I have to say, it exceeded my expectations! It handles extremely well. The steering is very tight. I have read other reviews that say the steering is a bit light, I don't agree. It had a great feel to it, especially at speed. The salesman let me take it on I-85 for about 4 miles and I hit 87 miles per hour. It felt solid as a rock.

I checked out the the back seat and it was okay. Nothing great, but nothing bad either. I don't think I could handle a long trip back there (I am 6'). I fiddled around with most everything and really enjoyed the layout and ergonomics of the interior.

The navigation system seemed a little on the slow side. I would press enter to move to the next screen and sometimes it wouldn't register with the computer. I think you have to make slow, deliberate presses on the joystick and not quick clicks. I definitely will want the nav system though. It just finishes off the interior.

I noticed that the oil filter is in a very tight spot. No matter what you do (or whoever changes your oil) you will get oil on the engine block when it is changed.

I have to say that Rick Case Mazda was VERY helpful today as well. The salesman didn't know that much about the car but was very cordial and let me test drive the car on all kinds of roads from interstate to twisties. I drove about 8 miles in all. Now I just need to decide on the color! The Titanium looks much better in person than it does in any photo.

 

What are you ordering then? Do you want my Titanium w/Nav. I am starting consider forgoing the NAV

 

re the oil filter change, someone posted that with their RX7 they used a nail and popped a hole in the top of the filter and the oil drained into the engine, leaving the filter relatively drip free.

 

yup this trick works GREAT. not even one spill when i change my filter on my RX-7

 

Yah, this is where opinions on the car's handling show some subjectivity. I saw folks also post saying that they thought the steering was too light. However, I think it's all dependant on the car you're coming off of. Those who said it was light drive S2000's, Mustangs and other sports cars. I'm trading a Volvo S60 T5 and my first reaction was that the RX's handing was tight and pin-point sharp. So those who drive "sporty" cars will probably find the handling to be tight and accurate and others in more pure sports cars may thing it's a bit too boosted.

 

I owned a 3rd gen RX-7 and I think the RX-8 handles just right. It isn't quite the epitome of a "pure" sports car, but I found it to be more than adequate.

As for the oil change, I have never heard of that trick but it makes sense to me. Although I think once you look at the location of the oil filter, you might decide that trying to put a nail into it will be very difficult.

As for what I will get, I think I finally decided on the Titanium with the Grand Touring package and navigation system. I hope that if any of you decide to buy the RX-8, you look at one with and one without the navigation. You will see a big difference in the overall feel of the interior.

 

RotoRooter, I just reread your post. Is your car the one that they have inside on display? If so, it has 15 miles on it.

 

Derek -

Be careful with Rick Case. I love the 8, had 1 on order since May. I'm going down to Rick Case tomorrow to get my deposit back. In my opinion, a VERY disreputable dealer.

Thanks to the excellent info on this forum I was able to catch my salesman (Mike Matthews) and the sales manager Jeff Townsend in 3 separate lies.

I certainly don't want to discourage you from getting an 8. The car is awesome!! But I would encourage you from staying with Rick Case. I hope to find a dealership that will not lie to me as Rick Case did and resubmit my order. Oh well......another 3 months.

 

Is it too late? I assume that by now the dealership has found that customer who'll pay the $5K mark-up.