Buford

I love it when this happens. Today I test drove a sports car that’s twice as expensive as my tC, and I still like the tC better.

Every now and then, I get this crazy urge to go test drive stuff. It’s often just a curiosity about how green the grass is on the other side, but some of it has to do with my inner-sports-car-snob. I sometimes wonder what I’m missing by not having a rear-wheel drive performance car... one that is frequently used as a platform for professional and amateur road-racing (the Toyota Pro-Celebrity Challenge notwithstanding). Some of us tC owners probably secretly consider the tC a legitimate sports car, while others don’t. I suspect that if you surf over to a 350Z forum that you’d get a much more homogenous (and negative) response. So anyway, I sometimes find myself on car lots kicking tires and trying to dodge the salesman’s spiel.

Today was one of those days. My legitimate excuse to go to the Mazda dealer was to look at the MazdaSpeed6. My wife will eventually need to replace her Camry, and I have been hoping to talk her into something sporty. Not all Mazda dealers are MazdaSpeed dealers, and such was the case. So, I figured I should go ahead and look at the RX-8 since I was there. The one I looked at was a manual version, and I believe it included the Touring Package. It did not have leather, but the sticker was still over $31K. I suspect that leather seats are something I will want in all my future cars. This one was also black. I’m just too lazy to keep a black car looking good. Still, I took it for a test drive, and came up with some opinions that I’ll share.

Things I didn’t like about the RX-8.

1. Plasticy interior. I know this is odd coming from a tC owner, but for the extra money I’d expect a little more. Frankly, our plastic is pretty darn good. The rice-paper texture on the dash goes a long way toward making the interior work on a tC.

2. No torque at all. It’s a rotary thing. But, I somehow expected there to be a little more usable power in the normal around-town driving range. Honestly, I think my stock Scion has more beans than the RX-8 when it comes to getting off a stop, or even during rolling acceleration.

3. Seating position is “down in” the car. It has sort of a cool feel, but there were lots of blind spots. You never realize how good the view is out the back of a tC until you drive something else.

4. The E-brake lever is too huge, and it doesn’t fold all the way down.

5. The speedometer was a digital readout, and it was hard to locate with a quick glance. I found myself going a little too fast at one point while being eye-balled by a Po-po. Of all things, “Radar Love” was playing on the radio. Fortunately, the policeman was looking for bigger fish. The other digital display (above the center console) was also hard to see, and a little busy.

6. Ford owns a controlling interest in Mazda. It’s not that I’m an import-car snob, but I do have to wonder how that could manifest itself. For instance, if it ever needs service, will they have some kid working on it who has limited rotary experience? Many Mazda dealerships are also Ford dealerships. Even though the RX-8 is made in Japan, I wonder how much Ford had to do with some of the features. For instance, the cruise control. Every Japanese car I’ve ever driven has a cruise control stalk like Toyota. The RX-8 was different. The placement of the power window buttons was also a little weird to me.

7. The suicide doors just don’t buy you much knee room in the back. The tC probably has three times as much space back there. I’m a short guy, and I refused to even try to squeeze in.

8. It only seats four. There is a tunnel that runs down the middle of the car that houses the drive shaft. Up front this is no big deal, but it separates the two rear seats. There is no way you could squeeze that small fifth person in the middle, like you could in the tC.

9. The car has some odd peculiarities (I guess all peculiarities are odd). One is that the car is literally designed to burn up oil. That just seems wrong to me, even though Mazda claims it's normal for a rotary. The other is that you sort of need to let the engine run a few minutes when you crank it up (more so than a piston engine). Cranking it up just to reposition it in the driveway a couple times can very well lead to fouled plugs.

10. Gas mileage is notoriously bad in the RX-8. I don’t remember what the sticker said, but I’ve seen reviews that claimed 18/25.

11. The overall styling is a strange combination of “unique” and “uninspiring.” I stared at the fenders and the rear end for the longest time, and I just kept saying to myself, “that’s odd, I don’t know if I like it.” I’ve owned some neat looking cars (to include a Porsche 912E, a Porsche 944, a Datsun B210, and a first generation Miata); yet I’m still impressed with the lines of my tC. Every now and then I’ll find some new angle to look at the Scion, and it never fails to look “cool.”

12. The ignition key was too big. Okay, that’s silly, but it was. I don’t know if keyless ignition is available on the RX-8, but it should be mandatory on all cars from now on.

13. Obviously the price doesn’t seem appropriate. For a car that nearly costs as much as a base Infiniti G35 or Lexus ES, I shouldn’t be able to conclude that it’s not much better than a $17K Scion.

Things I liked about the RX-8.

1. The shift **** felt nice, and shifted with short notchy throws.

2. The clutch feel was very smooth and easy to get used to.

3. The redline was 9K!

4. Not a huge reach back for the seatbelt when you get into the car. In the tC, I feel like I’m having to reach back to the trunk to find the seatbelt.

5. Billet style pedals.

6. Although this doesn’t have to do with the car, the salesman was super nice. He let me take the car out by myself, and didn’t require a DNA sample in advance.

That's all I got; your results may vary. I predict that I'll drive the tC until Toyota comes out with a new version of the Supra, or another roadster, or something else sporty. :D

draxcaliber

thanks for another addition of things we already know!

aside from those minute details that are mostely personal preference and opinions, most of us already know that we would never trade in a tc for an rx8.

Buford

I'm famous for that.

I did a forum search, and the only "tC & RX-8" threads I found were people talking about how they street raced one on Friday night. I didn't know that we all understood that our Scions were better than a $31,000+ sports car. I guess I'm the only guy surprised by that.

draxcaliber

nah, i didn't mean to be crass about that, but we've all talked and red about how the rx8 is only good at one thing which is handling. it doesn't have enough power, it burns alot of gas which is because of the 9000 rpm redline.

those are some on paper facts about the car, the rest is just personal preferences. i'm sure an rx8 lover can post on his forum his opinions of the tc.

anyway, the rx8 is a toy, not really a daily driver, it is just about as impractical as it can get. burns alot of gas and oil, not very roomy,suspension probably beats you up a bit going over city streets.

as for the interior design and layout, they just had a theme with the rotary idea. i don't see much inspiration in the tc's interior, but it is simple and clean and everything is nice and big and easy to read and the materials are decent quality.

most tc owners have traded up for a impreza, evo, 350z and so on, i don't think i've read anybody trading their car for an rx8, maybe an rx7, but who can even find one of those these days?

anyway, wasn't meaning to be kinda rude, and say your opinions are worthless, i just love chiming in with my sarcastic comments.

scionofPCFL

RX8 = blech.

2nd gen RX7 =

TrafficinLA

You can pick up a RX-8 for cheap these days. A new one will cost you about $25000 if you haggle with the dealership. It is not as utilitarian as the tC but it is a nice sports car. Oh, and the oil burning is normal for a rotary.

farberio

I dunno, I figure

RX8 = 100 HP away from a great car. (or a 20B)

2nd Gen RX7 = Most incredible car ever conceived.

scionofPCFL

you can add all the hp you want to an RX8, it still looks horrible.

I want to do the same thing to the people that designed and green lighted the RX8 and the MR2 Spyder: Launch them on a rail gun to the center of the sun, so that maybe, just maybe their family can wipe away the shame and disgrace these feble minded committee designers have brought upon them. Right now, they are below maggot puke for their sins.