Sinful7

it was inside the 'break in' period, no?

Rob x-7

after 1000 miles the car gains 50hp?

Sinful7

I dunno. I thought there was a break-in period where it was significantly slower.

Sinful7

I've had the opportunity to put more than a few miles on a well-maintaned, broken in RX8, and I have to say it was probably the most fun I've ever really had in a car. It was very compliant, very comfortable, ergonomic.. Some cars you get in, and you just 'fit'. The 8 is definetly one of those cars for me. The FD was, too.. Sans headroom.

Rob x-7

maybe my test drive was not great because at that time everyone thought the car had 246hp or whatever they said orginally.



The whole drive I was wondering where 50 or so hp had went.

It was almost a half hour test drive.

Sinful7

Yeah, I'd say I put a few hundred miles on one. I was expecting a 12A when I got in. When it pulled like hell as those secondaries opened, I went from being impressed to being excited. Getting it out on the highway yeilded another pleasure. Lane changes were a breeze. The car's traffic-dodging capability is something I haven't found since my old S13 240SX. I think the 'lack' of power actually enhances the experience by limiting the acceleration to a less-than-scary-yet-fun range. Don't get me wrong, I loved the FD's pull.. it was orgasmic.. But it could also get me into trouble a lot faster.

SilverSeven

My idea of handling is grip, balance, flickability, transitional capability, consistancy, predictability, and confidence that the car will go exactly where you want it to go.



I feel the RX-8 is below par on all of these for a sports car, but that's because I'm comparing it to some of the best sports cars I've driven, including mine. In my opinion, there in NOTHING world-class about the RX-8, to me it's just another somewhat sporty coupe, and I'm not so much of a rotorhead that I'll give a mediocre car froms just because it has a Wankel.

Sinful7

The interesting thing is, in my experience I would use phrases like those to describe the 8. What I wouldn't do is compare the 8 to a track or road and track prepared sports car. It's also not an exotic sports car.

When compared to its major competitors, the 8 performs exceptionally well. Stock for stock, the 8 is more confidence inspiring than the FD. (IMO, of course.) The FD is revered as a handling machine, yet it can be extremely difficult to control under many hard-driving road conditions.

ALWAZL8

1988RedT2

The only consistent criticisms I hear about the 8:



1) Why couldn't they give it a bit more power? ( A Mazdaspeed version is due out eventually--should fix that )

2) Why am I getting 14 mpg? (You play, you pay )