Mazda RX-8

BrianD3

Had a look at one of these today. What a great car. Fantastic styling (IMO) great performance, wonderful rotary engine, surprisingly practical and loaded with equipment. I didn't get to test drive it but by all accounts the handling is great too - rear wheel drive remember. All of this for approx 41k euro - about the same price as a BMW 318i saloon with no extras and about 2k cheaper that a 318i coupe. TBH it's no contest - the Mazda kills the BMW in every way and seems like a car that costs 20k more.

I can't afford to buy/insure one of these Mazdas right now - but in a couple of years' time I will be able to afford it (touch wood!) and it'll be at the top of my shopping list.

What do other people think of this machine?

BrianD3

Lafortezza

Its a great car all right, looks the business too, and that Rotary ****el engine cracks me up every time..comedy gold.
















Wankel

mike65

The Mazda a cool car and great value - well you know what I mean ie it does'nt cost 70,000! And its taxed as a 1.8 which is cool. The wankle engine was always a great concept its just a pity its only taken 40 years to get right!.

Mike.

ButcherOfNog

The RX-7 is a far better looking car in my opinion, won't set you back silly money either

Gmodified

My vote goes to RX7 too. RX8 doesn't doo it for me, mechanically great but looks bit like mazda 3 with bodykit.


Mike,
The engine is actually 1308cc but will drink petrol like 2.6:D .

Blitzkrieger

Originally posted by mike65
And its taxed as a 1.8 which is cool.

Thought it was a 1.3?

The main reasons people buy coupes is cos they look nice and go fast, and there's cars out there better looking and faster. TBH it sounds like you're dreaming anyway : if you can't afford the insurance for a few years odds are you can't afford the car for a few years. It's a fine car, but I'd dream of something better.

mike65

Originally posted by Blitzkrieger
Thought it was a 1.3?

It is a 1.3 (654 cc x2) but for some reason its classified as a 1.8 for road tax purposes. Have'nt a clue why.

Mike.

Tommy Vercetti

I saw one the other day too, great car, I WILL get one some day....in the distant future:( They are also one of the few cars that looks great in yellow IMO (as with RX=7).

What's the MPG like on them? I know the RX-7 was around 17.

BrianD3

My vote goes to RX7 too

Ah, but the final generation RX-7 was a completely different car. Faster than the RX-8 and designed to compete with cars such as the Nissan 300ZX, Toyota Supra, Porsche 968. The price reflected this. The RX-7 is also an extremely rare car in this country and even in the UK. Very few of them sold so very hard to pick up a used example.

The main reasons people buy coupes is cos they look nice and go fast, and there's cars out there better looking and faster. TBH it sounds like you're dreaming anyway : if you can't afford the insurance for a few years odds are you can't afford the car for a few years.

Name some cars out there that are better looking and faster and RWD and 41k new and have a similar level of equipment to the Mazda.

41k isn't a lot - as I said it's the price of a BMW 318i saloon with no extras.

BrianD3

deecom

Yep Rx8 is a great car, but i wonder how many people would discount it because its a Mazda? I would love one, if everything about them is true, they seem to be a remarkable car!

Easygainer

Yeah a 1.3l engine pushing out I think 228bhp is great but how cool does it sound if you're trying to pull a girl

Guy "Check out my car - it's burn a Porche ahem boxster ahem"
Girl "Cool, the engine must be huge? Like your wallet etc..."
Guy " Actually it's a 1.3l Wankel rotary engine... you see it's really very clever.... hey come back - look the doors at the back even open from the middle.....NOOOOOOO!"

Or so I'd imagine

peterk19

You either like rotors or you dont i personally love them

Silent Bob

Originally posted by mike65
It is a 1.3 (654 cc x2) but for some reason its classified as a 1.8 for road tax purposes. Have'nt a clue why.

Mike.

Because it's a rotary engine (which give more power per cube) and they don't want people driving big powerful cars while only paying tax on it like it's a Seicento or something. Typical Irish rip-off really...

