Car and Driver Preview - January
 

The January 03 issue of Car & Driver came in the mail yesterday. On the cover there is a small pic of the RX-8, and inside is a preview article. Very similar info to the Autoweek preview from late last month. I think this was probably from the same press event that Mazda held as reported in Autoweek.

No new pics :( , but still another viewpoint from a fairly well respected magazine. The article went into a lot of detail regarding the chassis structure and rigidity. The writer seemed very impressed with the car overall, but this was not really a full blown test. Est. 0-60 was 6.3 secs, which seems slow, and a starting price of $27,000 USD. I'll need to re-read the article to ensure I have all that info correct. I won't spoil it for the rest of you that haven't gotten yours.

Also - this is the annual 10 best issue and there were the usual suspects - BMW 3 series, Honda Accord, Porsche Boxster and Subaru WRX. The Mazda6s (v6 with a 5 speed was evaluated) also made the 10 best list. The odd entry - the Ford Focus, again. I understand the car has excellent driving dynamics and good content, but if a car spends 1/3 of it's life in the repair bay for countless recalls, how can this be one of the 10 best cars. Others that made the 10 best list were Infiniti G35, and the Nissan 350Z. That's 8, I can't remember the other 2 off the top of my head. Oh yeah - Corvette and Acura RSX - that's 10.

Anyway, lot's of good stuff in the January issue.

I think I'm gonna go buy that issue today if I can :)

Mine hasn't come yet:(

There's talk about it over at the 7 forum, and how the author says a rotary exhaust is cooler than a piston-powered engine. Sure, pal. Anyone know if the Renesis is going to have that damn pre-cat?

hope to god it doesn't need it, with the zero overlap layout and all... i think that'll make the biggest difference in start-up HC's...

Hi Toadman,

The author's claim that the exhaust is cooler may not make sense knowing how previous rotaries were but note that the renesis has been engineered to run lean during idle and light load so it should be noticably cooler than other engines.

Brian

What is with a 50 mph offset rear crash test?

Is that for the autobahn?

Or the idiot behind you not realizing you stopped at the redlight they hadn't noticed.

im willing to bet 0-60 will be quicker than 6.3 secs. that seems too slow for a car with this wieght to power ratio. just my opinion.

Is it that Car and Driver people drive better than Motor Trend, getting better acceleration times.

Mazda has already been quoted in other magazines as releasing the car at 6.0 seconds... and factory numbers are more often than not very pessimistic because it's bad if the mags can't hit those numbers. Either way, 6.0 to 60 is quick enough for me. I'm concerned mostly about handling :)

What articles have there been direct quotes from Mazda ragaring performance numbers? I have only read that the magazines themselves have been estimating a 0-60 at around 6 seconds, Road & Track comes to mind here. That's hardly quoting Mazda.

Let me look around for the links... I'll dig it up.

Here's a quote from Autoweek using a hand timer:
But there was a quote that did say Mazda as quoting 60 in 6 seconds.

Found it, Autocar magazine. It's a quote because there's no textual article, just a scan of the page.
Doing a bit of cross multiplying to get a reasonable 0-60 time, you get a number of 6.09. Coming from Mazda I'm satisfied with that number, as it's just as quick as the 330 from BMW. Mind you though, that the 330's numbers are from Car and Driver and the 0-60 numbers right now are from Mazda. When the 330 came out they quoted it at 6.3 to 60, then adjusted when C&D got 6 flat. Should be the same for the RX-8, so I figure 5.8-6.0 is a good guesstimate, that's looking pessimistic.

I just read that the 255 bhp rx-7's got 0-60 in 5.1 sec
Will the rx-8 be able to do this? Maybe a mazdaspeed version or with some mods? I mean 5.1 is real quick, I'm hoping for a 5.6 or something for the rx-8. Is this unrealistic?:confused:

5.6 is probably the best number the RX-8 will see. 5.1, no way, the RX-7 had turbos with a lot more torque, though the weight was the same (or close to).

I think 5.6-5.8 is what we'll see for the RX-8 which for me is quick enough. It's a 4 seater thats got mass market appeal so it also needs to have mass market pricing :)

0-60 in less than 6.0 is more than good enuf for me. Over 6 secs tho, and I.m out of the performance arena.

Bah ! u guys should realize that the rx-8's wont amaze as much in the 0-60 (since that is based more on torque) as it will in the 1/4 mile which from a reliable source is running a 14.1864 but thats just an aproxomation ;)

thats true, from the very begining we knew that the powerband is going to be relativly high, and that the off the line the 8 won't be all that amazing. enough money can make a lawn tractor go fast, i'm in it for the handeling.

I already read that article. Doesnt make me wanna buy the car at all, but wut it does make me wanna do is wait for the possible pure coupe with 300 hp.

The article was estimating the car to go 0-60 in 6.5 sec. Damn...i dont want that slow of a car. Also it was criticle of the handling with mild understeer, the heck? RX series are known of their crisp handles....everyone better get the sports tuned suspension.

Stupid article, I was so leaning towards it..now i wanna wait for the 300 hp one.

Stupid mazda people. why do they have to tease so much...JUST MAKE THE 03 one 300 HP

The true measure of performance will be the 1/4 mile, and since this car maxes power at a high RPM that should be a more fun number to see.

Anyways don't get your panties in a bunch just yet, there's still time before the car is released. I'm happy with 6 seconds to 60 and 14.5 in the 1/4, as was released by Road and Track a long while ago. I want it because it will be affordable and handle well, as well as look nice and seat 4 people.

Not to mention it's RWD and manual tranny :D

Cant argue with you there. I liked the 4 door concept and high reving engine. but i dont know if the car can do 14 sec on 1/4 mile. i usually enjoy just bumping around in the streets going fast. So i like it to be fast from 0-60 ... Still wouldnt having a car that hit the 300 hp mark.

Some one go test drive the stupid sucker and tell me how it handles... "drives with initial mild understeer" from the article kinda confuses me =XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

and if u wear a thong.. do u still get a murph?

One thing to keep in mind is that no magazine has driven the production car yet. Like I mentioned in the SCC article thread, Mazda says there are 2 cars out there, both with different suspension tuning, but neither is going to feel like the production one. So take all handling tests with a grain of salt for now. And understeer can also be tuned out with less conservative alignment settings than factory set if needed.

Also, I hope they gear they car for the powerband and not for 0-60 measurements. I hate how most cars have it geared just so you don't have to shift to 2nd until just after 60mph so that it measures better for magazines. But then you fall out of the power band when going to 2nd as a result. And I don't drag race either, so 0-60 is not a big issue with me. I'd buy a Z if that was my thing. Highway/street passing power is more important to me . I'd rather see specs for something like 40-80 since I am in this range when passing most of the time on streets. And it's more useful for the couple times/year when I get to go to a road course.:D

Understeer might be a factor with the DSC on, because it's a sheer safety issue. Flip it off however and generally you'll get any RWD car tail happy pretty fast :)