Mazda RX-8 Range
There are certain terms that car manufacturers love to use when pushing their latest wares. Words like extreme, radical, groundbreaking, and distinctive are often used to describe cars that are anything but. We grow immune to this hyperbole, a healthy amount of cynicism protecting us from the worst excesses of the press offices. Every now and then, however, something arrives that genuinely does break the mould.
The Mazda RX-8 has certainly lived up to that particular billing. Here is a car that provides even greater impetus to Mazdas ongoing renaissance.
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With the RX-8, it comes in two guises, one with 189bhp and another with 237bhp priced at £21,500 and £23,000 respectively. The less powerful car has marginally more torque 162lb/ft as opposed to 157lb/ft but most will pay the relatively small premium for the additional 48bhp. The payoff is definitely worth it. Rather than use a conventional internal combustion engine in which a number of pistons pump up and down in their respective cylinders to provide the motive power, a rotary engine like the one used by Mazda instead adopts a completely different engineering solution.
Two triangular rotors spin in ellipsoidal chambers which, as any student engineer will attest, is a very elegant theory. Why? Because constantly spinning a rotor is a far more efficient use of energy than the wasteful, reciprocating motion of a piston accelerating from 0mph at the end of its travel up to around 40mph and then decelerating to 0mph at the other end of the cylinder, all in the space of a hundredth of a second.
"The chassis offers the same sort of taut feel that made the last RX-7 such a favourite amongst those who appreciated a proper rear-wheel drive sports car"
Thats the theory. In fact rotary engines have a reputation for being thirsty, dirty and difficult to maintain. Mazda claim to have addressed these issues with the latest RENESIS engine found in the RX-8, the powerplant winning the 2003 Engine Of The Year award in fact. As well as the traditional virtues of rotary engines, namely their smooth revving nature, their low weight and their flat, broad spread of torque, Mazda have ironed out many of the bugbears.
The efficiency of the engine has been improved by a fundamental redesign of the way air and fuel are pulled into the combustion chamber and the way that exhaust gases are ported out. Cleanliness has been improved as well, with unburnt hydrocarbons being recycled back into the chamber for another torching. As regards durability, Mazda have worked hard to exorcise the demon of rotor tip wear using high tech materials and having a clear understanding of the thermodynamics at work in the engine. The result is an engine that can rev to 9,000rpm without ever feeling strained.
It settles to a hum at idle but then just zings straight up to the redline with turbine-like smoothness. If anything this RX-8 feels a good deal livelier than its rest to 60mph showing of 6.0 seconds would suggest. The chassis offers the same sort of taut feel that made the last RX-7 such a favourite amongst those who appreciated a proper rear-wheel drive sports car.
Although RX-7 diehards groaned with disappointment when they saw that their darling was being replaced by a car with four seats and a more upright profile, the result is a more rounded car in every sense of the word. Yes, the sensitivity of the steering and the feedback through the seat of your pants has been dialled back a few degrees, but the RX-8 still knows how to entertain in a way thats proved beyond the ken of cars like the Audi TT and the Mercedes C-class Sports Coupe. Fuel consumption still isnt what youd describe as stellar, although its certainly a good deal less thirsty than the RX-7. Expect to average 25.
6mpg in the 189bhp version and 24.3mpg for the 237bhp car. In reality, it will require a very disciplined right foot to return such figures over the course of an ownership spell as the RX-8 is one of those cars with an infectious nature that tempts you into frequent right boot to the bulkhead progress. Its a welcome return to form from Mazda, riding high on the back of ongoing success with the MX-5 and latterly the Mazda6 range.
Three years ago, a Mazda stand at a motor show was an interest free area. Now its one of the hot tickets. This corporate ambition has been reflected in sales, Mazda being one of the industrys current success stories. The RX-8 will do their corporate image no harm at all, boosting sales of cars like the Mazda2 supermini.
Although it may prove a little avant-garde for some, this desirable four-door coupe brings radical design and innovative technology within the budgets of many who would have previously considered something a little more mainstream. Its a car that rewards a little adventure like few others. Practical yet potent, well equipped and also extremely easy on the eye, the RX-8 deserves a decent crack of the whip. For better or worse, one suspects itll never become a predictable choice.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Mazda RX-8 range
PRICES: £21,500-£23,000 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 20
PERFORMANCE: [237bhp] 0-60mph 6.0s / Max Speed 150mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [189bhp] (combined) 24.3mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and curtain airbags ABS, EBD, traction control, dynamic stability control, ISOFIX child seat mountings
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 174/70/53 inches
