RX-8 vs. MX-5

[iceman91]

"The MX-5 is one of the best sports car ever made, and is far and away the most successful showroom based sports car in racing. "

that is a pretty strong statement..are you sure you dont own a mx-5 or work for mazda

[Harbir]

I do own one. its my 4th. I've had 4 because its so damn good. and I know what I am talking about. I also have a Lotus Sport Elise, one of only 50 made, the best handling of any road going Lotus ever. I've also owned other performance cars and have driven no end of them, including just recently, an NSX, an E90 M3, a Z51 Corvette, and a 987 Boxster.

I know what I am talking about.

In the end, its one opinion and you're welcome to disagree, but its not an uninformed, ill considered opinion.

Whether it is the absolute best or not depends on any individuals unique expectations, but it is certainly one of the handful of best sports cars ever.

Sports Car International Magazine did a decade by decade "best sports car" listing, following by "all time best"

Sports Car International Top Sports Cars - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the MX-5 (miata), is on the top 10 all time list, the only one of two current production cars on that list, the other being the Porsche 911.

[Nitin]

Totally agree with Harbir. I'd vouch for the MX-5's performance,over the RX-8. Compare it to the other cars from Mazda,and the MX-5 stands out.
In Indian conditions,it'll be better suited on any given day. Mileage is good,handling is something anyone will love.

Driven both cars,so I know how it feels in a mixed driving cycle of city & freeway conditions. The fun factor stands out in the MX-5.

[iceman91]

chill harbir. read my posts. I never said that you dont know what you are talking about

[Mpower]

I almost bought a Miata and my good friend Ananth owns one. No argument that the miata is awesome sports car, but we are talking about perception here which is driven mostly by its cute looks/petite proportions and mild engine. Bottom line is that it doesn't appeal to the majority of the sports compact crowd.

I know many a hopped up-Civic or WRX owner who wouldn't be caught dead in a Miata. Even the Gen1 Elise (not sold in US) had similar issues and Lotus made a serious effort to correct with a massive dose of testosterone for the Gen2

The biggest market for the Miata is the senior crowd (baby boomers) who grew up with British sports cars and find the Miata nostalgic. The distant second is the hardcore enthusiast crowd like yourself. The even more unfortunate thing is that women dont buy this car in large numbers either.

PS: my comments are relevant to the US only

As far as the RX8, my comments are from a coworker who leased it for 3 years. Loved the way it rode but kinda relieved to see it go. Performance starts dropping off after 30K.

Another friend has a Gen3 Rx-7 turbo going on 3rd rebuild in less than 60K miles. In fact a popular sign that RX7 owners flash to each other is the number of rebuilds

[Harbir]

I hear you.

Everybody falls at my knees because of my Lotus, half the town knows me because of the car. My Miata never impressed anyone. When I first got my Miata, the guys I knew said it was for gays, and most girls thought it was emasculating and sissy for me to have a Miata.

The question is how much you care about what other people think. I love the attention the Lotus gets, but i wasn't going to let other people's reaction deprive me of the expereince the MX-5 provides.

[HL4EVR]

According To the advice given by all of u MX 05 should be a good car
but how do u get it into india
what is the procedure and costs involved in it
and THANKS TO ALL OF U for helping

[dipen]

How are cars below 40k USD brought in India. We all know only cars above 40k USD dont need homologation. Can anyone highlight the most legal way of doing so, if it exists.
I am curious about cars like the recent RX8, 350Z, STI.
@scooby05, can you share some light on this, since you bought tour STI which is below 40k USD.

[ananthkamath]

I wholeheartedly agree with what Mpower and harbir said. Its unfortunate the miata has a poor image, but as an owner of a pristine NA-chassis example, I couldn't care less what other people think.

My buddy scoobySTi used to own a RX8 before he bought the STi and he wasnt too happy with the car's power delivery either. I think the car had some engine issues as well, and that is quite uncommon in a late-model car.

Originally Posted by Mpower

I know many a hopped up-Civic or WRX owner who wouldn't be caught dead in a Miata.

That is until a stock-looking miata whooshes past them with that unmistakable whining noise.

[Scooby STi]

I thought i'd add my two pence having been an RX8 owner and having driven an MX-5.
I enjoyed the RX8 for 4 months before I let it go because I did'nt want to bring it to Michigan from Florida where I bought it... You have to be a certifiable maniac to drive an RX8 in Michigan in the winter..

The power delivery does'nt make any sense in the real world, you have to be above 5000 RPM before you get any sort of motive force which is something I found tough on back roads in florida....let alone in India. But, once it does come on song it is sublime all the way to the 9k red-line. The handling is very well judged too, it gets tail happy on corner entry, but can be easily and very satisfyingly corrected. The traction control is'nt too intrusive either, cuts in only in extreme circumstances. It has one of the slickest shifters in the business as well.


The MX-5 has all the above RX8 traits (its actually the other way around) except for the manic nature of the engine. It makes a compelling argument for India where I can safely say you will be lucky to be in the RX8's powerband for even 10% of the time its driven. Added to this are the reliability issues with the rotary, I did have a few minor glitches at which point I decided to let it go before its reached full "white elephant" status.

My advice would be to go for a later generation MX-5 with an optional hard top, its all and more than you will ever be able to exploit in India. As for the image, I don't see too many guys driving an RX8 either, you can't let up a great car because of mis-informed Americans.

[Ricky_63]

Interesting thread !! I have been offered a new RX-8 just yesterday. What price seems to be justifiable here in India for a 0 kms run brand new car ?

Also having read the above posts, I am a little weary of the gas mileage & maintainance. Would anyone who has actually used the RX-8 be kind enough to comment on these 2 aspects.

And / or suggest another car within the same price band which is known to be reliable & low on maintaince.

I may even look at the Subaru WRX Sti or even better the EVO X



Thanks

[ajmat]

Ricky,

The Mazda needs to be revved hard, it is to a good everyday car and it cannot be used for short journeys. You also need to check the oil daily

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Ricky,

The Mazda needs to be revved hard, it is to a good everyday car and it cannot be used for short journeys. You also need to check the oil daily

Thanks for the response. 2 Questions

# Why can't it be used for short journeys ?
# Why does a car need to have it's oil checked every day ? I never did that even on my motorcycle/s or for that matter my father's Ambassador / Fiats

It seems very out of line that the car which is a "marvel of technology" so to speak - needs to have it's oil checked everyday.

Given that this car has these "weird" issues, are there other hard tops in the same price band that are reliable / fast / good handlers ?

In the posts above I see that the MX5 is an option, does that have issues like the RX8 ? The MX5 now also comes with the retractable hard top version.

Would appreciate a response.


Cheers

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Thanks for the response. 2 Questions

# Why can't it be used for short journeys ?
# Why does a car need to have it's oil checked every day ? I never did that even on my motorcycle/s or for that matter my father's Ambassador / Fiats

1: The achilles heel of the rotary engine are the rotor tip seals. These wear out fast. The only way to ensure this is to use the car for longer runs where the engine is warmed up and running at higher temperatures and the oil is circulating smoothly and reducing this specific wear

2: Again, until the engine has warmed up and the seals "warm up", the engine is prone to burning a little oil. May be not check oil daily but weekly at least!

[iceman91]

ajmat, the new rx-8 have got stronger apex seals. that issue has been taken care of.