Though not as long as you're talking about, I've taken mine on several decent length drives for work. I'm based in Grand Rapids, and often have to go to Toledo (about 180 miles) for a week of work. I also cruise over to Detroit frequently. Had to go to Milwaukee when we had that heat wave a few weeks back. Chicago traffic on a 103+ degree day wasn't so great, felt like the AC struggled to keep up in some of those traffic jams. I have leather, so the seat gets warm after a while, but not uncomfortably so.

If I can keep my foot off the gas and cruise at 70-75, I'll get 23-24 mpg in my '04. 20 or a bit less if I drive like I like, in the 85+ range.

Road noise is low, engine sounds like the bastard love child of a purring kitten and a jet turbine; subdued enough to be peaceful, but loud enough to let you know it's there and spinning perfectly.

I see no reason why the vehicle would have any issues over long distances. Even in that record heat Milwaukee-Grand Rapids drive, I had no mechanical issues.

 

The reality is quite the opposite!
The rotary will run all day long at high speed with no issues but it WILL DIE an early death if driven slowly in stop-and-go traffic all the time, especially if aggravated by high temperature.
That said, there are mods to deal with the stress of stop-and-go traffic if one cares to research the volumes of information contained on this forum.

 

ive been curious just because its a sports car...more of a grand tourer but a sports car.

Taking mine from FL to NY next month and back! so excited!

 

To be fair, it's a grand tourer that thinks it's a sports car, because it's older brother is THE sports car

 

Well quite frankly you see a lot of horror stories of people with overheating issues.

When I did some research it seemed everyone agrees that the stock cooling system is about as good as it gets but if theres modifications I can make to ensure the longevity of my engine in terms of upgraded cooling, better oil pressure, "etc." please post me a link and i will be happy to read. This forum does have a lot of stuff on it which does make searching more difficult and I do most of my forum searching at work so I have windows of downtime LoL

 

Try the threads in my signature.

Complied for that very reason.

 

Yeah, doesn't usually seem to be a significant issue in well-maintained cars, especially on the series 2 cars with the upgraded cooling system. In the worst summer heat around Palm Springs, even in stop & go traffic, I've never seen the scangauge display more than 215 degrees.

 

As far as comfort, I used to make the drive from Little Rock to Ft. Campbell KY quite a bit, back in 07-08, very comfortable, no lower back issues. I am 6'2" 250lbs, try that in a 350Z!

 

+1 on a great car for road trips. I have driven my 04 back and forth from north of Columbus, Oh to Louisville, Ky (about 4 hrs/250 miles) about a half dozen times. Of all the vehicles I've taken on road trips 200 miles and up, the rx8 is the most comfortable one. I never seem to get restless when I'm in it like I often do in other vehicles. Avg mpg is around 23-25, every bit as good as my rx7's but with far more comfort and better quality.

 

All I can say its fantastic.I live in Western Australia and my RX8 has done. 290900Ks mostly long drives. They really love it. As it is drivers car I finds even after sitting for maybe 3 hours I am not fatigued. I have done over 800 ks in a day.

 

I've noticed when i drive with my wallet in my pocket it starts to hurt like im getting a charlie horse but without it i feel very comfortable.

 

I'd rate it VG on long drives. There is some road noise; maybe it's from the OEM Bridgestone tires. Sometimes I'll bring a pair of Bose noise-cancelling phones along - the road noise just disappears!

 

The cloth seat doesn't have enough back support, and the big nerve running down the right side of my butt kinda hurts after a while... But I move around to keep myself awake, and get comfy, and it does really well!

I just drove from LA to CO, about 1,200 miles each way. Car did just awesome. I did boil off some coolant at 10,000 feet going uphill, but other than that it was fine. Did 85-95 through a lot of Texas with no problems.