themisfits

Firstly let me say hello to everyone and that I hope to meet alot of like minded petrolheads on this site! :p
I currently live in Cyprus and was lucky enough to go to the national motorshow that was on till yesterday.... There I saw the Mazda Rx8, and it was brought to the island offically by Mazda themselves. Now I fell for the car when I saw one at a U.K motorshow that was being previewed a few years ago and when I got back home the only RX8's were being brought by private importers, which means that it would be very hard to find mechanichs who are able to service a rotary engine....
But now I found out that Mazda bring it offically over here, and for the price you do get alot of standard kit.
In addition to the Mazda I saw the alfa romeo GT which was in the same price range as the Mazda.....
Given the choice which would you guys go for?
Also is a rotary engine easy to live with or is there a constant worry over oil levels, engine reliability....

Sorry if these questions have been asked before, hope to hear your opinions soon.

Thanking you all in advanced.

Mike.

brothervoodoo

Hello, happy 1st post! I posted this in another thread, anybody interested in hosting this video, the show gave the nod to the RX-8.

Roaddemon

Welcome to the forum. I had a 1982 rx7 and loved it. Was the most reliable car I ever owned and very high in quality. I was overjoyed to see the rotary back in 2004 and bought a GT rx8. I love this car even more. It has been just as dependable so far. It is an extremely well built and the rotary makes it one of the best sports car on the market today. A test drive should prove the alfa pales in comparison.

TyrellCorpNexus8

In the UK, aren't you worried about gas prices and MPG? That might be your only real worry with the RX8. What is the rated mileage for the Alfa?

sjt

Isn't the Alfa front wheel drive?

Rxdriftingaction

dude ... I guess so... cuz.. it just looks like civic..!! :p
hey.. the reliable & oil level question... not tat serious.
but just 2 thing u got to worry about. #1 mileage. #2 lack torque. if u live in island I guess there must be so many hill or ramp.. something like that right.. :D when u downhill is fun.. but u have to go up the hill anyway.. so... the lack torque problem u have to consider about..

TyrellCorpNexus8

Oh right, he's in Cyprus, not the UK. How are gas prices in Cyprus?

Haze

Wow, this is a debate that I wish I could have had. I've had an old Alfa Spider, a '67 Duetto, for about eight years now, and it of course is an old car, doesn't have the power of the RX 8 or anything like that, but the design concept between Alfa and Mazda is very similar. They are looking for fairly light weight sports cars with smaller power plants and very stable directional control ie: suspension and steering. I see a certain amount of similarity between the Mazda and Alfa. They both have great styling, steering in the RX 8 is certainly Alfa quality as is the suspension, although a stabilizer bar upgrade would probably put the RX 8 from near the top to the top of road holding suspensions. Fuel mileage in the Alfa would proably be better, but I would check with the sales materials there to see. What Mazda would give you is a better dealer network and service. Let's face facts, Alfa has been dropping their customers on their asses when it comes to supporting the car, and Mazda in the US has been very good for us. I would assume that their support is as good world wide. It's a serious toss up, but I would think that the Mazda would give you more reliable transortation, and the same level of fun at the cost of some petrol. Test drive them both, and I for one would LOVE to hear the comparison. I love both my RX 8 and Alfa Romeo. They're just sublime cars. All the best - H

brothervoodoo

Here's some info from the show...

themisfits

Ah, this place is brilliant! Thank you all for a warm welcome and perfect answers.....
In some car forums you have to deal with kids who just swear alot, but here I am glad to say that the members are cool.
Gas prices arent really a problem here in Cyprus, but tax on cars is. Thats why I am aiming for one of these cars because for a reasonable amount of cash you can get a great looking car, and with the Mazda, some excellent performance.
I am a pretty hands on person with all things mechanical and wouldnt have a problem with checking and topping up oil levels and things like that, but if life with a rotory engine was hell and costly then I would not even bother with owning such a car. But from all your good comments it looks like that the stigma that was associated with owning a rotary has gone!
It is true, a test drive will have to be arranged, and only then I can decide, but from budget and performance the Mazda has the edge.
Thank you all again for the welcome and advice.
Mike

Haze

Hey -

I'm serious about wanting to know about the test drive comparisons. I really think that the Alfa should be a fun car to drive from all I've read, but I doubt if I'll ever get the chance myself. Definitely post ir or PM me so I can hear all about it. Enjoy that test drive!

