motor trend article
 

Another fairly neutral article. At the end of the day, it's hard to compare the RX-8 to a pure sports car, and we'll have to see if the buying public likes what it really is.

I think it's a better sports-sedan than most sports-sedans, and a better sports-coupe than most sports coupes. Why aren't the magazines picking up on this???

WHAT'S HOT
· Balanced, easy to drive fast
· Comfortable and competent on rough roads
· Return of the rotary

WHAT'S NOT
· Lack of torque
· Lack of edge, at least in base form
· Four-door sports car: Future or fad?

Can you post the whole article?

That article is from the Miyoshi proving grounds late last year, not the most recent Laguna Seca runs. Pretty much all of the media felt pretty ho-hum about the car at Miyoshi.

Here's the link to the article.

Although the article is dated January, 2003, B-Nez is right. It was written from the test drive at Miyoshi, not after Laguna Seca...Maybe Mazda didn't have the car properly tuned yet?

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedan/112_0301_rx8/

this has been discussed elsewhere, but basically there were two cars tested at miyoshi a red and a silver.

those who got to drive the silver were much more enthusiastic than those who drove the red. it seems the red's tuning was not nearly as sharp as the silver.