don't care about gas mileage. I'm going to throw that out there. I knew it was lousy when I got the car. The people who post how they're going to go 3 or 4 grand upside down to get rid of their RX-8 for something better on gas, well they deserve the **** invasion, especially since they're doing it to themselves anyway. If I had been looking for a daily driver, there's no way I'd have gotten the car anyway. There are plenty of 30MPG cars to be had for less money. I had 2 cars already, up until March of '07 when I sold the Volkswagen. And it was a TDI, it got about 40MPG in the city and 50 on the freeway. And I still hardly ever drove it because I wasn't enjoying the car anymore (I drove the 6 all the time). I wanted a TOY, something to play with.

I had a list of cars to pick from, going in to the deal. GTI, Speed3, RX-8, Miata, Mustang. All could be had in the same ballpark price range, and all are nice cars. I spent a lot of time reading up on these things and soul searching to decide what I wanted most. I eliminated the Miata because I really don't want a convertible and the ragtop would be wasted on me (I despise hot weather and usually run A/C whenever it gets about 55 degrees or higher... I have the moonroof on my 6 open all winter and closed all summer). The GTI and Speed3 were bumped off because they lack distinctive looks. They're hot cars, but in the end one still looks like a Rabbit and one still looks like a Mazda3. That's also why I didn't consider the Speed6. So that left the RX-8 and the Mustang. And suddenly I noticed something. EVERYBODY has a Mustang. I see them everywhere on the road, I see them all over the parking lot at work. RX-8's are a rare sight, and those cars you notice, and not just see. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I fantasize about having that V8 under the hood. But at the end of the day, I don't regret my final choice. And I love just looking at the thing. When I drive it to work on weekends I park in the wide open and there's usually not another car in sight. I find myself turning around to look at the car several times before it fades into distance. Now that's love.

At first I didn't drive the car right. I drove it like a normal car. I really didn't understand the Renesis or its nuances, and still had the "gas and go" mentality (i.e., I was a pistonhead). I'm VERY glad I found RX8club. Four years ago, I joined TDIclub.com and learned so much about my diesel and how to drive it and care for it. You guys have helped me in the same way. I feel now that I am driving properly and taking good care of the engine. I intend to keep this car for a very long time, but I feel that with such low mileage I need to take extra care. I check the oil regularly, keep some in the trunk. I redline as frequently as city traffic allows. I've got some Idemitsu on order and premixing will begin next week. I'm paranoid as hell, and really don't want to see an engine failure over the life of this car. I'd like to know from now until the end that I took care of it properly. I'm very grateful for the info and the people here. Sure you guys are a bunch of smartasses, but that's fine. I'm a smartass too. Feels like home to me.

Did I mention (like everyone else) that this car is a freaking blast to drive? The thing turns on a dime, sticks to the road as if it had Gorilla Glue for tires, and is so responsive you'd think it was driving itself sometimes. I've never driven anything this fun.

Does the car have its cons? Of course; no vehicle is perfect. I tend to get fatigued on long drives because it lacks a telescoping steering wheel and I can't get my left arm fully comfortable. Mazda really needs to consider this for future RX cars. I know this doesn't affect everyone, but it affects me a lot. The A/C is weak, almost pitifully so. Then again, the A/C in the 6 isn't that much better, so it may just be a Mazda thing and not an RX-8 thing. However, the "Floor+Panel" setting is really bad in the RX-8. I can barely feel air from the forward vents OR the floor when I put it there. It's more or less a useless setting and needs to be better balanced. And the stock speakers sound awful. I mean, really, really bad. I know not to expect stock speakers to be that great anyway, but they can be better than this. My VW had excellent sounding stock speakers, and once I got rid of the POS head unit I was in bliss. Even the crummy 12000$ Saturn SL I got back in 2002 had better speakers than this 28000$ MSRP Mazda. There's no excuse for that. I'm not going to budget a speaker upgrade until the daily driver is paid off next year though. Then I can afford whatever I want. I hope the amplified head unit in the 8 sounds as good as the passive unit in the 6 does (the 6 came with the god-awful Bose system, but after scrapping that and putting in a good amp and good speakers, I found that the stock deck has really great sound). I also hope it has enough power to drive some quality speakers without an amp, but if not I'll get an amp. No big deal. But those speakers will have to go.