Mr M

I drove a GT and an 8 late in the 8's development, before it was launched (about three years ago now).

You felt every bump through the GT suspension, it did not absorb small shocks at all, but compared to the 8 it was better to really throw around corners (like the ones you have in Cyprus). However, to me, it is not really a 'throw around' style car, not is it being sold in a 'throw around' segment. The 8 suspension then was quite soft, they stiffened it up a bit for production, but it is still quite pliant when driving hard. You might get a bit seasick driving it on your roads....

The semi-auto trans on the Alpha was horrible, but it was a test car so had been thrashed by all the journalists as well. The 6 speed on the 8 is pretty reliable now they have fixed 2nd gear.

Fuel economy? Who cares? Neither are Toyota Corollas...

Parts might be expensive. From memory tax on Japanese car parts is horrid in Cyprus, is it the same for Italian cars? (You'll probably need to buy more parts for the Alpha, so the overall cost might actually end up the same!!)

Finally, the Alpha is Italian, it will have a different feel to the interior and general quality than the Mazda. Sure, ***** and stuff break on the Mazda, but the overall interior feel is your typical Japanese car (in a good sense).

Have fun!

Rxdriftingaction

what what what?!!!????!
Rx-8 1-100 km/h 7.7 s & alfa 9.1 s...
and awesomly rx-8 80-120 km/h is slower than alfa..
unbelievable

shaolin

It's entirely believable because of the RX-8's no torque havin *** doing a clutch dump at 7500 RPM versus a rolling start where you can't just dump the clutch.

brothervoodoo

I want to note that the rx-8 being tested is a 5-Speed manual, the following may have something to do with the above data point. Show Quote:"The jumps between the gears is so big, that the lack of elasticity cannot be compensated for even by frequent shifting." I think the show knocked the 5-speed 8 for uneven power development. Even still, the 8 was rated/preferred over the alfa.

Furby

i'd take the 8, just to avoid the headache of the alfa. if you didn't already know, alfa's have a reputation of spending most of their time in the shop.

hotpot

The overtaking acceleration of the 8 is one of its weaker points; Lack of torque.
Read overtaking acceleration comparisons with other cars with similar hp, and the 8 loses every time, and by quite a margin.

hotpot

I'm a good friend of the owner of the Alfa dealership here. As a friend, he would not recommend me buying an Alfa. Although they have improved greatly in recent years, Alfa's are still a long way from achieving Japanese or German reliability.

RXE16T

The Alfa is a classier Italian Type R wannabe whilst the 8 is unique in its own class..... nuff said.

zevans

This is not a problem. I have driven mine across Gotthardpass in Switzerland (see avatar) and through 500 miles of the Corniche and Route Napoleon in France. This car climbs, believe it. Remember, it's lighter than most turbo cars out there, the final drive is 4.444, and you don't hit 1:1 gearing until fourth gear.

And the brakes are FANTASTIC which makes it a good car for roads with hairpins.

I drove along most of the South coast of Cyprus in a crappy holiday hire car - I can assure you the RX8 would demolish those roads with no problem.

zevans

Oh, and some thoughts on the Alfa (not driven one though)

The latest model is supposed to have fixed Alfa's reputation for falling apart.

It's FWD which is a major difference!

hotpot

The 3.2l V6 Alfa GT would be nice though.

Gord96BRG

From those numbers, and the mention that the RX-8 tested was a 5 speed manual - that RX-8 was the Base Euro RX-8 with the LOW-POWER engine, sold in Europe with a 5 speed, that is only available in the US behind the 4 spd automatic trans.

Those are NOT numbers for the HI-POWER, 238 hp, 6 spd manual North American spec car (or Euro HI-power spec car).

Regards,
Gordon