Mazda RX-8 2003 Review

What we liked
>> The performance
>> The versatility
>> The look

Not so much
>> Steering too quick for Oz roads
>> Auto box saps power and money
>> Spongy rear suspension

OVERVIEW
It's rare that an entirely new car comes along that not only redefines existing automotive boundaries, but invents a few new ones as well. Mazda's RX-8 is amazing for more than just what it is -- a rotary-powered four-door sports coupe -- but also for the company that took the risk; a company whose future was looking shaky in the mid 1990s until Ford took a controlling interest.

In 2002 Mazda's hard-earned product renaissance bore first fruit as the world saw the beginnings of an entirely new range of models brimming with enthusiasm and vitality.

The Mazda 6 has almost single-handedly rejuvenated the medium-sized car in the minds of many Australian new car buyers, and the compact Mazda 2 is bringing stylish, engaging motoring to small car buyers, where once price held sway over personality.

The RX-8 is the third wave of Mazda's product-led war, and arguably the most potent. It's a completely new car, the result of four years work, and not the spiritual successor to the RX-7.

It follows in the footsteps of a host of rotary-powered vehicles, started back in the late 1960s with the Cosmo. Australians would best remember the RX-2, RX-3, RX-4, RX-5 and of course, all seven RX-7 series. RX, by the way, stands for Rotary eXperiment.

FEATURES
Forget the rest, the RX-8 will go down in history for two reasons: its Renesis rotary engine and freestyle doors, perhaps better known as suicide doors -- a name marketing types cringe at in this safety conscious new century.

Innovation is nothing without practical application, and it's the engine's scintillating performance and the cabin's astonishing versatility -- what they deliver -- rather than what they are.

This painstaking attention to detail helps the RX-8 deliver on its core values of performance and passion. But more importantly, none of the under-skin innovation intrudes on the driving experience, or the car's practical appeal.

The RX-8 successfully blurs the line between flexible work-a-day car and weekend warrior -- and answers many enthusiasts prayers for a sportscar you can really live with.

MECHANICAL
Physically, the Mazda RX-8 is 120mm longer, 45mm narrower and 20mm less tall than the Nissan 350Z. The RX-8's kerb weight of 1337kg gives it a significant advantage over the 1465kg 350Z, which makes up for its 29kW power deficit.

The RX-8's long, sleek body sits low on the chassis, keeping weight as close to the ground as possible, and as near to the center of the RX-8's 2700mm wheelbase as the engineers could achieve.

The engine is mounted slightly further back in the nose in relation to the front axle than in the RX-7, which also serves to reduce inertial movement and improve mechanical grip.

Rotary engines are operationally different to reciprocating piston engines, though the fundamentals are the same. Petrol goes in one end, is ignited by a spark and produces power to turn the wheels.

For a really good plain-English description of exactly how rotary engines work, follow this link to HowStuffWorks.com

Essentially the RX-8's rotary engine -- Renesis -- is an advancement on the last RX-7's 13B engine. It's a two-rotor unit with 654cc each, now with 30 percent larger intake ports located on the side of the chamber, as are the exhaust ports. Mazda claims this change, which eliminates port overlap, improves emissions and fuel economy.

The RX-8 requires premium unleaded and is rated at 12.6litres/100km on a combined city/highway cycle, giving a range of around 450km from its 61 litre fuel tank.

Six-speed manual RX-8s produce 177kW of power -- down 7kW on international models due to our lower quality fuel -- and 211Nm of torque. Automatic versions produce significantly less power -- 141kW and 220Nm -- due to the automatic gearbox's inability to cope with high rpm.

As a trade off, buyers of the more expensive four-speed auto get paddle-shift fitted to the steering wheel. Really though, the automatic gearbox should be a no-cost option, not $700 -- $800 more. Perhaps getting less power for more money explains why nearly nine in ten of Mazda's pre-launch RX-8 orders are for the six-speed manual.

COMFORT
Okay, first things first: the back is not as spacious as a sedan. It's roomy enough to fit six footers -- and access is a relatively painless affair without a bulky central pillar (B pillar) intruding. Two teenagers? No problems at all. Two adults? Fine also, though legroom and headroom may impinge on anyone over the aforementioned vertical limit.

The fact that the RX-8 has a useable -- yes, useable -- back seat puts it miles ahead of just about every other sports coupe on the market. Only sedan-based competition like the Holden Monaro and BMW 325Ci would match it for space.

Occupant comfort is pretty good; the whole cabin is arranged primarily for the driver. This means comfy, supportive bucket seats with adjustment for height and reach. The leather-wrapped, sports steering wheel is tilt adjust only.

Mazda has used the rotary emblem to good effect, on the gear-stick, on the instrument binnacle, on the seats, on the bonnet. It shamelessly promotes the heart of the car, a boundless heart that delivers in spades.

The boot's not a biggun, though Mazda claims it'll swallow the requisite set of golf clubs, or even a couple of hard suitcases. Boot space is helped by the absence of a spare tyre, though Mazda Australia provides buyers with a space saver tyre mounted to a cross-brace. We haven't yet seen a car with the space saver in-situ, but we are assured the inconvenience is minimal.

You can always remove the space saver tyre altogether and make do with the puncture repair kit that also comes standard -- or use Mazda's 24hr roadside assist.

SAFETY
Active safety's big on the RX-8, not the least being it's incredibly firm, responsive chassis. RX-8's steering is super quick, which is at once a good and bad thing -- quick to respond, but overly reactive on Australia's lumpy, bumpy roads.

Big four wheel disc brakes -- 13in front and 12in rear -- are equipped with antilock and brakeforce distribution for maximum retardation. Dynamic stability control is fitted standard and can be switched off, though it's one of the less obvious, less intrusive systems around. Rear wheel traction control is part of the DSC system.

