zoom44

dont forget that the tranny itself is a stiffer/stronger box which helps keep the chassis straighter

Lane03

Zoom44 and ASH8: Are all these upgrades you listed on all series 2's or just the R3 version?

zoom44

all series II

Sandhofer

The thing about this is that actually every car here is good. They really, like a few others have said, should have done a better job of what price they are comparing. Best under 50 would be a lot better and I am pretty sure the 8 is on top. They should have also done a best from 50-100. I think it is crazy to compare a porsche to an Rx-8 because they are completely different and the fact that they are so different and still be compared with such a price difference is amazing.

RX8pwnage

iTrader: (1)

Exactly. Thats what makes the 8 so amazing..is it hangs with cars twice, three times more the price as far as handling and drivers feel go. 'Vette as tested ($99,000) outperformed by $30k RX8. Hell yeah. If you look at the final numbers, the RX8 was ONE POINT behind the Elise...we NEARLY took second place. What a shame. They rated the RX a 9/10 for "fun factor" when it should have been a 10. That gives us a tie for second place with the Elise! Its also sad they tested it with those **** Bridgestones on it, too bad it didnt have a set of Proxes T1Rs hehe.

Best quote from C&D: "Now almost a decade old, with just a minor refresh and the sporty R3 package for 2009, the RX8 mustered just enough C&D support to make the cut.
But, boy, were its backers correct." 'Nuff said.

RX22

I've had both. The R3's handling is far superior. The only reason I bought another RX8 is because they came out with the R3.

So I guess you're right, for me to buy one it NEEDED to be better.

Rydiak

Someone asked to see this C&D article, so I made a few scans and decided to stop lurking (ie register an account). I had to compress the images quite a bit to meet the file size limit, so let me know if any of it is unreadable.

Rydiak

And the rest of the pages. Enjoy!

And no more arguing over vehicles, gentlemen. Let's revel in the fact we all have great cars and enjoy driving them as they were meant to be driven.

ASH8

I wonder why C&D did not have a Miata/MX-5 in there??..I guess can't have 2 Mazda's showing up the world's motoring can we..

As for the Comment of the RX-8 being slightly "front heavier" ...WHAT A LOAD OF BULLSHIT that one is....Heavier in what way???...Feel or Weight, the RX-8 IS much lighter than a BMW, only for the reason of the RENESIS and not a banger in the M3.

Rydiak

I was a bit surprised at that comment too, but in reality is actually is. The M3 is about 51.2% front bias and the RX-8 is about 52.5%. So while the M3 technically has more weight than the RX-8, it has a tiny better distribution.

ASH8

Nup...Sorry, I do not believe those Bias Figures..the 8 is much closer to 50:50 than the M3..
now is that with or without a full tank of gas..

plain ole wanker

I don’t quite understand the finding on all the cars having poor brake response. Other then stopping the car quickly without loss of control I really don’t understand what they are driving at. As far as braking I never had a faster and better controlled braking vehicle as RX8.

fixed

ASH8

I think you mean "Braking"...I hope your 8 is not "Breaking" Up into pieces...lol

Now that is Braking News!!...I mean Breaking News..

New Yorker

That's why I push my seat back one extra click.

Razz1

^ Butt, now you loose better control of the steering wheel and have to reach for the pedals.

bcdjudo7

RX8 hands down. It took third but pretty sure the 2 above it are prices above 50k , quite a bit above actually.

Lane03

It would've been the RX-8, as the only other car in this article that is even under $50,000 is the VW GTI. But yes, I would've preferred a better selection of cars in this comparrasion (370z, MX-5, etc).

delhi

I 3> the Boxster Spyder.

Great to see that our car is still considered amongst the best after 7 yrs in production. Of course I am not surprised at the RX-8's fluid-like driving characteristics.

Where are the EVOs, 370z, STi, Mustang?
Didn't make the cut I supposed. Back to school boys. Class bell is ringing.

Beefy98

lol at this test. they gave the rx8 a "7" for ergonomics. Huh? I've never seen a more intuitive, wel laid out interior. Or does ergonomics mean something else ina handling test. And a "6" for the Recaros?! Just cause they're too narrow for the staff fatties..The 8 would be 2nd overall and the Elise 3rd if they were accurate . I disagree with them saying the body roll garnered not a single complaint. Its horrible! But I fixed that.

Beefy98

I think cause there is no "hardcore" version of the car. And the Bilsteins on that car are still too soft. Plus the car would've gotten spanked by even the GTI.

MICHGoBlue

That cannot be further from the truth.

This test is strictly about handling in the truest sense, the subjective feel of the car.

If it was an objective test, a la a numbers test, EVO, STi, 370Z, hell even the Mustang GT would've done better than the 8.

Unless VW is fixing up some witchcraft, I am not sure how they can make any FWD vehicle handle subjectively better than a near 50:50, rather lightweight RWD roadster...

ASH8

/\...TOTALLY AGREE...This TEST is about HANDLING...not about bloody horsepower.

AS Randy Probst said in a Motortrend Handling Test, the Miata has the perfect chassis with the right amount of HP...when it is done right, HP does not come out in front, it is all to do with Power to weight and power to chassis, this is where the MX-5 is near PERFECT.

Agree about the VW GTI also... a FWD will NEVER out handle a perfect RWD chassis/platform set up...NEVER.

I guess that is why BOTH the RX-8 and Miata came 3rd in 2008 and 2009 in Motortrends best handling and drivers car, they beat cars 5 times the price with 5 times the HP.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...x_5_miata.html

http://www.motortrend.com/features/p..._8_bmw_m3.html

http://www.motortrend.com/av/roadtes...deo/index.html

Chibana

I thought the inclusion of the GTI was silly. They stated that they were trying to represent all the different drive layouts (front engine/FWD, FE/RWD,ME/RWD,FE/AWD, under $100,000), but what's the point of including a FWD car in this comparison? FWD cars can definitely be fun when set up correctly (my dead 2005 Mazda3 was fantastic with the changes I had made to it), but they simply won't compare to the other cars in this test, and I'm sure that C&D knew that would be the case. The comparison would have been better served with an MX-5 in place of the GTI, or even a 2011 Mustang GT or Nissan 370Z.

Rydiak

The GTI has been notorious for good handling (in the FWD category), so it makes sense to include it as a bench-mark for comparison.

yiksing

Just because a car is FWD doesn't mean it can't out-handle other drive-train.