AJ's Shinka

According to car reviewer John Lieberman:

It never fails. Whenever my girlfriend introduces me to guys at parties, I hear the same nine words: “Dude, you have the best job in the world.” And it’s true. I’ve driven some of this planet’s finest, fastest and most deeply addictive automobiles. But for every Audi RS4 there’s a Suzuki XL7. And a MINI Cooper Clubman S (trust me, it’s wretched). True, sometimes I’m surprised by how much I like a car; the Pontiac G8 GT springs to mind. And sometimes my socks are completely blown off my feet, like they were last week by a special edition Mazda RX-8, the R3.
...

And here’s the cincher: $32k. For the same price as the aforementioned awful MINI Cooper Clubman S, you can have one of the world’s finest-handling sports cars. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that the RX-8 R3 handles well for a $32k car. I’m saying it handles better than a $320k car. Or, more importantly, whatever you’re driving.

To read the full review:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009-mazda-rx-r3/

Some people at the bottom of the review comment and either concur or are in disbelief.

Sorry if this is a repost.

DOMINION

So true. Even when I'm beating up BMW's on round abouts i never think of this, odd yea? Guess it just pays to know

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

rx8s rock.

mazdaverx7

iTrader: (6)

i've never owned such a good handling car. i love my 8 through and through. most exciting car i've owned.

New Yorker

The editor of Sports Car International agrees, calling it one of the 5 best-handling cars in the world—at any price.

Design1stCode2nd

It's always been a great handling car, very neutral.

otakurx

I love it and I've driven and ridden in some sweet cars. Mazda has some great engineers ^_^

dozer

iTrader: (3)

yeah i love my car

Marklar

It's not how fast the 8 is around the track, it's how it feels in the turns. So easy, so controllable, so precise. It's just plain fun.

bose

iTrader: (5)

One day the world will realize that balance and handling are two things you need in the formula for a fun car, and you don't need loads of hp or torque to have great time behind the wheel.

robrecht

That's high praise indeed, coming from someone with 5 RX-7s in his sig! Did you ever drive an FD? How about a properly set up Miata?

mryoshi

I'm loving my 8 so far. I'd agree about how it handles.
Although I dont really find it that hard to get it to break traction, even into a full on drift through corners.... It stays extremely well manered when sideways which I love about it. More fun than any car Ive owned.

greg985

"To clear up one misconception: the RPMs on the Wankel refers to the shaft, but the rotor is actually rotating at only one fourth the rpms of the shaft. So 10,000 RPM woiuld actually be 2,500."

Marklar

^ LOL, I'm glad he cleared that up.

blackenedwings

Does anybody else want to just stab people in the face when they say that "burning a quart of oil between oil changes is the mark of an imperfect design"? It's a Wankel engine and it's supposed to do that for ***** sake. Name one other engine in the world that can generate the hp that a Wankel can at 1.3 liters of displacement. People are so endlessly retarded about rotaries it makes me grind my teeth to read them post online.

"Is it true that rotaries only last like 20 miles and then they blow up and you have to replace the apple seals?"

"Is it true that they burn like a bazillion quarts of oil and get 3 mph and have to be lubricated with defenseless baby kittens?!"

greg985

the general public is so mis informed

zoom44

well its true about the kittens- i mean you are all using kittens, right? it cant just be me, can it?

oh come on!? well then.....

blackenedwings

Well I mean, I'm using kittens too, but the public needs to know that the kitten consumption isn't that bad. I hardly go through one kitten per oil change, not even a full kitten really. That isn't that many more kittens than most cars, and as long as I maintain the kitten upkeep the car runs fine. ...Now if I forget to supply my RX8 overlord with kittens it becomes angry.. and beats me. The public just doesn't understand rotaries and their needs.

dozer

iTrader: (3)

shinkateen has a baby dragon! look at his sig, i swear, i bullshit you not

jjc3925

iTrader: (1)

man this really makes me want to test drive the hell out of a R3......even tho my 04 handles awesome.


i seriously hate all the comments on that article tho...people are such haters

Winfree

Now I know why this mini cooper was acting to wierd on the freeway... I slowed down to let him pass because I thought he was going to flip over on the shoulder....

CyberPitz

It's too bad there is NO way the Rotary will gain a lot of popularity. I blame the first batch of 3rd gen RX-7's that had cooling issues and people screwing with the boost blowing the engine.

I've never had an issue with a rotary unless some kid got a hold of it for some Fast and the Furious business.

chiketkd

iTrader: (5)

The R3 isn't that different over any other 6MT RX-8. Handling-wise, the R3 only adds bilsteins and grippier rubber.

CyberPitz

I think the R3 is really just for people with too much money. Sure, it's better looking with the rims, and the extra little bits *shocks, seats etc...* are a plus...but I'd rather get the Sport. Lots cheaper, and not much worse off.

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

If he though the R3 handled nice, he should drive my setup. We would need to scrap his jaw off the pavement.

Zeal FunctionX slammed and corner balanced nemesis I am.

muhahaha