RX-8 owner test drove

[veejayy]

Folks, i think i know about power ( or powa as they in nyc). current rides, mdx and rx- 8-r3. former rides- sti, TT supra blown, vette and Cayman base.

now ready to retire in a few years n looking to spend less on car and pump.

so blistering hot n humid on east coast n me and sales dude go out. wtf are the mags talking about? plenty of power if you down shift and super smooth auto tranny.
even if u dont down shift you can compensate with no problems.

my only grandpa concern is newness- is there alot of experience with these high compression engines?

thanks.

 

[Nodnerb]

There's nothing I know of that is problematic for the engine yet. The new mazda 3 has this engine as well so it has been out for a while before the cx-5 debut.

 

[NoSuchSol]

Nothing noted yet.... I'm sure it'll have a much better track record than the Rotary (RIP - my favourite engine).

 

[Buger]

As mentioned, the Mazda3 with the 12:1 compression (no room for the exhaust headers in the current chassis) ratio engine came around first and hasn't had any notable issues. Our CX-5 in the US has the 13:1 compression ratio (crappy US gas) which is actually conservative compared to the 14:1 compression used in the rest of the world for the gas engine.

I'm personally not concerned and it will be interesting to see if/how long it will take other automakers to join the party.

 

[veejayy]

thanks for the good feedback!

 

[katmar]

RX-8 driver here too, and curious about the CX-5 for similar reasons. It's interesting how many RX-8 people I see interested in the CX-5. I swore I'd never, ever drive a CUV, lol.

And I had the same "What power problem?" experience on my test drive(s)

I've been lurking on a number of forums, and really haven't seen any engine complaints outside of startup noise which is apparently normal. Hood and mirror vibrations seem to be the most commin issues people mention otherwise.

 

[szwakon]

I own both the RX-8 and CX-9. I'm in the process of trading in my CX-9 for the CX-5. I've test driven the CX-5 several times and love the way it handles (as for an SUV). Much better than the CX-9 (although I'm gonna miss the V6 power of my CX-9)

 

[Jcanracer]

But you RX8 guys should be pretty happy with the usable torque in city driving that the CX5 has to offer considering the fuel economy, right?

 

[ManMachine]

The criticism that I heard is the lack of power in the 50 -> 70 mph type of highway situations. I think CX-5 is slightly underpowered compared to CR-V for example. The engine serves Mazda3 well. I think Mazda's decision is the emphasis on fuel economy. The key question is whether the percentage in fuel economy increase is higher than the hp/torque deficiency.

 

[szwakon]

I find my RX-8 torque good enough in city driving. I also don't care about the RX-8 gas milage - I only care about the thrill it gives me every time I'm driving it.

 

[katmar]

I also don't care about the RX-8 gas milage...

Nah, me neither. I average around 21 mpg... which isn't great compared to today's cars, but good for an RX-8, and not unheard of for a sports car.

The CX-5 appeals to me though partly because of the higher driving position - I didn't realize what I was missing until I drove one. And the CX-5 has great steering feel. Lighter than the RX-8, but combined with the better visibility it's kinda nice for darting around in urban traffic and parking lots.

But I'm spoiled by the RX-8's ablity to pass and merge without effort, without any planning other than downshifting if need be. I just don't know if I could get used to the CX-5's slower acceleration, if that would make the CX-5 more difficult to navigate around in an overall sense.

 

[szwakon]

wow, I get about 11-12 MPG

 

[Exspeedaway]

Nah, me neither. I average around 21 mpg... which isn't great compa...

I came out of a Speed3, with roughly 310hp and after 2 month's in my CX5, it doesn't feel like a underpowered car.

Of course when im doing city driving i do play with the manual mode a bit, but most of the time i just leave it in auto.

Plus the 23/24 mpg i get (mostly city, stop and go - 29mpg highway) is a lot better than 18 mpg i use to get with my Speed3.