Evil Weevil

Apologies if this is on the forum somewhere, but I coudn't find it...

Review from Topgear Website (dated tomorrow!?)...


Sitting in the late afternoon sun, Mazda's new RX-8 looks fantastic. It doesn't have the same air of sophistication as, say, an Audi TT, but with bold curves, wide wheelarches and glitzy details it makes for a brash alternative from a country proud to be different with its sports cars.

At the heart of it all is an equally unique rotary engine, developed from the ideas of Dr Felix Wankel. Mazda was one of the first mainstream manufacturers to realise the benefits of a good Wankel. It introduced the rotary engined Cosmo Sport 110S in 1967 and has been developing the technology ever since.

The latest generation RENESIS engine is a twin rotary unit with a combined displacement of 1.3 litres. Unlike its RX-7 predecessor, it doesn't rely on turbo-charging, yet manages to produce 189bhp or 228bhp depending on the state of tune.

Climbing aboard for the first time is quite an event. Behind each of the front doors is another mini door with no exterior handle. When the front doors are open, these open rearwards and leave a large pillarless hole to allow rear-seat passengers easy access. This makes the RX-8 surprisingly practical for up to four adults.

The interior is suitably performance-oriented, with a high transmission tunnel running between the front and rear sports seats. The dashboard is a bit plasticky, but it's nicely laid out and has a quality feel.

One of the main benefits of that RENESIS engine is its incredibly compact size. It has allowed Mazda's engineers to position it very close to the centre of the car, giving the RX-8 a mid-engined layout and perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

What this means in practice is well-balanced handling with little understeer. The RX-8 attacks corners with relish; feeling taut and controlled, and giving you the confidence to make the most of that rev-happy engine. Even in the less powerful 189bhp version, the pace builds swiftly and the snappy five-speed 'box and sharp steering don't say 'slow down'.

On the downside, a serious lack of low-end torque means you really need to work the gearbox, even when you're not in a playful mood. The more powerful 228bhp version actually has less torque, with 156lb ft at 5,500rpm instead of 162lb ft at 5,000. But you do get a six-speed gearbox to compensate.

In an attempt to woo fleet buyers, Mazda has offset the RX-8's high carbon dioxide figure and resulting tax percentage by keeping the list price of both models as low as possible. So what's good news for fleet managers is absolutely fantastic news for private buyers. Consequently, it makes a very serious case for itself on all fronts. It's so much more attention-grabbing than a BMW 3-Series coupe and costing from £20,000 to £22,000 it's a good deal cheaper and more practical than any of the latest crop of coupes.

If it were my money, I'd go for the visually identical and two grand cheaper 189bhp model. You only notice the power deficit when you're pushing it really hard and the extra torque comes in handy around town.

--- snip

let the comments commence

Hercules

Very old review... :\

Evil Weevil

Seriously?! Sorry 'bout that then. I guessed that as it was dated with tomorrow's date it must be a new one.

Interesting how they state that the car feels "taut and controlled"... sounds liek a different car from th eone reviewed in Autocar!

Lensman

No, that's a new review. That they correctly state the UK power outputs is proof of this. A mediocre review sad to say. That wretched 'T' issue again. I wish they'd resist the schoolboy 'Wankel' jokes too, puerile.

Hercules

Quite honestly, I believe it to be the same review... the horsepower figures may be updated but in essence, the article is the same as I remember it.

Looking forward to seeing it on TV though

Lensman

In that case I'd ask you to compare the two. Here's the first one:


Road test
Mazda - RX8
[December 02 2002]
I've just scorched along a Californian freeway at twice the national speed limit and am about to dive into a severe assortment of French Alpine switchbacks. This is all occurring 8,000 miles from home, near Hiroshima.

The location is the Miyoshi Global Proving Course, intended to copy the most challenging stretches of blacktop in the world, and the Mazda RX-8 is the reason we're here.

Just climbing in the RX-8 is a unique occurrence. It looks great: sharp, low and sleek, innovative coupe to rival the likes of the Audi TT. One of the key differences is that the RX-8 has what Mazda terms a 'Freestyle' door mechanism. Behind each front door is a secondary mini-door, with no external door handle. To give good strength in a side-on crash, the front doors overlap these rears. The latter hinge backwards to open, leaving a gaping pillarless hole to allow a pair of rear-seat passengers to gain easy access. They'll find similar space in there to a BMW 3-Series Coupe and plenty more than a TT offers.

