PhilC

Hi I'm PhilC,

I am new here (First post) mate of mine has an S2000 which I love and I am awaiting delivery of an RX-8. I test drove one today and here is my review.

Enjoy!

Ahead of Newbury trade show Newbury Mazda have just taken delivery of a Velocity Red Hi-power model and I have just got back from the test drive.

As I drove to the dealers, in the distance was a red sports car, the first thing which sprang to mind was it's an RX-8. As I neared, I could see the short back and long bonnet and realised that I would be driving the same car in a matter of minutes. The car looked stunning. I followed the 8 onto the dealers forecourt and got out of my motor to greet Andy the salesman, who had a massive grin on his face.

The first thing that struck me was the Mica paintwork of the velocity red model in full sunshine. I have ordered the same flavour and can honesly say that it is aesthically pleasing. It's amazing how much the colour changes depending on the amount of light. As it was a beautiful afternoon the colour looked a very deep red and the elegant curves of the car were demonstrated far better than the winning blue or yellow pre-production models.

As I walked into the garage I was greeted by Andy, (Sales) grasping the Keys and he promptly handed them to me. I was then told to go out for 15 minutes and enjoy. He said that as they knew me, he didn't need to be there. Thoughts at this point were running through my mind, do one to Dover and enjoy the driving experience on the Autobahns etc...

But no, I had to be loyal to Mike and SexyRexy who will get their mits on this beast tomorrow.

I jumped in the car and adjusted the seat for my huge 6ft 4in frame. Again I was amazed at how much space there was inside, including headroom. Space is not an issue! Not even for four adults. In went the key and I turned the engine over, I must have held it too long as there was a quick whining noise of the starter motor. The engine purred and then died down to a deafening silence I put the very light clutch in and then pulled away stalling it. I soon got used to the clutch, which felt very switch like ie On or Off. I pulled away and made my way onto the A4 towards Reading and managed to open her up. This is where the fun started. I was amazed at the throttle response in third gear at 30mph and fourth had a similar feel. Once again at the traffice lights I pulled away right round till the bleeper came on and threw the short shift gear lever into second and climbed through till 60 in no time at all. Later on I timed the 30-50 speed in third gear at around 3.5 seconds. I left the A4 around Thatcham and headed for some twisties. I hit the DSC switch and made sure it was off (Displayed on the odomoter) approaching a mini-roundabout at speed and opened up the throttle on turn-in and the screech of the back tyres brought a smile to my face as I corrected the rear-end. This car even without the DSC has amazing amounts of grip. I joined the A4 again and then got the opportunity to open the throttle. The car is so rewarding to drive even at low speeds.

I managed to play with the Sat-Nav and it's very intuitive. I selected route and tapped in my postcode. Selected the street name and hit "Quickest route" within seconds the lovely dulcit tones of Sat Nav were directing me to do a U turn in 300m

Amazing!

One thing which struck me was the driving postion. It's very good but makes putting your elbow on the window frame on a hot day almost impossible.

All in all a great SOLO test drive (Who knows maybe a first?) but it was well worth the wait. I didn't for one minute think that I would be let down or want to cancel, but it was amazing to test drive this baby on a beautiful afternoon like today.

I would like to Thank Andy and Ian at Newbury Mazda for making it possible in such short notice (The car had just come off a transporter 5 minutes earlier)

koala

Nice! The headlamp washers on that car are what should have been on the UK S2000's.

PhilC

Yeah,

I have driven the S2000 and think it is marginally quicker but I would need more time in the 8 to jdge it properly. It ain't all about speed though, I reckon the handling is superior than the 8 and IMO looks better.

Can't wait for November now!

koala

Well congrats. I've driven both and I'd never give up my S2000 for an RX-8, but its your money, not mine!

steve c

Read the RX-8 forums.

Some folks are getting 12MPG

Some folks are dynoing in the mid-upper 100's.

Most folks are trapping in the lower 90's.

All in all it looks like Mazda created a real slow worthless piece of shit this time around. Pretty though.

QUIKAG

Tell us what you really think, Steve.

I am disappointed in the execution of the RX8, it's pretty sad really because the car has/had a lot of promise. The horsepower rating crap and the fact, even the revised 238hp rating is a crock of crap as people are dynoing in the 170whp range on the dyno. That is not 238hp. Hell, the S2000 is rated at 240hp and dynos right around 200whp.

Disappointing, though the car looks cool and the interior is nice..

integrate

The car at least has very good handling potential with the a good suspension setup.

derryck

I have to disagree with Steve... I think they're ugly but I drove one anyway. It was $33K and was the sports model loaded. It certainly shouldn't be compared with the S2000 in any way. The Mazda had an unusably small (for adults) back seat but it was comfortable. It had more low end grunt than the S2000 but not much. I would guess it's a mildly quick 15 second car... I hope it gets ALOT quicker w/ break-in. It handled pretty well and I agree it has outstanding roadholding...I'm sure an S2000 will still dominate it in any type of race environment.

PhilC

[QUOTE]Originally posted by QUIKAG
Tell us what you really think, Steve.

koala

PhilC, don't take SteveC so seriously, he says a lot of negative stuff.

There is a video going around where MazdaSpeed prepped an RX-8 for a nice race and it beat the S2000 by over a second. Go watch this video and it'll make you feel better about your choice of car!