All in all, not a lot to complain about with the build of the car. I do think Mazda needs to rethink the MSRP of the RX-8 though. I doubt anyone but the stupidest of people are paying MSRP, or even close. I got about 4300$ knocked off mine and the economy was nowhere near this shitty a year ago. I'm not saying that the RX-8 isn't a premium car. It is, and it's superior to its competition in many ways. But where it loses, it loses big. And that's speed/power and fuel economy. 1/4 mile and 0-60 times were never a factor for me, nor were big HP and torque numbers, but a lot of people make buying decisions on that in this 30000$ segment. And nowadays even a 2 or 3 MPG advantage is huge in people's minds. Face it, there are a lot of cars in this price range with more power AND better fuel efficiency. People who buy by the numbers are going to skip over the RX-8 every time. The retail of the RX-8 is going to have to come down appreciably before it will ever be anything but a niche car. I'd say 10-15% at least. I don't mind the exclusivity of being an RX-8 owner, but that isn't making Mazda any money. You can get a "sports" car that makes an efficient daily driver in this day and age. I hope the next rotary does deliver big numbers ad better MPG. That will justify the price.

Been sitting here way too long. I may edit this as more comes to mind. Anyway, after year one, I'm quite satisfied with this car still. I hope a year from now I get to write more of the same. Peace out.

delhi

I like niche car. Keep the price up Mazda. Sell more mazda3s, 6, cx-7 and make money off them to continually fund R&D for the Rotary technology.
Good write-up.

rxaddict

Very nice write up. I can relate in many ways, also having owned my RX-8 for just over a year. I too still find myself staring back at my car as I walk away, often becoming the subject of jokes by those around me.

But that's what a car like this should provide, and even with gas being what it is I still look for any excuse to drive.

As far as the stereo goes I couldn't agree more. I'm very picky when it comes to home audio; it's less of an obsession when I'm in the car, but great sound is always nice. I ended up swapping out the stock base (not bose) speakers for a pair of 6.5" Morel components in the front and matching 6x9's in the rear. The improvement in sound was pretty astonishing. It's easy to tell the speakers crave more power, but the actual in dash CD player sounds pretty decent.

Anyway, continue to enjoy the 8 as I know all of us around here do. And, if for whatever reason you start to get bored with it, start modding the suspension and you'll fall in love all over again!

RojoOcho

This is awesome dude. Hope you have another great year.

Robonaut

Wow, great post!

I totally agree about the floor+panel setting on the A/C. I've stopped using it because it was utterly worthless. Still, I find that just using the panel-only setting seems to work pretty well, except on the hottest (90 degree +) days.

I, too, was torn between getting a Mustang GT and the RX8. But then I actually drove the Mustang and realized that it had nothing going for it other than the engine and exterior. Also, if you think you see a lot of Mustangs where you live, I live and work in Dearborn, Michigan.

I actually have the Bose stereo in my RX8 and I like it just fine (which is surprising since I hated the Bose in my Audi TT). Of course, I listen to music maybe 5% of the time--I'm usually listening to one of the talk radio stations on Sirius.

As for gas mileage, yeah, I knew it was going to suck going in, but I have, like, a five mile commute everyday, so I wasn't too concerned. I am worried, though, that Mazda is going to end up killing the RX8 in USA just like they did with the RX7. They were already selling for well-under list price before gas hit $4 a gallon. The revised model may help this year a bit, but I just don't see how sales can do anything except fall off a cliff next year.

XlYesterdaYlX

My only gripe with the car is that the AC is....i'm not even sure if it's fair to call it an AC. Everything else is great though.