Mazda RX8 – anyone own one?

Got the chance to buy a Mazda RX8 off someone I know, so I think it is a good price.

Just curious to see if anyone owns one and can comment on the good/bad points. Not interested in how it performs as a biking car, just if it is reliable and worth the expense of running it.

There seem to be a few common problems, but my main worry is the rotary engine reliability.

2 friends have had RX8’s from new. One was 100% reliable. The other got rid after a year after having lots of reliablity issues. Both complain about the running costs but agree it’s a good drive.

I don’t own one but whoever had broke down at the traffic lights down the bottom of my road this morning does. 😯

Nearly bought one. It was was a car for the wife.

Test drove a
RX8
350Z
S2000
SLK 350

The RX8 I felt was the best handling car of all of them, but I was underwhelmed by the engine.

I preferred the 350Z out of all of them the wife liked the SLK and that is what she bought. Though I know she almost regretted not going for the RX8

Bazzer

Sem to be a lot around second hand at the moment. Mazda garage near us had a pile of them late last year.

Ruinous CO2 and mpg

You have to scream the engine to get anything out of them – they feel (relatively) gutless when driving around town.

They are very uneconomical (around 20mpg combined compared to around 30mpg combined on, say, an Audi TT with almost exactly the same performance).

They use almost as much oil as petrol.

My brother’s work mate was selling one recently and my brother expressed an interest. He said he wouldn’t sell one to someone he knew as he thought it would ultimately disappoint them.

They are amazing when driven like a small sporty car should be.

I looked at them 3 ish years ago along with MX5’s.

A nice querky car in many ways, however from the research I did, depreciate alot, really bad mpg even if you drive slowly, drink oil, drive them wrong and you can flood the engine which becomes a nightmare to resolve apperently. Either very reliable or the wankel engine can go pop and costs a fortune to replace.

Overall I wanted a sports car and the MX5 drives much better and is pretty bomb proof.

Not sure I would want an RX8 over a SLK350! The 350 is much quicker and more refined although not quite as connected to drive.

had one for a year matt. I had the 192 BHP version and although it drives beautifully with a 50/50 weight distribution, I found it a real ballache as a daily driving car.

1) You can’t just start the engine and shut it down again without waiting for the engine to fully warm up (at least 5 minutes). You can perform a procedure which involves holding your foot on the accelerator at 4K RPM (quite loud) then turning off the ignition whilst foot still on accelerator. This reduces the chances of flooding, but I still had the RAC out once for this. You can’t just swap the cars around on the drive way, and letting someone else drive the car whether it be friends, valets, mechanics etc involves giving them the above instructions (queue blank looking faces and calling out the RAC again).

2) 20MPG if you are really careful. a 65 quid tank of petrol will get you 200 miles if you are lucky. There is an elite group on the owners club forum who have somehow managed 300 miles from a tank. God knows how they ever managed this. London to Edinburgh at 55MPH perhaps.

3) Litre of oil every 1K miles or less. They actually give you a bottle to keep in the boot for emergencies it’s that much of a drinker.

I’ve a 1.6 Diesel Focus now and a MUCH happier driver.

If you want a drivers car, get an MX5. I had 2 before the RX8 and they beat it on every single point except top speed and acceleration, but they are plenty fast to get into trouble on welsh roads and a smile a minute. Get a good mk 1 for 2K and never look back.

RX8 was one of the few cars I regretted buying. MX5s I regretted selling!

oh I forgot..

4) The clutch appeared to have a different bite point for each gear and I *never* mastered it.

So there you have it.

my boss used to get 13-17mpg out of his. 40 mile country road commute. 😯

I also heard about not being able to turn it off before it’s warmed up. A colleage bought one new and no-one at the dealer told him about this – he was most annoyed. Even if you so much as stall it before it’s warm, you’re stuffed. He could often be seen sitting in his car at work with the engine running waiting to be able to safely drive home.

No wonder the engine is called a Wankel

My brother’s had a 190 bhp one for about five years and I’ve driven it a fair bit.

Pros: Really nicely balanced handling, great fun on A and B roads.
Sweet revvy engine which is more tractable at low revs than many make out but you need to rev it to go fast.
Cheap insurance and servicing.
Remarkable packaging – fits 4 comfortably and his roadbike (though he looks bit cramped being 6’5″).
Very good value when new.
His has been flawlessly reliable.
Cons: Eats fuel (and oil if you’re doing more miles).
You have to be v careful about never running the engine for less than 5 minutes.
Fidgety when motorway cruising – quite tiring on long journeys.
Hopeless in snow and ice – he borrowed an XC90 last winter.
Slow if you can’t be bothered to change gear to get it revving.

We tested the 230bhp version as well and that was more crotchety at low revs but even better when you let it loose.

