Mazda RX-8 > Reviews (29)

I have had the pleasure of owning my 2005 230BHP RX-8 for about a year now and thus far i have had no problems whatsoever. I purchased the car because of certain crudentials, its looks looks, the price and the fact that it was rear wheel drive as these days most stuff on the market is front wheel drive.
The model which i have has all the options which was available to the car, this did not cost me but the last owner who bought the car from new!!
The leather interior wears quite well and i do not find the seats too uncomfortable, the bose stereo is great and the sat nav is quite easy to use, the only draw back for me with regards to the interior is the quality of the plastic, they seem to scratch very easily which makes the trim look cheap. Apart from the trim the interior is well sorted.
When i was in the market for an Rx-8 i was under no illusion of some of the floors with the car, the fuel and oil consumption!
To a full tank of fuel i manage to get about 200miles around town which equates to approximateley 15MPG, on the motorway i acheive 300miles to a tank approximatley 23MPG, this all depends how quick you are going, but overall i do not think that they are bad figures for what you pay for the car and the performance that you get.
The oil consumption is not all that bad i use about 1 litre of oil every 1500 miles and religiously check it every week. It is best to get the oil from mazda by the gallon, i have just purchased some more and it cost £30.70 inc vat which is not too bad, its cheaper than a new engine!
I have only had one bad experience with the car and that was that it flooded and refused to start, this was due to the car being started from cold and switched off almost immeidiatley when the car was still on choke, so now i ensure that the car is up to temperature before i switch it off and this has sorted this little floor.
The performance is good, but be prepared to rev the engine when pressing on as the power is all at top revs, the gearbox is really good and the ratios are well sorted to keep the engine singing. I was expecting to feel more power from the engine but this is deceptive as the power deliverey is very smooth.
I am very impressed with the handling as i once discovered when i switched the traction control off, the car is very forgiving and quite easy to hold a slide if this is provoked - this was done on a track of course.
Overall i am impressed with the car and would recommend one to friend, but i would mention the high fuel comsumption and oil use, it is a value for money coupe which looks great and is rear wheel drive and the support from the dealers is second to none.