Mazda RX-8 2006
July 15, 2006 by Alborz Fallah
You might have been slightly surprised that I decided to give the number 1 sports car for 2006 prize to the Mazda RX-8, not only because the car has been available since 2003, but because its such an.. odd.. sports car. It uses a rotary engine to begin with, making it the only car sold (in mass) in Australia that uses this type of engine. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept click to read more about Rotary Engines.
Nevertheless, the Mazda RX-8 is Car Advice’s Sports car of 2006 because it is not just an Icon but a technological masterpiece and more than anything, the point of a sports car is to not only be fast, and handle well, but also attract as much positive attention as humanely possible and the RX-8 does that quite well.
Unfortunately, the only downfall of the RX-8 is its lack of power, sure the 177kw of power and 211Nm of torque propel the car from 0-100 km/hr in just 6.2 seconds, but compared to the old Mazda RX-7s or even the Mazda 3 MPS, the RX-8 feels slow. Now why would Mazda fail to Turbo charge the RX-8? Because Turbo charging the RX-8s Rotary engine would have meant that Mazda couldn’t sell the car due to emission laws. What a shame! Because the RX-8 would have been even more of a screamer had it come with a Turbo.
The most important reason this car is number 1 is because it is a true practical sports car. With the looks, the room, the equipment, the performance and the attention grabbing road presence, the Mazda RX-8 is just superb. If you are into modifications and don’t care much about the planet, aftermarket turbo kits are available for the RX-8 which boosts the power considerably.
The Suicide doors are also a nice attention grabbing feature of the RX-8, Mazda likes to call them otherwise, but Suicide doors is the term, and the RX-8’s doors give a generous amount of room to get inside the car for front and rear passengers. However for those unfortunate enough to find themselves in the rear seats of a RX-8, the problem of actually seeing where the driver is taking you is apparent. Nevertheless, those little windows in the back seats do actually open so at least you can get some air!
If you find yourself complaining about turbo lag in Turbo charged cars, it is worth noting that the RX-8 peaks at around 6000 RPM! The sound of the rotary engine is second to none and at those revs the car really starts going. For those of you who can’t be bothered to change gears, the RX-8 is not for you! Mazda down tuned the Automatic RX-8 to just 141 KW (about the same as your Toyota Camry) since the gearbox couldn’t handle the revs and Mazda decided to go for more mid range power than high end power.
The weakest part of the Mazda RX-8 are the brakes. Even with the electronic brake distribution and ABS controlled with ventilated brake rotors that are fairly large at 12.7 inches in front and 11.9 inches in rear, the brakes are too soft and the stopping distance is not one to lose any sleep over.
Being a rotary you wouldn’t expect the RX-8 to be the most fuel efficient sports car there is, weighing only 1337kg the RX-8 uses 12.6L/100km for city and highway driving but given you are driving one of the most beautiful cars for less than $65,000, I wouldn’t complain!
Full list of standard equipment follows:
- Speaker Stereo
- ABS (Antilock Brakes)
- Adjustable Steering Col. – Tilt only
- Air Cond. – Climate Control
- Airbags – Driver & Passenger (Dual)
- Airbags – Head for 1st Row Seats (Front)
- Airbags – Head for 2nd Row Seats
- Airbags – Side for 1st Row Occupants (Front)
- Body Colour – Bumpers
- Body Colour – Fittings
- CD Stacker – 6 disc In Dash/Cabin
- Control – Dynamic Stability
- Control – Traction
- Cruise Control
- Disc Brakes Front Ventilated
- Disc Brakes Rear Ventilated
- EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution)
- Engine Immobiliser
- Front Stabiliser
- Headrests – Integrated 2nd Row
- Independent Rear Suspension
- Intermittent Wipers – Variable
- Leather Gear Knob
- Leather Steering Wheel
- Limited Slip Differential
- Metallic Finish Air Vents (interior)
- Metallic Finish Inserts
- Metallic Finish Instrument Surrounds
- Metallic Finish Switch Panel
- Multi-function Steering Wheel
- Power Door Mirrors – Heated
- Power Steering – Electric Assist
- Power Windows – Front only
- Remote Boot/Hatch Release
- Remote Fuel Lid Release
- Sports Seats – 1st Row (Front)
- Suspension – Sports
- Tacho
Print it: 
Too slow. Designed for middle aged wives. Give me my MPS3 or even a series 6 Turbo anyday.
It aint all about speed,Sean my lad. You’ll realise that when you’re a wee bit older. Brilliant car. Designed from day one as a sports car. Not a shopping trolley with a turbocharger.
I just sold my 2004 Subaru STi for a 2008 RX8. I thought I’d made a horrible mistake on the first day…… then I found some corners and the world became wonderful again.
It ain’t the fastest thing on the planet & an STi would eat it for breakfast in most conditions, but it satisfies nicely on a twisty road while being comfortable, classy & good looking (e.g. not like the STi). Besides which, cars are mostly slow anyway- buy a bike if you wanna go fast….. ha ha
Agree with Tex. Not as fast as WRX (and we’re only talking tenth’s of seconds). Subaru’s have had bland interiors for years, the WRX is plain ugly. You look at the RX8 and it has class, the car’s distinctive shape is recognisable from afar. I get elderly people admiring it, middle aged, and the young. But it’s not a boy toy racer. Mazda has got it right with this one and power delivery is ample. Brakes are slightly disappointing.
When you know how to drive an RX8, it is unbelievably a rewarding experience, extremly fast with handling to compliment it. I’ve driven a lot of fast cars in the past and would not trade my RX8 for anything – even if its a couple of tenths of a second faster.
40 odd thousand for a Mazda 3 MPS that is half a second quicker. Gimme a break. It’s like spending 60 odd grand for an EVO lancer, unbelievably quick but so what, it is still a bland old lancer in every sense.