If you’re a v low mileage driver that wants a fun yet practical car it’s a good alternative to a hot hatch. If you rack up lots of motorway miles definitely look elsewhere.

I had one for a year or so. I dont regret it and sold due to child #3 on the way, there are pro’s and con’s:

Pro’s

Lovely to drive, lots of electronics to get you out of trouble
Cockpit feels like your own personal jetfighter.
Superb gear shift action and placement.
Simply howls in the higher rev ranges, a little bit of a race car.
Surprisingly large boot, I’ve had bikes in there with wheels off, or a big shop.
Excellent seats, low driving position.
Suicide doors make it easy to get in/out the back – great for a conversation starter too!

Con’s

Lots of electronics to get you out of trouble.
Strict 4 seater, can’t get 3 people in the back due to sculpted bench
Flooding – mine was never the same after the wife ignored my careful instructions and moved it 10 feet up the street while I was out and flooded it. After that it was always a bit ‘burpy’?
20mpg if you’re careful, 8-12 if you have a lead foot. Add 2-3 litres of oil per month and hefty tax/insurance on top.
Expensive but ultimately disappointing bose stereo.

If you’re rich, get one and have a blast, but only have 1 key and keep it round your neck at all times.

I do miss my 230 (192’s are much harder to sell on I’ve heard), but I miss my mark 2 mx-5 a lot more. Having said that, for a year round car it’s a great sporty compromise and it wont kill you in the wet and snow like an mx-5 will.

“wont kill you in the wet and snow like an mx-5 will.”

The Mk3 has traction and stability control stuff, which can be easily switched off. In the wet it was still near on imposible to unstick the back end unless really trying, but boy you could have fun if you tried (with traction off). I didnt find snow a problem, well no more than any other rwd, but I guess limited slip diff helped.

I had a Merc SLK 350 for a brief period of time, that was very quick, beautiful engine, a great grand tourer, but not a nippy nimble sports car, plus you couldnt turn the traction off which was very frustrating. However when you really pushed it, it would let go with no warning and the computers wouldnt catch it, but then I dont like traction control systems as they only work well if you keep your foot planted and drive like you hae got a clue how to control a car in a slide.

Yep, the mk3 is a different beastie. My experience is all with the Mark 2, and I had a couple of brown trouser moments in the wet. It could be quite predictable up until the moment it wasn’t.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Couple of really good points raised, especially about flooding the engine.

I had a 192 for nearly three years from new (demo). I cannot tell you how much I miss that car, but I knew what I was getting into.

I’ve never driven anything that loves corners so much, my one lap of the Nordshlief in it was absolute brown trousers as the car egged me on to go much faster than I really wanted to.

mereditp probably gave the best answer in my view, but I would like to add that I got 23mpg from mine and it never once flooded. I believe that Mazda tweaked with the starter motor electronics after 08 which improved things a lot. Also I did not have to add anywhere near 1l of oil per month.

The main downside for me was handling in the wet with stock tyres. Basically, there isn’t any.

I wouldn’t touch one (right or wrongly) you have to be careful about driving them for a short distance and turning them off before the car has warmed up.

You can’t vouch that the previous owner(s) have done this can you?

Plus of course it’ll have been moved around the pitch, taken on test drives etc all before being warmed up…

“Plus of course it’ll have been moved around the pitch, taken on test drives etc all before being warmed up…”

Nope its proabably the one car that they will definately warm up before you drive it because they dont want the engine flooding and you not buying the car!

The one I test drove had then engine running when I got in to it…

it wont kill you in the wet and snow like an mx-5 will

Never had any trouble myself, and that were in a Mk1 with jack all in the way of driving assistance unless you count power steering and servoce assisted brakes.

Much as I love Mazda, and the Rx-7/8 I wouldn’t buy one. just ask yourself why no one else has persisted with the rotary. The last plus point died when they changed VED to CO2 from displacement.

If it wasnt for the VED I would have owned one by now.. 🙁

I sat in the back of one recently for about 10 miles and I couldn’t wait to get out – truly claustrophobic, nauseating experience

Tried the front seat on the way back and the headroom seemed limited – and I’m only 6 foot

I had a 231bhp PZ which was great fun. My missus tried it and never really went back to her TT after that.

Great to drive, a real pointy car, but easy to just cruise in. Wacky rear doors make them suprisingly practical for tinies.

The oil consumption is outrageous, the £400 a year tax is ridiculous and the insurance quotes even for an old fart like me with clean everything is still mind blowing.

Still liked it though. Running costs are part of the experience, like owning a swimming pool.

just ask yourself why no one else has persisted with the rotary

They are popular in snowmobiles apparently 🙂

The reborn Norton motorbike used a rotary. Very popular in some aircraft, too, where you’d think reliability would be a good thing…

I don’t think reliability is an issue – it is just that certain inherent traits they have mean they aren’t an ideal car engine.