Cars rev

The new Mazda RX-8 is truly a sports car like no other, with a revolutionary concept — a twin rotary engine sports car, an exterior design that is pure emotion, along with four doors and room for up to four adults. No other model bearing the five- point grille exemplifies Zoom-Zoom as clearly as this. The new Mazda RX-8 is indicative of the future of sports car technology at Mazda — sporty and functional, but never boring.


The equipment list is made up by a Bluetooth connectivity function, auxiliary jack an MP3 player, auto light and rain sensor system and a new 5-speaker 4-woofer BOSE sound system. With Bilstein dampers and a front suspension cross member filled with urethane foam, the refreshed RX-8 has an improved body shell rigidity thanks to trapezoidal strut tower bar added at the front suspension. Also, both torsional (twisting) rigidity and flexural (bending) rigidity were improved by 5.4% and 8.7% respectively.
The rear suspension geometry has been slightly reconfigured as well and the size of the upper lateral link’s joint section has been increased by 7.5 mm for better control of toe-out change at rebound. Steering feel has also been improved with an enhancement made to the main bar joint of the instrument panel for more rigidity of the steering mount area. Mazda has also redesigned the underbody airflow with a redesigned and extended floor covering. These measures, along with the above mentioned new front bumper and a floating-type rear spoiler, help reduce lift to improve drivability.


Engine wise, the same 1.3 liter Renesis powerplant (short for rotary engine genesis) is retained. It can produce 231HP at 8,200 revs and 211Nm of torque at 5,500 revs. A number of improvements were made the drivetrain system including an improved drive shaft torsional rigidity (by 30%) – which helps improve driving performance and reduce NVH and a lower differential gear ratio (from 4.444 to 4.777). Also included is a two-knock sensor system which detects and prevents knock better. The RX-8 facelift sprints from naught to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds and goes up to a top speed of 234 km/h.

The 6 speed manual transmission (also used in the 3rd generation MX-5) has also been reworked to handle the higher torque figures. It uses specially designed 1st and 2nd gear synchronisers made of carbon and enlarged triple-cone synchronizes for 3rd and 4th gears, also made of carbon. The bearing cover is strengthened as well, and the transmission case size is slightly reduced for an improvement in internal lubrication performance. The facelifted RX-8 also has a larger fuel tank (improved from 61.8 liters to 65.4 liters).

Priced at just over $26,400 to start, the Mazda RX-8 merits serious consideration from motoring enthusiasts. Quick and incredibly agile, it’s easily the most fun to be had at that cost. Options, like our tester’s Grand Touring package’s power, heated, leather-trimmed seats; 300-watt Bose sound system; moonroof; stability control; xenon HID headlamps and “smart key” system with the credit card-sized fob that stays in your wallet are relatively inexpensive and well-executed as well. Still, that stuff’s superfluous; speed and sportiness come standard.

The 2012 Mazda 3.

A truly great small car is a wonderful thing. For a long, long time, my vote for best ever went to the 1984 Honda Civic I bought brand new and kept for 14 years and 144,000 trouble-free miles.

But some time back, the old Civic got passed by a small car with all of its virtues (compact size, good interior space, fuel economy and a bigger dose of fun-to-drive than anything else in the class) and all the improvements more than a quarter-century can bring: The Mazda 3.

Weve driven and raved about Mazda 3s before. In fact, the 2008 Mazda 3 was one of the first TireKicker reviews, on our third day of existence.  And a little over a year and a half ago, we sampled the new-gen 2010. 

But a year and a half is a long time not to be driving and talking about one of the best buys in all autodom, so we arranged with Chapman Mazda in Phoenix to borrow a just-arrived 2012 Mazda 3 for a week.

Rear view of the 2012 Mazda 3 5-Door

This time, we drew the Mazda 3 S 5-Door Touring model. There are only two flavors of the Mazda 3 5-door...Touring and Grand Touring. The difference between the two cars? $1,570, which buys a power moonroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather-trimmed sport seats, heated front seats with 5 settings, an 8-way power drivers seat and a 6-CD, 10-speaker Bose Centerpoint Surround Sound system.

Which is one serious value for $1,570.

But sticking with the S is by no means roughing it. Both cars have the same 2.5 liter DOHC 4 with 167 horsepower that feels like a good 90 more. Both come standard with a 6-speed manual transmission and an EPA mileage estimate of 20 city/28 highway.

Ours had the 5-speed automatic, and in testament to how good the computer progamming behind modern automatics has become, the automatic gets better mileage than the stick...bumping up to 22 city/29 highway.

The automatic was the only option...putting the base price at $22,000 even, plus $795 delivery, processing and handling. So $22,795. For that  you get 4-wheel disc brakes, electronic power assisted rack and pinion steering, front and rear stabilizer bars, 17 inch alloy wheels, and the most fun youve had while driving in a long, long time.

Simply put (and weve said this before), Mazdas love to run. Theyre happy machines. The smiley face front ends are no coincidence. They handle like theyre on rails. They live up to the corporate motto "Always The Soul of a Sports Car".

2012 Mazda 3 interior

Look at the instrument panel in the picture above. Everything simple, direct and right where your hand expects it to be. Not to mention tastefully designed and of very good materials and craftsmanship...way beyond what $22,000 normally buys.

The Mazda 3 spent many months on the TireKicker Top 10 Cars (So Far) list early on. With the 2012 Mazda 3, its back. If youre looking for a small car that youll love to drive, youve just found it.


UPDATE: If the five-door is so good, hows the 2012 Mazda 3 four-door?

The 2012 Mazda 3 4-Door Sport.

Surprisingly good. Now, you may wonder why thered be a surprise when all thats different is the number of doors...but thats the thing...the Mazda 3 5-door and 4-door have three big differences beyond the roofline.

One, the Mazda 3 i Sport 4-door (also borrowed from Chapman Mazda in Phoenix)  packs a bit less power...148 horses instead of the 167 in the 5-door (you can get the hotter engine by stepping up to the S model four-door).

Two...that difference in power makes a significant difference in mileage: The EPA says the 4-door should get 24 city/33 highway as opposed to the 22/29 in the five-door (both those figures are for the automatic versions...the stick in the four-door bumps it up to 25/33).

And three...price. The Mazda 3 i Sport 4-door starts at $17,555 with the automatic transmission, $2,445 less than the 5-door tested above. Want one for even less? Go with the stick and the base price for the 4-door drops to $16,845.  And, if you live in a place where you can live without air conditioning and an outside temperature display, theres the Mazda 3 i SV 4-door at a mere $15,200.

Apart from those three things, everything we said about the 5-door goes for the 4-door. Its a truly terrific small sedan. Once again, we got one without options and the final cost (including delivery) was $18,350...making it the second lowest-priced (as tested) car weve driven this year. The lowest? The 3s baby brother...the Mazda 2.