Love the styling. The car handles like a dream. makes you do things you shouldn't.

Broke down every six months. Learned later that you need to put a quart of oil every 1k miles.

I enjoyed this car so much that I still consider purchasing another. Even after taking a loss to trade it in because it broke down every six months.

Handling, Style, and Exclusivity.

Torque and Gas Milage.

I have owned two cars in my life. A 2006 Mazda RX-8 Touring and a 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3. Needless to say I love the car. Its no Mustang so not everyone and their mother has one and its unique in most all of its styling. From the Renesis Rotary engine to the whole look and feel of the car its like nothing else on the road. I cant wait for the release of the next Rotary Engine/Mazda RX-8 or even the possible return of the RX-7.

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Handling is perfect. Acceleration is great, quality is perfect. Fun to drive. Great function.

Could use at least a little more torque.

This car has been absolutely perfect, now over 15k miles on it. I drive very fast and hard and I am not disappointed with any part of my ownership. Oil consumption is about 1/2 quart every 3500 miles. I get 19mpg city driving, 23 highway. I have a 10 and 13 year old who are comfortable in the passenger front and back seats. The trunk is plenty big even for a 3 day weekend holding the baggage for all 3 of us. I simply can not express how incredible this car performs and how rock solid it is. I have never owned a car with better build quality.

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30 years of owning 24 cars... I have not purchased one that was better than this one.

Great looks, handeling, balance, safety, control sound and revs, and a back seat!

More power and better fuel economy would be nice!

I love my RX 8. I have driven it for 17,000 + miles this last year and have had no problems to speak of - especially mechanical. I do the basic preventative items like check the oild level every 3 tank fulls and always use quality premium fuel.

The car is ment to be driven, not lugged around town or stuck in a traffic jam. I have the basic up-grades done on the car like intake, exhaust, pullies and wires with a slight spring drop that really makes the driving experience that much more enjoyable.

My 40 mile commute takes me through the high desets of Utah and Arizona and I give my car plenty of chances to sing her song! The car flies and handles with absolute precision. - I love it!

I did not purchase the car for it's fantastic gas mi., rather for the mear pleasure of driving - and the car consistanly delivers. (16 to 19 miles per gallon is my average)

I feel that the power to weight ratio is spot on and I can always drop a couple of gears if the situation requires it. (you gotta love having 9,200 rpm's on tap! - zoom zoom!)

I also love that fact that my insurance is $50.00 less every 6 months then my Civic SI. They recognize the RX 8 as a sedan with all the air bags and safety features and no turbo like my Subie friends have.

In all I love the car. Inside room is laid out well I am 6'4" at 220 pounds. And yes I actually fit! (barely - I would not want to be 6'5")

The car is a joy, a blast, fun, etc. etc. etc.!

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91 civic crx si, 2004 Civic Si, 300 Z,.

Beautiful exterior you will definitly be noticed while driving it. Great sound system. Very fast perfect for racing.

Not reliable. Too much up keep.

Well i loved this car when i first purchased it but the passed few months have made me regret the dicision. I have already had this car towed four times in eight months and every time i get it back the tell me the same thing. Personally i think they have no idea what is wrong with it they just fix it enough to be drivable. It has been nothing but a headache. If you are thinking of buying a Mazda please reconsider or take a look at the CX-7. They are just as fun to drive as the RX-8 without all the problems.

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350Z,volvo C-70 convt

Rotory engine
Road handling
Backseats

Gas mileage isn't great, but neither is
paying over $3.00 for a gallon of gas.

6 speed manual trans along with a rotory
engine spells fun to drive!!! It doesn't
look better than my 1993 RX7, but it han-
dles better than any car I ever drove. It's a sports car for me that's has a
backseats for my two kids.

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1989 RX7
1993 RX7

Shinka model has Sand Leather/Alcantara seats that are extreamly attractive comfortable and plush, no sliding like on most smooth leather seats. Great ride for a sports car even in the back seat. Interior ambient noise is minimal considering how low to the ground the body sits. Exterior is sleek sexy and some what aggressive, even standing still. The Rotary engine winds smooth and powers through all power bands and gears, it dosen't give up. Shinka's tuned suspension takes corners and off ramps like a dream. One feels like a teenager all over again. Only a limited number of Shinka models made. I'm happy I was able to pick out my gem.

Lets be honest Gas miliage could be much better (this is a small problem) I would like to see a hands free cell phone function for incoming and outgoing phone calls. Bluthooth connectivity.

Best handling car I have ever owned, and I have owned quit a few. Perfect as a daily driver and as a weekend back road racer never fails to put a smile on my face. It's a joy to run fast at my leisure or just creep around town in 2nd gear watching other drivers and pedestreions heads turn and see thier facial expressions.

Styling is wonderful. Engine is great. Trans is an A+. Four seats in a sports car!! Amazing. Your neighbors won't own one and will thinks it's some exotic sports car. Good build quality. Service people so far have been good. Kids love the back seats.

Gas mileage kind of stinky (15-20 mpg). You must check the oil regularly and add a quart every 1K miles -- easy, simple, but will you remember to do it?

