2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring. Photo by David Arnouts.
Published on 7/20/2011
INTERACTIVE ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: I love these little Mazda RX-8s--perfect size for a small guy like me. There's good power from the rotary, and add a few extra horses with the manual transmission, and all is well.
It is a little small inside because of the power seats. Mac said he couldn't even fit in it, and my head was perilously close to the roof, even in the lowest position. That said, the seats are comfortable and well bolstered. The few cloverleaf interchanges I took had me feeling tightly planted in the seat and on the road.
This car has that sweet rotary sound, too. I took the road through the tunnel on my way back to work, just so I could hear it echoing. I'm not going to say it sounded like a Formula One car, but it had a very racy note. I may have even gone through twice.
The gearbox is awesome, tight and mechanical. The throw is short, and the triangle-shaped shifter feels good in the palm. The parking brake is in the proper place right next to it.
It seemed to go through gasoline quickly, but the calculated average is almost 22 mpg on my tank, with a bunch of leadfooters driving, so I guess it's OK.
One of the coolest parts is, when the engine is cold, the tach has red markings into the 6,000s. When it gets warmer, it moves back to 7,000, then once it's all the way warm, it moved back to 9,000. It's a good reminder that the rotary shouldn't be abused when it's not warmed up.
I liked the R3 edition that we had before better, but this is still a fun little ride.
ART DIRECTOR CHERYL L. BLAHNIK: It's been a while since I've been in an RX-8, but I quickly got comfortable after hearing the distinctive engine note from the rotary.
The basic design hasn't changed since this car launched with the bolstered wheel wells. I think Mazda could have pulled off a sportier look with more subtle and cleaner lines. The interior is neat with a spacious-enough back seat accessible via the suicide doors.
Like Jake, I'm a fan of the short throws in the shifter that make the RX-8 feel like a true performance machine. The suspension and snappy steering response also help.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR--AUTOWEEK.COM BOB GRITZINGER: An overnight in this RX-8 brought back a flood of good memories of our old long-termer, a silver-gray 2004 Mazda RX-8 that gave us a year of rotary joy. There are very few cars in general, and even fewer at this price point, that provoke the same kind of aural delight as the RX-8 at 8,000 rpm. The downside is that's where the car is at its best--running in the upper rev range to draw as much torque and power as possible from the 1.3-liter twin rotary. Down below 5,000 rpm, there's not a lot of punch available.
As long as you keep that in mind, and drive accordingly, the RX-8 is blast to zip around in. The steering is super-precise and responsive, the chassis is balanced, the brakes are strong, the shifter and driving position (at least for this five-foot-10-incher) is near-perfect--all good attributes for flinging this car around on tarmac or a nice piece of gravel back road. The car is almost intuitive in drive character, as in where you think you want it go is exactly where it goes.
Toss in the sharply creased front fenders that mimic some of the world's greatest sports cars new and old, the extra set of doors and almost usable back seat, and the RX-8 is a winner for those who need to feed their driving passion without making too many compromises.
NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE: I absolutely love the Mazda RX-8. It's one of the most fun cars for the money on the market. All of the specs measure up to my tastes perfectly. The curb weight of around 3,000 pounds, the horsepower output of 232 and the simple and sharp six-gear manual transmission all make for an adrenaline-inducing experience.
The layout of the RX-8 is also near perfect. It feels flat, evenly weighted and is tailored for enthusiastic driving close to the ground and at the limit. As others note, this rotary 1.3-liter is a hoot, raw and imposing yet easy to command and ready for constant action. I left it in second gear and hammered all the way to redline, loving the aural pleasures and sound of the acoustic changes as the revs built.
The steering is weighted nicely, and this lithe sports car is seldom upset. Only an abrupt lane change resulted in a touch of nerves, and even then, that's when I was really tossing the car. The cabin is well-laid out with surprisingly good parts and finishes.
The body and styling hang on this car perfectly, like someone engineered the chassis to drive sportily and then devised an appropriate skin with muscles and bulges. If we could get this for the long-term fleet, I'd be overjoyed.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: This remains one of the best chassis on any car built today, and the steering--with its quick, direct response--is simply outstanding. And while from a pure technological basis, I love the idea of the rotary engine and its three moving parts, this car would be so much more fun with 100 more horsepower. Granted, anything you can rev to 9,000 rpm is fun, but the little rotary runs has nothing down low and quickly runs out of oomph are you approach the redline.
Having said that, the RX-8 has amazing throttle response, a terrific gearbox and outstanding brakes. And as I said before, this is one of the finest neutral-handling sports cars built. It just needs more . . well, we know what it needs. This is still a terrific car.
