8 Great Rides

Mazda RX-8

Photography by Josh Jacquot

Look carefully at the RX-8 and you realize quickly, even before you drive it, that it was designed with overachieving dynamics in mind. Open the hood and you'll see nothing but plastic. Peel away the engine cover (it comes off with a quick tug) and the RX-8's true character begins to reveal itself. Buried behind the front axle line and sitting very, very low in the chassis is the Renesis 13B rotary engine. Rotaries have been at the heart of Mazda's most serious performance cars for decades, so this is an indication that the RX-8 means business.

Prod further and you'll realize even more hard-core performance character is hidden behind the freestyle doors. The first giveaway inside is the high-mount backbone frame running longitudinally between the front and rear seats. That backbone might keep you from tossing your mountain bike in the back seat, but it affords the RX-8's unusual shape serious rigidity. Hiding under the high-mount backbone is Mazda's infamous powerplant frame, which connects the transmission with the rear differential just like it did in the Miata and RX-7. This design provides a lightweight solution to drivetrain slop and ultimately improves the entire driving experience by isolating drivetrain loads from the car's structure.

Balance is a word that must come up a lot in the design rooms at Mazda. Engineers there think about details that are left to committees at most other manufacturers. And in the case of the RX-8, balance is the key. Where else can you find 50/50 weight distribution in a car that seats four adults comfortably? Or electric power steering with real feel and feedback? Or, for that matter, a rotary engine capable of real power and a creamy smooth 9000 rpm?

We like the RX-8 for all its weirdness and unusual design. But, mostly, we like it because it drives well. In fact, it drives like a Mazda. Its natural, intuitive steering allows precision without being nervous. Its suspension tuning is a superb compromise between ride and handling and offers a balance we've come to expect from Mazda: rewarding for enthusiast driving without being overly aggressive or wildly conservative.

With 238 hp, the RX-8 won't humble a Z at the dragstrip, but it gives up nothing when the going gets twisty. Our handling numbers prove it, too: 70.6 mph through the slalom and .90 g on the skidpad. The quarter-mile disappears in 14.9 seconds at 93 mph and it stops from 60 mph in a short 112 feet.

Numbers like these prove its seriousness in the performance arena. And whatever compromises it makes are negated by legitimate four-person seating capacity. Bottom line, the RX-8 is a unique combination driver's car--part sports car, part sedan, pure Mazda. --Josh Jacquot

Mazda RX-8
Best feature: Mazda-ness. Control feel, weight distribution and balance that only Mazda seems able to produce consistently.
Worst feature: Power. The RX-8 would benefit greatly from a serious dose of it.
First three things we'd modify:
1: Final drive
A shorter final drive would go a long way toward making the RX-8 deliver its 9000-rpm shriek more naturally. Mazdaspeed should offer one. Hello? Anyone hear us?
2: Suspension
Tighter suspension wouldn't hurt. The RX-8 has great balance, but more aggressive damping and spring rates will only improve things. More bar, too.
3: Forced induction
More power in the form of a turbo kit is not only the most necessary, but also the least likely mod to be done well by the aftermarket. But it is possible.