Passive safety includes dual front airbags with dual stage inflation, front side airbags and curtain airbags front and rear. Front seat belt pretensioners, whiplash minimizing front seats, side impact bars and impact absorbing crumple zones are also standard. In the event of a collision the RX-8's central computer releases the door locks, and cuts off the fuel pump.

COMPETITORS
Direct competition? None. No other vehicle offers four door, four seat versatility in a high performance sports coupe body for under $60,000. However, there are cars which do supply similar in-cabin versatility and scintillating performance.

The base-model Mazda RX-8 Holden Monaro CV8 is one, BMW 325Ci is another, though performance on the price competitive 320Ci is not strong. Consider also the Honda S2000, Audi A4, Lexus IS200 and Nissan 350Z, which match some of the RX-8's abilities, but not all. Consider also the Subaru Impreza WRX in high performance STi form, though its links to the basic $20,000 Imprezas harm any prestige aspirations.

Possibly the most logical cmpetitor is the Subaru Liberty GT, scheduled for Australian launch in September 2003. It has similar performance from its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, though it is all-wheel drive and has a more conventional sedan body. Tough choice that one.

ON THE ROAD
It's fair to say the Mazda RX-8 was our most anticipated launch of 2003. We've watched the groundbreaking four-door coupe through all its 'concept car' iterations since first bursting onto the scene at Detroit in 2001. And now we've driven it.

There's something intrinsically addictive about the power delivery of rotary engines, the way your excitement soars with the revs. The RX-8's power delivery is not a massive, surging blow, but rather a precision instrument which doles out almost enough -- always leaving you wanting more. It's not slow, not by any means, and should easily be capable of sub-7sec 0-100km/h and 14s quarter miles, but the seemingly unstoppable way the power builds in time with the revs makes the 9000 gear change beeper a bit deflating.

Below 5000rpm is a relaxed, lethargic affair, and you'll need to keep the revs singing to get the best out of the engine -- 6500 is where the banshees begin to howl. Which brings us to the engine and exhaust sound... Love it.

Suspension setup on the RX-8 is unashamedly sports biased, but nowhere near as firm as the 350Z. It's short on travel, but does its best to soak up bumps. The rear end, however, feels a little under-damped and over-reactive at times.

The RX-8's electrically assisted rack and pinion steering is super quick, allowing you to keep two hands on the wheel through most corners. It's too direct for Australian roads; the car is prone to weave and wander on the lumpy, cruddy ribbons of black that pass for country roads, and the level of weighting and feel does not totally translate the front-end workload.

That said, the RX-8 turns in quicker, sharper and with more grip than anything close to its price, aided equally by the car's low weight, low center of gravity and super sticky 18inch tyres.

The rear end exhibits a modicum of mid-corner adjustability, though the car's primary balance is for safe, easily fixed understeer. The RX-8 is one of the most exciting sub-$100,000 cars we've driven in a long time -- more fun than the scintillating Nissan 350Z, and laced with more soulful character than any car we can think of.

BOTTOM LINE: A near perfect blend of sports performance and four-seat practicality

It's hard to be objective when the RX-8 plays such a strong, emotional hand. It's the sort of car that'll spark endless family debates, as practical requirements go head to head with desire and enjoyment. Thankfully, the RX-8 presents a pretty strong hand in the practicality stakes, too, possibly the most practical sports coupe to date.

The rear seats are no joke -- they work -- as a 300km round trip with four adults aboard attested. Our test dummies agree the rear seats are comfortable room-wise but the sports car ride comes at a cost to buttock comfort. Access to the rear is a relative doddle via the suicide doors, though the token rear window-opening did come in for some complaints.

But the best seat in the house is definitely behind the wheel, and it's worth fighting for. The RX-8 is first and foremost a driver's car, which partially explains how we racked up nearly 900km in a regular working week. Sometimes you just gotta take a quick run out to the country, just to check if it's still there. Wink wink.

The RX-8's dynamic portfolio is near perfect. It delivers heaps of enthusiasm, a sizeable chunk of turn-in aggression, and oodles of acceleration exiting the corner. The rotary's sky-high 9000rpm redline makes a mockery of constant gear changes, unnecessary providing you're in the torque band over 4000rpm.

The amount of chassis grip the RX-8 possesses is astounding. Regardless of the road condition -- and we tested in both rain and sun -- the rear-end just hunkers down and delivers the power, while the front-end allows corner speeds way above expectation. If there is a let down, it's that this chassis could handle more power, about another 20-30 per cent, we reckon.

Such sublime dynamics cast the rotary engine's power in a less than brilliant light. But it's always the way -- when everything else excels, "better than average" starts to look bland. But bland is not how you'd categorise the brakes, which exhibit frightening tenacity and the grip of a dead man. The steering does have a tendency to wander, to follow the camber of the road, when you brake with even moderate force, which can become tiring in stop-start traffic.

Fuel economy was front of mind when we picked up the keys, as rotary engines have a reputation as thirsty drinkers. Our first fill-up, at 351km, took a little over 50 litres of premium unleaded, which works out at 7km per litre, or 15.7litres/100km. This included highway cruising, urban sprawling and a 150km of very fast, determined driving. The second tank-full of more restrained driving managed a more respectable 13.4litres/100km.

One other aspect of note is the cruise control, which we used constantly in this speed-focused world. The RX-8's cruise control is spot-on, easy to use and doesn't creep or drag on hills. Unlike another model we tested the week before from a 'premium' German company.

There's no doubt that a $62,000 car is not cheap, nor can it truly be called affordable. But look at what you're getting, and then decide if this level of performance, practicality and drop-dead gorgeous curves is worth the price of admission. In our book it is, every time. Sorry Mr Nissan, but we'd have the RX-8 over a 350Z any day.