MOTORSPORTS EDITOR MAC MORRISON: Those of you questioning whether the RX-8 fuel mileage is “OK” need to review our long-term RX8 reports from a few years back. Drive this Mazda hard--and as noted, you pretty much have to--and you can literally see the fuel-tank needle move down before your very eyes. It's the price you pay for this drivetrain. You just need to be aware of what you're getting when you go in on an RX-8. With a 16.9-gallon gasoline tank, the travel range in between fuel stops isn't very long when the car's returning 15 mpg or, often, less.
Along with that, everything else about the car is just as I remember it from the old long-term test machine. Except in this test car, as Jake mentioned, the combination of the moonroof and the power driver's seat made it difficult for me to fit and impossible to find a driving position I actually liked. I'm six-foot-one, not six-six, so don't think I'm a giant, either. I was quite surprised as I climbed aboard to discover this problem, and it was significant enough for me to consider leaving the car behind in favor of either something else or calling a cab for the ride home. So tall(ish) drivers should be aware of this issue, especially if you have any thought of running the RX-8 on a racetrack. There is absolutely no way I could fit in this car, as equipped, while wearing a helmet. Zero chance.
There is plenty of reason to take the RX-8 to the track, too. It remains one of the most well-balanced cars on the market, thanks much to the Renesis rotary engine's small size and light weight, and how that allows Mazda to mount it so far back and low in the chassis. Grip levels are simply remarkable, and driven extremely hard on back roads, the car doesn't seem prone to either understeer or oversteer. It just feels wildly neutral throughout a variety of corners.
That's it's real saving grace to this day, as I find the styling--odd at best when introduced eight years ago--now borders on dated wackiness, and the few years I've been away from this car have not made me any fonder of the Renesis's lack of torque and anything resembling a strong punch when you hammer down. I'm also a bit surprised that in all these years, Mazda hasn't refined what I rate as an average synchronization between shifter and clutch action. The RX-8's setup makes it easy to introduce slight lurches into your shifts no matter how good you are with a manual transmission.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Everyone has summed up this car pretty well above. As the resident rotary enthusiast here at AutoWeek, I'm usually the first one to jump onto the soapbox to sing praise for this car. It's kind of nice to have a number of other staffers take care of that before I had to.
Without question, this chassis is one of the best in the business. There is so much composure in corners, and it will obey virtually any command you give it. Point, shoot and you're there. No surprise and always neutral.
Mac mentioned the lightweight and compact dimensions of the rotary engine itself being one of the main reasons for the car's stellar handling, and he's right. The engine is roughly the size of a half keg and is set very far back and low in the chassis for good weight distribution. The suspension on this Grand Touring model isn't as sporty as the R3, but it still does a great job of keeping it connected to the road and isn't overly harsh from a ride-quality standpoint.
In some eyes, the rotary engine is also the weak point of the car, and I can see where those folks are coming from. Its seemingly unquenchable thirst for fuel, its tendency to burn oil (by design) and its dreaded lack of low-end punch are fair sticking points. However, the upsides are also undeniable, too, with the aforementioned weight savings, compact packaging, insane throttle response, its free-revving nature with a 9,000-rpm redline, smooth operation and the unmistakable engine note.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: It takes a particular person to like and want to own one of these engines. Those looking for low-end thrust off the line need not apply here. Weekend road-course soldiers will love the stratospheric redline and response. Combine that with the great chassis, responsive and well-weighted steering, slick-shifting manual gearbox, strong brakes and well-placed pedals, it's a killer combo for someone looking for a car capable of being tracked and offering practicality with seating for four and respectable trunk space (but with a narrow opening).
Here's what makes me sad: I have a feeling that this is the last year of production for the RX-8, and with the 16X still not ready, there will be another down period between the end of the RX-8 and the next rotary-powered car--kind of the like between 1995 and 2003, which was the time frame between the end of the third-generation RX-7's U.S. life and the debut of the RX-8.
Rumors say that the Mazda is looking to take the rotary and combine it with a hybrid system, which I think would be a shame. One thing is for sure: I'm never letting go of my 1994 Mazda RX-7 R2.
2011 Mazda RX-8 Grand Touring
Base Price: $33,055
As-Tested Price: $33,055
Drivetrain: 1.3-liter rotary; RWD, six-speed manual
Output: 232 hp @ 8,500 rpm, 159 lb-ft @ 5,500 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,065 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 18/17.8 mpg
Options: None
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