OK, I've had my car for a week now and only have 400 miles on her so I haven't really opened her up yet. My impressions so far:

Need to accelerate from 20 to 60? No drama. Just a firm and constant push in the back without the "sound and fury" of most cars.

Need to load four adults and go blasting around the back roads? No drama. Just four massive grins.

Need to hang with a 911 Carrera on the freeway offramps at 35 mph over the posted limit? No drama. Just a flat tight turn with those wonderful seats holding you snugly in place.

This car handles everything you throw at it with such composure its unbelievable. Maybe when she broken in I'll challenge her more but so far this car is just amazingly competent in every way.

I've been reading all the owners' posts for months about how awesome the car was so my expectations were extremely high. Now that I"m finally an owner, I know what you guys mean.

A hearty well done to Mazda.

 

You suck man - I read stuff like that and it just makes it harder to wait the remaining 5-6 weeks for mine. aaaaaah!!!!!!! sometimes at work I forget that I actually have to get down to the business that allows me to buy this beauty to begin with!

Glad you're having fun and treating it right..

 

Same here, but for me it is 4 months that I have to wait for. Oh well, anticipation builds desire, so in June I'll be real happy with my new Rex.

 

You will find that it will be worth the wait.

 

Blue87Sport,
Notice in your sig you have an RX-7.

Care to make a comparison between your two fine rides?

 

Ive owned mine since October and has fluided once. Besides that it's awesome

 

If you think the 8 is "no drama," driving a Porsche Boxster is just completely boring by comparison, as it handles anything you can throw at it so well, it all just becomes... well, boring.

The RX-8 does have some body roll as compared to the Boxster, but for a car that costs $10K - $30K less (depending on if you're talking 2.7 Boxster or Boxster S) it really does handle very, very well.

I suspect if the reviews I've read to date are correct, the Mazdaspeed RX-8 should tighten up handling just that little extra bit to truly make the 8 world class...

 

Rxeighter,

My 2nd gen RX-7 has a high flow cat , Racing Beat catback and KYB performance shocks. So it is much noisier and harsher riding than the 8. The ride in the 8 is much more refined. The 8 has more power in lower RPMs so driveability is better. I find I can accelerate in the 8 where in the 7 I would have to downshift to obtain the desired result. I haven't taken the 8 past 6500 RPM yet so I can't compare the top end.

As for handling, both corner really well. The 8 seems smoother and more settled but does have a bit more body roll.

Interior and amenitiies are no contest in favor of the 8 but then you're comparing it against a 17 year old car.

Bottom line: both have high "fun to drive" factor but the 8 is light years ahead in refinement. The 7 was the perfect car for a 20-something guy with no kids (then). The 8 is perfect for a 40-something with kids who still enjoys driving a real sports car.

Saturn and Rex, there's always additional test drives to ease the pain of waiting. Think of them like foreplay.

:D

 

Well, I'm a 20-something (in the upper range) with no kids and I think the 8 is perfect for me too, so I guess Mazda can't go wrong with this car.

Except that I'd be high-reving and corner blasting with someone else's future 8, and somehow being on this board as filled me with too much respect for 8 drivers to be so cruel. :D

 

The RX8 is great but be realistic. You guys sacrificed performance for luxury/styling. The RX8 doesn't hold a candle to the Evolution. Compare apples to apples. Its like comparing a Caterham to a Ferrari or a Civic R to a Volvo. It just doesn't make sense.