I've checked out the new facelifted RX-8 in person and compared it with my car.

Very mixed bag of results.

Liked:

1. New seats were nice, better than old ones.

2. New oil stick location was nice.

3. The engine longevity improvements were nice. Larger oil pan, improved OMP, etc...

4. Tail lights were decent. Especially, at night, and with the "8" sideways symbol.

5. Navi/radio/CD/DVD player was OK. I actually liked the old car Navi with "pop up monitor", but the problem is the old monitor had funky video connectors that did not match a new navi/dvd player without an expensive adapter.


Things I thought sucked or were neutral about:

1. Plastic and front grille is FUGLY. It does not look as bad in real life, as it does in pictures, but still FUGLY.

I drove my Mazdaspeed RX-8 next to the new facelifted one, and mine looked better, to even prospective customers checking the cars out thought so.

2. New steering wheel is not sports car like. Looks more like it belongs in a different type of car.

3. New rims did not impress me so much. They didn't suck, but I was not impressed , so I'm neutral about them.

4. Hated new side vents. They really should have kept the old side vents, and actually made them functional.

5. Larger exhausts tips look better. But if you look closely at them, you can tell they are just tips and the exhaust pipes are smallish.


Opinion:

Mazda wasted some time and money on the face lift and decreased the "coolness" factor of the RX-8 a bit.

Mazda definitely, needs to have a design change/facelift review board that understand "coolness" and "sex appeal" of cars.

Much better if Mazda stuck with the longevity engine improvements, performance upgrades like struts/suspension package, and offered the Mazdaspeed front.

If anything, Mazda should spend it's extra time on developing a semi-automatic (dual clutch) transmission and offering a single transmission type.

 

Really? I've been holding out hope that I would like the "refresh", but this is bs. Same reason I smirked at the ms6 when it came out. BMW 135i, here I come!

 

How do you figure that they aren't functional?

 

Take one off and see that there's no tunnel to the engine bay. That's how.

 

Is there a tunnel to anywhere? Such as the back of the oil coolers?

 

I forgot to mention that one of the great things about the updated RX-8, is that it can run on lower octane gas. So, 89 is fine.

Now the question is, what allows the updated RX-8 to run on lower octane gas?

Conspiracy theory- I think Ford executives are the culprits behind the RX-8's uglification. The new RX-8 steering wheel reminds me of the Mustang steering wheel. Coincidence? I think not. Damn you Ford, let the RX-8 be the car it can be. Ford designers and executives need to stay FAR AWAY from the RX-8.

 

yes, that steering wheel is HIDEOUS.

 

I definitely like our steering wheel better. I know it's probably not true, but it TOTALLY looks like a product of a distasteful Ford styling team.

 

old news. Bad Re-design for exterior.

 

I know most of us hates the new 8's but I have confidence that we will grow in to it and accept it when we see it roll out on the streets. But damn! those wheels are badass!

 

Shortly after i got over the excitement of buying my brand new 07 i started thinking "oh ****, what if the next update is is significantly faster and looks better, dude im going to be PISSED!!" ......needless to say that didnt happen, im actually kinda glad mazda screwed this one up.

 

I've taken them off many times, and examed it myself.. The vents are functional, if you don't believe me go take one off yourself and prove yourself wrong.

 

So what do they vent? Engine air? Oil coolers? Brakes?

 

 

You're 100% correct! The vents have holes and vent...well..whatever is behind them... whatever that is... lets see...the air found above the wheel mud guards...yes that's it!

 

Well you don't want your mud overheating, do you?

 

my 2 cents... it's OK! just OK. i definitely like the current styling better but hey... my machine is Brilliant Black and black makes dam near any car look good. i think that's one of the main reasons the new model is starting to grow on people here since they've seen the new sparkling black or whatever it is. dark colors look cool on cars... period.

as for the front end... thumbs down! i admit... the new MS bumper looks ok but it's not as clean as the old. i hate how chopped up it looks with all that plastic looking material around the fog lights. i just like neat and clean. i've always hated the current model tail lights... never been a fan of that clear lens. it looks like a cheap add on and i will definitely black mine out at some point. the new tails do look better at night though. +1 on the cool factor there. like everyone else i like the seats. the wheels are ok but i'll take my current model stockies over those as they are fine with me. of course... i don't like the new steering wheel but it's still better than a lot of other stuff (ummmmmmm the 350z). over all it's not a bad looking car. i'm just too in love with my 04 Brilliant Black machine and the changes made here aren't enough to make me want to cheat. i'll mod the hell out of what i got now... keeping it clean and smooth and probably wait on the next redesign to come. hopefully by that time... the 8 or 9 or whatever they call it will be looking more like the kabura. now that's one sweet looking machine. i can already see myself in a brilliant black model. call it... DaBatMan Returns

 

 

Sweet cover!

 

damn the lip and the headlight visor made a big difference. Nice find!!

 

one thing i've noticed with the redesign is that it will take a hell of a lot less time to dry our car after washing it.

 

there's no conspiracy here. that new steering wheel is from the miata. all the new mazda steering wheels have that design

 

Dang, I've only seen the '09 in charcoal grey. The front bumper looks like a bad cop mustache on other colors. Maybe it will reduce insurance costs, but...

 

That car looks absolutely spectacular! Especially the red one and the blue one. Not too gone on the silver/gold whatever colour it is one! Jesus the amount of intimidation you'd cause with that red one in Ireland! Wow!!

 

LOved that cover. So anyone can translate the cover and see why the heck they heart the rotary? and does taht say FD3s on the cover?