When buying a sports car a few things come to mind. They’re usually expensive, usually the size of a shoe, and that your backside would find more comfort planted on the toilet than be offended by some sorry excuse of a bucket seat. Let’s not forget the nagging argument from the significant other as to the spacious accommodations of your zippy-sporty mid-life crisis machine. “You can’t buy it because I can’t fit endless amounts of shopping in the back seat.” or “There’s no back seat.” or “Why is it so loud?” It’s a frustrating viscous cycle. Is it so wrong to want a little rear wheel drive, an open winding road, and some low-end growl? Is it? Is it really? Well fear no more, Mazda has you covered.

  Ever since its debut the RX-8 has been a head turner. From its refined 1.3-liter 2-rotor rotary RENISIS engine, its low ride height and broad shoulders, to its stratospheric 9k red line; the RX-8 is every bit as aggressive as it looks. And if you didn’t know, the 2009 RX-8 is out. Its longer, its meaner, and today, I flogged it.

  At first glance, the car appears to look no different than the previous model years. You’re wrong. You see, there’s more to this years RX-8 than meets the eye. Like a cosmetic surgeon, Mazda completely re-worked the car’s front and rear end. They made it more aerodynamic, more stable, a little bit longer, and in doing so, Mazda turned the sheepish 2008 model year into the grouchy, more punk 2009. And it doesn’t stop there.

  Aside from the face lift, Mazda changed bits of the interior to make it more streamline. Gone is the poppy-outy sat-nav system. In its place is a larger, easier to look at heads up display. “Well where’s the sat-nav gone then?”  Relax, as an option, the navigation unit is now a touch-screen, voice-activated in-dash piece of kit, which is a big improvement over the previous model years.

  Our test bed was an entry level Sport, with a short throw 6-speed manual gearbox that slotted home quite nicely. Every gear change was tight and crisp, and if you can’t drive stick, RX-8 is available with a 6-speed automatic with adaptive shift logic, flappy paddles and all. The interesting thing about this car is that its transmission learns your driving style no matter what it is. So it’s a bit smart in the long run.

  Even though we only had the base model to play with, the suspension was just as nimble, just as agile as the higher end RX-8 R3 model sporting Bilstein all around and 19” wheels. The Sport model’s sport-tuned suspension and 18” wheels, however, still aim to please. It handles superbly without really having to upgrade it. . . unless you plan to track it.

 
  Number wise, the Mazda faux coupe appears to be a bit of a sissy. And again, you’re wrong. These lobbing triangle spinning power plants love revs. To get more speed and more power you need to keep the revs up. Between 4 and 6 thousand RPM they say is key. It keeps the car right in the sweet spot, and when you give it what it wants, it returns the favor. The manual gear box model produces 232hp@ a mile high 8,500rpm and 159lb/ft of torque. The flappy paddle gearbox model, a little less.  Because of the car’s 9k red line, the RX-8’s power band seems almost endless. With a band-saw like bark, the car is gone. While it’s pressing you into the seat, its new body workings direct airflow and pitch the nose downward as its rear wheel drive train digs in. This thing is a pleasure to drive.

  “So how much is it?” Believe it or not, it’s cheap. Not cheap as in cheaply made, cheap as in inexpensive. At roughly $26+ thousand USD, the sport sedan . . . yes, it really is a sedan, is fantastical value for money. Its perfect for a middle aged person looking for some go fast fun, but not looking to spend $275 thousand on a weekend super car. The RX-8 gives you the appearance of a sporty aggressive coupe, but with two extra doors, a useable back seat, and a forgiving suspension set up that won’t break your back or the bank account for that matter.

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