Although I have always been fascinated by the rotary engine (Mercedes-Benz C111 was a wonderful experiement in the 70's) this is my first roatry car. I have owned 24 cars in the past 25 years, all German (except for a Lotus Esprit).

I love the RX-8 because:

- Feels light and nimble
- Neutral handling, takes a lot to upset the balance in this car
- Revs to 9500 RPM smoothly and sounds great
- Shifter is just outstanding, I look for any excuse to change gears
- The exterior design still brings a smile to my face, looks more
Italian than Japanese, great job Mazda designer team! Chris
Bangle (BMW Design Chief) needs to learn from these guys.
- Very practical sports car, can carry three friends with you
- Interior design is nicely done, user friendly and good quality all
around
- The multi-link suspension works well on most surfaces and most
conditions
- TCS(traction control) is non-intrusive and waits till things get
seriously out of control before jumping in
- Brakes are large and do a great job of stopping the car
- Overall, a very balanced car, does most things well
- I have seen it in all available colors, they all look great
- The clutch take up is wonderful and just right


Areas of improvement:

- Larger gas tank, like to have a range of 300+ miles (I get 210 )
- The center tunnel get very hot, my sunglasses or house keys
stored in the front cup holders get hot after a 20 minute drive
- The storage bins in the front doors are not practical, too deep
and hard to reach the bottom to collect small objects



<<<<<<Tell us what you like and dislike about your RX-8>>>>>>

 

I hate that

 

I placed my Bible in there once, and it took 5 minutes and 2 hands to remove it...

 

I second the motion on the larger fuel tank. The majority of my mileage is freeway miles... and boy I wised I can go over 300 miles for a full tank of gas. BTW, my record has been 260 miles before getting a fill up... 16.5mpg really sucks... especially when I never rev past 5K rpm and I am mostly freeway crusing.

 

yes better range would be nice... 210 is about right. i would prefer 300-400 miles on one tank. i actually get less gas milage on this car than on a V8 mustang....

but your post is right on!

i love the smoothness of the transmission...
i really love the Mica Velocity Red. this is a unique red!
great interior textures and finishes (not boring like the Z car's)

 

Actually I find the door bins really functional-my CD case fits perfect and is big enough that I have no problem getting it out. It also fits a lot of maps and some loose CD cases.

I haven't found the heat issue objectionable. I don't use the ashtray except for parking lot receipts. Mazda will probably need to improve heat insulation or air flow.

I've found reverse gear a bit tough to get into reliably and quickly on my car. I also have the dreaded oil light at high speeds. I wish the oil pressure gauge was a real gauge or an oil level gauge like on Porsches.

The shifter is nice, a little more snick, snick than my Miata, but not notchy.

The looks are great! But I don't like the silver wing-thingies coming off the head lights and tail lights inside the clear plastic. I might need to do some surgery.

The rear lower panel would be better and more functional if the fake grill was a real grill. It might keep the muffler and the lower trunk cooler.

I like the dashboard lights and I like the digital speedometer, even though I didn't expect to. The center console cover sometimes tries to slide shut on hard braking when I have my coffee mug in the drink holder.

The rear seats really work. Really.

I haven't pushed the car hard, but I'm about to cross over 1,000 miles and I'm getting more aggressive.

But considering this is the first year for the car, Mazda did a great job. The car gets a lot of looks.

 

Agreed, but i've found ways to make the door pockets useful. My wallet, checkbook, palm pilot all go there; I'm able to dig 'em out pretty easily when needed. Cell phone lies in the cup holder as i rarely bring drinks. when I do, then the cell phone goes in the door pocket and that really is a bitch to dig out if it's lying down.

 

Wish the driver's seat had the net pocket in back, too.

 

Another thing that needs to be changed:

Oil sipstick is hard to reach specially in a hot engine. Too inaccessible.

 

The best thing about that digital speedo is that the passenger can't see it without major contortions. In other words, it's wife-proof. I love that. :D

 

I agree on the placement of the oil dipstick. Hard to reach.

The heat hasn't been too bad even here in hot Texas.

I do wish there were some place for the cell phone except inside the console. Has anyone found a better place? The ashtray doesn'e work for my phone.

Amen to Omicron's comment on the wifeproof speedo. I love it!