The RX-8's driving seat, meanwhile, is low-set, supportive and multi-adjustable. It's all purposefully styled in here, with a smart two-tone, three-spoke steering wheel, drilled alloy pedals and broad swoops of aluminium-effect plastic running along the transmission tunnel that stretches the length of the interior.

I'm focused on the large rev counter that sits at the centre of the overlapping trio of instruments, set at the lower edge of my line of vision. The engine winds all the way round to 9,000rpm and I've little time to learn to make the best use of its potential.

This certainly sounds like no other powerplant. The subtly menacing whirring noise it produces is in fact closer to the motors propelling the Shinkansen Bullet Train that's sped us here across the Japanese countryside at speeds knocking on for 190mph. I'm driving the high-performance version of the RX-8, which in Euro spec will serve up a healthy 237bhp at a frenzied 8,200rpm. A 189bhp version will also be built but it's yet to be confirmed if this will come to the UK.

Back to our quick variation on the theme, and the power delivery is progressive, instantly accessible and builds rapidly in intensity. A snappy six-speed manual gearbox and the fact that the rev counter's needle zips so swiftly round the dial means that a relative lack of torque with just 156lb ft available at 5,500rpm rarely intrudes.

The same can't be said of the marshals standing at every corner, politely waggling 'slow down' signs at me. Then a bloke leaps out in the middle of the track brandishing a pair of illuminated batons, pointing me in the direction of a large tent. My presence is requested at a series of lengthy technical briefings.

First off, I receive an explanation of how the RX-8's rotary engine works. Essentially, the RX-8's powerplant does without a succession of cylinders and pistons like you'd find in a conventional engine. There's a large oval chamber instead, in which a roughly triangular 'rotor' rotates. Where the faces of the triangle pass the spherical sides of the chamber, three separate crescent-shaped spaces are formed. Within these, the stages of the combustion process - induction, compression, ignition, combustion and exhaust - all occur as each pass the inlet ports, twin spark plugs and exhaust ports, keeping the whole thing whizzing round. The RX-8 has two of these chambers, each with a nominal capacity of just 654cc each. This naturally-aspirated 'Renesis' engine is said to be up to 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the twin-turbocharged rotary unit fitted to the more hard-core RX-7 coupe that came before it. And so the briefing comes to an end I'm back behind the wheel again.

Even with the standard-fit Dynamic Stability Control system switched off, there's little squeal from the driven rear wheels when rapidly pulling away from a standstill. I soon find myself feeling completely settled and familiar with the way the RX-8 drives. It's agile but never edgy.

There's scarcely any understeer while a shove of the drive-by-wire throttle mid-corner does little to loosen the rear end either, just a sudden lifting off of the power with the suspension loaded up proving to threaten to send the tail stepping readily out of shape. Only the lightweight fully electrically-operated power-steering system can impinge on progress, at times feeling sluggish and numb to respond.

That's a criticism that can never be levelled at the RX-8's engine. Again it's encouraging me to delve into the extremes of its rev range so I seek out the motorway-style long straight and give it another thorough thraping. A warning chime indicates that 8,500rpm has arrived already, then there's a scrabble to reach a higher gear before the fuel cut off kicks in at a monster 9,000rpm.

Too soon, the signs are back out and my time with the RX-8 is over. And for a while, too - it's not officially on sale outside Japan until well into 2003...

Peter Grunert

MarkW

I beleive that is a new review, it is dated August 01 as Mr Weevil pointed out.

Lensman, I think this is a better balanced review than the Aurocar one by far. The only real negative is the torque, and we already know all there is about that.

Mark

Lensman

Yeah, I'm defending Autocar and criticising Top-Gear. I'm just perverse!

AndyPearce

I'm quite surprised that they'd go for the lo-power. Maybe the bhp reduction for the UK has brought the performance of the two a lot closer together in reall world terms.

renegade_si

Im quite happy to pay 2k for xenon lights and railed aluminium pedals.