test drove an rx8 today and was disappointed

it seems to be much more like a hot hatch, golf gti type, than an asian supercar

10 years of quality control have produced a much better interior and the car looks pretty good to me but i'm pretty sure it would get eaten by a stock fd

it really is a much bigger car and makes the fd feel like a torque monster, esp. in when planting it in 2nd on exiting a corner, in my fd i have to do that very carefully as i'll either smoke the clutch or rear tyres, but on the 8 you just feel like you are a gear too high as the engine bogs

but the gearbox is a delight and the 6th gear should help fuel economy

 

You went into the test drive with the wrong expectations. The RX-8 is not a successor to the FD, it is designed to compete with the G35C and BMW 3 series, as a sporting four seat coupe. In that, Mazda has succeeded, at least according to EVERY magazine that has reviewed the car. The 8 is a compromise car, wich is the exact opposite of the RX-7 series. Mazda needs to make money before they can sink funds into a niche car like the RX-7. Those funds will come from the RX-8, new Mazda3 (Protege replacement) and the new Mazda6, cars designed to be sporting but also practical.

 

I agree w/homeboy who replied before me. That is a pretty badass picture though.

 

agreed.

 

damn that license plate on the 8 ***** up the cooling / air flow pretty much *plays scary music*

 

Yeah - that license plate position sucks - it covers almost the whole intake. Guess they know what they're doing but I think if its legal it would be much better with an offset mounting!

> Chaz <

 

Actually that grill is false. All the intake air goes through the large openings along the bottom of the air dam. Trust me, Mazda wouldn't make another cooling mistake with a rotary. That would pretty much guarentee that we never see a Mazda rotary again.

 

yep ... the rad is very low in the rx8

 

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