Gmodified

Anyway, fairplay to Mazda for keeping rotary alive.:)

Andrew Duffy

It's probably because the rotary engine doesn't have distinct cylinders, so the total amount of open space in the block at any one time is 1.8L. Where 1.3L comes from I don't know.

Gmodified

1.8??

Stated 1.3 in rotary is 'equivalent' to a 2.6 liter classic 4 cylinder 4 stroke in terms of capacity of the engine used, which is more realistic figure when looking at fuel consumption

1.8 actually came out from classification used by motorsport organization which calls this figure a "volume correction factor" (this could be anything from 1.8 to something like 3.0) depending on power delivered by the car.

Scruff

used never bother really looking into the Mazda dealership at all on the way to blackrock until i spotted a gorgeous metallic grey RX-8 sitting in the wondow. had to stop every time and drool for a few mins and say "one day, you will be mine, oh yes, you will be mine..."
Unfortunately its gone now, some lucky bollox bought it. i just glance in the shop window forlornly now, nothing to look at till they get another one in...:(

if you bought one of these could you get that it insured cheaply under Hibernian's Ignition scheme cause it is under 1400cc?

Discovering

I saw my first RX8 today.

I was expecting it to look more revolutionary but it is beautiful.

The old RX7 was/is beautiful too but the new car has a more 21st century look to it

I was thinking of buying one too because of the value.

But then I heard the car needs very special car.

It needs to be serviced every 3000-5000 miles and each of these services are very expensive as the engine uses a special oil.

Anyone know if this is true?

RicardoSmith

Have to say the RX7 wins hands down for me.

Had to know what the servicing on the new engine in the RX8 will be like. The previous one needed a fair bit of TLC.

Gmodified

How about this baby with expected price tag of $25000 for entry model ( US )

http://www.stangnet.com/mustanggtconcept/

Discovering

I like the style of new mustang (back to basics) and it is good value in america but it will cost a fortune over here and drive like a dog.

BrianD3

I would also prefer the RX-7 to the RX-8. RX-7 is a really beautiful car. Reminds me of the sixties Jag E-type coupe in some ways.

But as I said earlier the RX-7 was aimed at a differnt market than the RX-8 is. Even if the RX-7 were still being produced today, the price would be at least 60k.

The RX-8 is still a great looking car and is fantastic value. I mean the lowest spec Audi TT is 8 or 9k more than it and it seems to me that the RX-8 is a far better car in every way.

As regards the tax situation, AFAIK the RX-8 is taxed as a 2.6 litre engine.

BrianD3

Tommy Vercetti

Please don't talk about crappy TT's and an RX-8 in the same thread:)

Blitzkrieger

Originally posted by Scruff
if you bought one of these could you get that it insured cheaply under Hibernian's Ignition scheme cause it is under 1400cc?

I was on the the phone to Hibernian changing my car, and the woman on the phone said it's been raised to 1600cc. God only knows if they'd take it as a 1.3 or a 1.8. They do tend to look at bhp though, so cos it has 218 (I think) they'll screw you.

I can't be arsed look for new RWD cars now, but for the money I'd get one of these :

Gmodified

talking about Toyota's

There is nothing wrong with this one either

Toyota

Tommy Vercetti

http://www.annesleymotors.ie/frames.asp?thePage=new.html

2,616 cc 2.6 litres rotary front longitudinal engine with 10 compression ratio, none and zero valves per cylinder

:mad:

Gmodified

i know where they are coming from but this sounds mad

RX-8 COMFORT 4 dr Coupe

KoNiT

http://www.carzone.ie/newcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=Details&uid=852

its down as a 2.6 litre here?... so much for cheap tax

weemcd

wow this is pretty cool i have to say


http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/NA_Autoshow/frameset.html

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by weemcd
wow this is pretty cool i have to say


http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/NA_Autoshow/frameset.html

I didn't really get the point of it. Glad I didn't download it home.