I am excited. Even LegendaryMrsDude is excited. So in txt spk, you could say that "We RX-8ed". Get it?

I've started looking for something worthy of replacing it. This could be a long process but the first in line is the Mazda RX-8, the latest 2+2 seater sports car from Mazda. It's only for a test drive, but in 4 days I've put it through as many scenarios as I can manage and the words you find here are based on my close scrutiny and extensive testing.

From the outside, the RX-8 is a beautiful car - arguably the best looking production car on the road today. It's only available in 6 colours and the one I've been sent is a metallic royal blue - Strato Blue (Mica) according to the brochure. The other choices are a typical mix of red, black and silver. But it's not the colour that sets it apart, it's the design.

Curiously, there seems to be something of a styling theme to the RX- 8- triangles abound. There's one sculpted into the bonnet, there's an aluminium triangle on the front spoiler, the rear foglight is triangular, there are triangles carved through the head rests and there's even a triangle shaped motif on the key! Then it strikes me - the RX-8 uses the latest incarnation of Mazda's legendary rotary engine technology - dubbed RENESIS from "Rotary Engine Genesis". At the heart of the rotary engine is a triangular rotor (or two in the case of the RX-8) that acts much like the piston in a regular engine - so they've taken this as the motif for the car. A nice touch and it proves my point that there's a reason for everything in the styling.

Talking of airbags, safety is a big thing. Air bags are pretty much everywhere actually, passenger airbag, curtain airbags and side airbags mean that you should be reasonably well protected should the worst happen. These are backed up by reinforced body panels for side impact, crumple zones front and back and non-intruding pedals etc.

Unfortunately, fitting like a glove isn't always a good thing. Sometimes you want a car to fit more like a mitten - with a bit of room to wiggle. The RX-8 doesn't leave you much wiggle room, especially if you are a passenger and even more so if you're a passenger in the back. Space in the front is snug but comfortable. Good seat adjustments and plenty of space over the dashboard reduce the feeling of claustrophobia. The sunroof (a £350 option) also helps reduce the chances of claustrophobia, although perversely it reduces the headroom by about an inch.

The freestyle door means there is only the smallest of side windows - about as big as a window on a plane. The enclosed feeling is added too by the front seats, which are big, solid objects that you can't really see through, leaving your only real view of the world coming from looking between the front seats and out through the front window. This is possible thanks to the transmission tunnel that runs the length of the car and provides good separation between all of the occupants. It also means that it's not really possible to swap from one side of the car to the. If you get in the left-hand-side back seat, you will stay in it until someone opens the front door, opens the back door and lets you out. You won't be hopping over to the other side internally.

So that should have told you about the car as an object, but how is it to drive?

Start up the engine and the first thing you notice is how easy it turns over. No grumbling or growling, a fraction of a second is long enough to get is started. Once started, the instrument pods glow confidently and you are greeted by the rev-counter that dominates the instrument console. And it goes all the way up to 10,000. So this is clearly no ordinary car.

The engine also sounds nice - different but nice. Kind of like a cross between a jet turbine, a washing machine and a power-tool. It kind of whizzes and whines as it gains speed, with a sporty exhaust note not quite hiding the fact that the engine is only 1.3 litres. Power aplenty is provided right from the beginning, the rotary engine delivering it in a smooth curve that doesn't have any noticeable bumps in it. Unlike the Civic type-R with its VTEC engine, where all the power came in one big dollop at 6,000 rpm, this is creamy smooth and evenly spread. There's no mad rush as 200bhp suddenly hit the front wheels and leaves you frantically chasing the next gear. Instead there's just smooth, constant acceleration with the high rev limit leaving plenty of time for the next gear change.

The RX-8 is also rear-wheel driven,

Pictures of Mazda RX-8

The dials

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Around town the car behaves itself. The clutch is light and the gears handle the stop-start of rush-hour traffic well enough. Visibility takes a little getting used to though, the small rear windows mean that you are almost entirely reliant on your wing-mirrors as glancing over your shoulder just gives you a view of the chunky C-pillar. The suspension is compliant enough that it takes at least some of the bumps out of the road and the brakes don't leave you with whiplash if used judiciously (although they are more than capable of stopping the car very quickly indeed). The steering stays pleasingly light at low speeds, which makes parking relatively easy, or at least it would if it weren't for the poor visibility and sticky-out boot. Rear parking sensors would be a great option!

Out on the open road is really where the RX-8 should be though. Hold the gears as long as you can and take it up to 8,000 rpm to get the best of the engine. It whizzes and hums all the way, delivering power calmly and smoothly to the back wheels. The steering firms up as the speed gathers; the aerodynamics hold the car to the road. Brake for the corner, change down and power through the apex. While it pretends to be a sensible family car, this is what it's really been designed for and it does it very well. Confidence abounds and you will joyously eat up miles and miles of twisty, turny country roads to the whizzing hum of the RENESIS rotary engine. Who needs motorways, they're always full of cars anyway. Long ways around are now a thing to be actively sought out. And if your alternative is the M25, you will probably get there quicker as well as having more fun.

Fuel economy is the biggest problem. It may only be a 1.3litre engine but revving up to 9,000rpm it drinks petrol like iced lemonade on a hot summer's day. Around town Mazda claim you can get 18mpg, my tests would say that this assumes you don't get stuck in traffic, stopped at lights or any other hold-ups. Closer to 15mpg may be more honest. On the motorway, with less acceleration and a more consistent speed, Mazda think you should be able to coax upwards of 30mpg from the high-performance RENESIS. On a 75 mile motorway run around the M25 I used about 15 litres (or 3.5 gallons), giving an economy of barely 23mpg!!! And I wasn't driving particularly hard - just keeping up with traffic at around 70mph. I expect that the claimed 31mpg only comes at the usual 56.6mph though. Thankfully, there is a generous 60litre tank so range is reasonably good - you might expect 300 miles of motorway driving on a full tank. On the down-side, 60ls at 90p a litre (and rising) is expensive to fill and if you drive a lot you will probably end up on first-name terms with the staff at your local filling station.

Alas, my test drive is over. I've clocked up about 350 miles so it's by no means comprehensive. It's cost me about £90 in petrol (and I used the spare litre of oil that came with the car in the boot) but I've enjoyed it. This car is great fun. It inspires confidence and goes like the clappers. It's also very comfortable and extremely well put together, both in terms of design and quality. There aren't all that many of them around so they remain a little unusual. Finally, it has to be one of the most handsome cars on the road at the moment. Certainly it's attracted admiring glances from passers-by and started conversations with the neighbours.