I've only had this car for about 3 months, so this is only an initial impression of the car with less than 2K miles on it. Mine is light silver, by the way -- a great looking color on a very stylish car. This car is an amazing bargain. It's equal to a much more expensive car, but costs less than $30K and used ones abound on the market for much less. Mine was a 2004 leftover--these are not fast-selling vehicles--and I got a few thousand off the list price of the car. My initial impressions are very positive, but . . . it must be kept in mind that this car (and this type of car) have inherent drawbacks you must be willing to live with: It's a smallish somewhat cramped sportscar. Getting in (I'm 56) is a little bit of a 'wiggle' and I've hit my head more than a few times. But you get used to it. Once inside, it is very comfortable--seats are excellent (fabric for me as you slid around on the leather). The rear seat (It's a four seat/four door sports car!) is really very comfortable and pretty easy to get in and out of even for adults like me. I was amazed when I first climbed in at how comfortable and un-cramped the back seats really are. Nice job, Mazda. The front opening (ie. suicide) doors for the rear seat are way cool. No one even knows they're there until you open them. You do have to open the front door first (and remove your seat belt--ugh) to open the back door. This gets a little tiresome, but hey it's a sports car. Controls are excellent, too, if a little "gee whiz." Speedo is digital while tach is analog. You get used to it. All controls are easily operated. There are steering wheel controls for the audio system--kind of neat, I guess. Standard audio is very good with single CD changer. Clock, radio station, etc. all appear in a center dashtop digital display which I like. Everything works smoothly and well. The engine is a rotary/Wankel engine so: You have to recognize some inherent facts about this car. It revs high whichis fun. It has great torque and you can drive all day at 80 or 90 mph effortlessly. What an amazing engine. BUT, it gets lousy gas mileage (15-20 mpg is normal). This will bother every economy-minded buyer, no doubt, but I figure I saved so much money on the price that I've already paid for my gas for the next five years! You do have to fill up often--200+ miles per tank can bet annoying. Still, it's the price you pay for a rotary or Wankel engine. Also, you must check the oil regularly which most lazy American drivers won't do. Why? The rotary engine actually burns some of the oil for lubrication so it must be replaced at about one quart every 1,000 miles. This is easy to do, takes maybe 5 minutes once a month. I carry a few bottles of 5-20 weight oil in the trunk. The fun with this car is simply that you are driving a very fast, stylish, excellent handling sports car while you can carry four people like a sedan and do it in relative comfort. It's also very nice that this car does not sell very well (gas mileage? oil? too sporty?) so you rarely see other RX-8's out there. It's therefore a very distinctive car, and many people thinks it's much more car than it is -- Ferrari? The wheels are attractive. The headlights are powerful and have a flat top beam that is cool. The gauges and switches are well laid out. Materials seem high quality. So far no service problems though some RX-8 owners have complained of the gas mileage (what the heck) and stalling problems particularly on the automatic. You must get the manual transmission on this car (It's a 6-speed) if you really want to enjoy the car. The trans and shifter are just excellent. Zoom Zoom.

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Honda Accord, Mazda MPV van, Volvo 240, MGB, Triumph TR 6, Fiat 124 Spider, Renault 12, VW Beetle, Toyota Camry . . .

The driving experience. Style - when we first got it, someone in a Jetta leaned out of the window (on the freeway) to take a picture of the car.

Interior materials. Fuel economy (16-18 mpg, drinks premium unleaded). Unproven durability.

I am not the owner of this car, I am the son of the owner. I was involved in the purchase process, I have driven the car several times, and we exchange words about it frequently, so I feel that I am qualified to give this car its first review on this website. The decision to get the car was absolutely academic. He owned an RX-2 and an RX-4 back in the day, and even though they were unreliable, he loved them and has owned other Mazdas since. He bought his gray RX-8 before the horsepower issue became public, and when he received the apology letter from Mazda, he opted to take their offer of free maintenance rather than send the car back to the maker. His previous car before this would have been an RX-7 had it not been $45,000, and when the RX-8 was introduced starting at about half that price, he couldn't pass it up. He got the 6-speed because the automatic has a far less powerful engine, and none were available at the time he was looking anyway. The vehicle he bought was loaded to the gills with 18-inch wheels, heated leather seats, moonroof, 6-CD changer, and a navigation system, of which I would only leave out the navi, personally. This car is an unqualified joy to drive. The responsiveness of the engine is out of this world, and the sound is electrifying. The handling is completely neutral, and the cornering attitude is flat. The transmission adds to the thrill with its short throws and positive feel. The fat-rimmed steering wheel is great. It is an inexpensive sports car that feels like a REALLY expensive sports car. Where the car shows its relatively low price tag, unfortunately, is in the interior materials. The leather seats feel more like rubber. There are scars on the dash from where there used to be an airbag-warning sticker or something, and the expanses that aren't scarred feel like they would be happier in a Neon. The door armrests are rough. The switches feel a bit cheap. I guess that's the tradeoff, if it had been made as well as the RX-7 inside it would have cost as much as the RX-7 did. The car has been completely reliable for 15 months, fingers crossed. It has already survived more miles than Dad's first RX-2 did. Time will tell if it lasts as long as the Subaru. Until then, the hair on the back of our necks will be getting its exercise...

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