Nothing too interesting. Not sure if this is a repeat:

http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/rx8/2009/review.html

 

sounds about right, he accurately described the pros and cons of the rx8.. nothing really new to add from reviews in the past.. other than the improved nav

 

haha - 7 seconds to 60 - they suck at driving. and i don't mean clutch drop.

 

Mazda barely changed anything so don't expect reviews to change. Also, if they only managed 7 seconds with the new aggressive gearing they're pretty pathetic.

 

7 seconds .... with the 4.777 gear ? ... edmunds failed ...

I can do faster than 7 seconds with my *older* gear ... *shrugs*

 

Fail.

 

edmunds always fails. it's basically one step up from consumer report

 

Edmunds does a better job than most of the rags at least they don't seem as much of a sell out.

They don't get great 0-60 times but they are probably close to what the average consumer would get anyway. I know my car does not get 5.9 0-60 just because CD abused the clutch and probably did 15 drops to get that time doesn't mean its a 5.9 car. Last review C&D did they listed 6.5 to 60.

 

the car does 0-60 in a solid 6.5 seconds without clutch abuse if driven correctly.

Feathering the clutch at 4,500 rpm will easily get you to 60 mph in 6 seconds if driven correcly.

 

I thought that it was a good review. I would've liked to see them say more good things about the car's handling and I thought "23" was a good movie, but overall, they didn't do a bad job...

 

starting from 0 rpm in first gear, it does take roughly high 6 seconds or low 7 seconds to get to 60. thats realistic everyday conditions. I'm sure most normal people can also hit mid 6 seconds without too much effort if they launch it properly under everyday conditions too...

they did mention several times about the exceptional handling, balance and comfort, people just tend to focus on the negatives.

 

Yea, I mean if you put the car in 1st gear at idle and then floor it. I'm sure it will take 7 seconds, but thats not how you rate a car's performance. When you're trying to get numbers for a car you should be doing whatever it takes to get the best time.

Do you think race car drivers go around a track trying to be careful on the car? Hell no, they're trying to get the best possible numbers.

Most magazines have a time called a "rolling start" which is from 5mph. It's done with the clutch already engaged in 1st gear. I believe that number for our car is in the low 7's.

 

Edmunds probably don't do clutch drops and launch with minimal wheelspin with default settings, meaning with DSC/Traction ON.

 

we are talking about edmunds here, not C&D or R&T

 

Is that really realistic though? I'd rather see 'slow' times that can be achieved without abusing the car.

 

Yup. The S2000 at one time was rated an 8sec. car in some magazines too because of launching techniques.

 

That's why I like C&D's 5-60 rolling start measurement. You know that is reproduceable by your average driver. Some mags allow for roll out in their times, edmunds doesn't. They have recently started quoting both times something like:

"....5.7 seconds to 60 (5.4 with a 1 foot roll out as at a drag strip)." or something like that.

The 0-60 time I want to know is no revs just plant the gas from a stop. But that doesn't sell magazines....

 

I want to see 0-60 times towing a packed school bus in the snow.

 

hopefully it's a short bus and it's got a huge wing on it