Okay, I am buying a new Mazda next week. The problem is, I can't decide whether to buy an RX8 or a Speed6.

Whichever it is will be used as a daily commuter for a short commute plus weekends on country roads.

Anybody have any suggestions? (I have also posted in the Mazda 6 section)

Thanks,

Humper

 

Well it really depends on what you want, neither of those uses descvribe a sports car at all, but the Rx-8 is a blast to drive and would be faster than a Mazdaspeed6 and you get the exclusicity of a rotary engine, also it's N/A so thei'res no lag, or heat sink from the MS6s's top mounted intercooler. Then you don't get the tourque devide of the wheel either which makes for quicker acceleration. the Mazdaspeed6 would be better if you're oging to be winding through mountains alot or taking sharp turns at speed. The Rx-8 has 50/50 wiehgt distirbution, but the handling is nothing without grip and th espeed6 has plenty of grip to offer. It is aslo more pacritcle with a lerger trunk and a larger back seat as well as rear doors that can be opened without opening the front doors (inlike the Rx-8) so if you have family that will be with you, the speed6 would better suite them and a hypothetical situation, lets say you have to pick osmeone up in the rain, if you were in an 8 and the passenger seat had someone in it, you would have to get out and get wet yourself just to let them in, and even in dry conditions you'd have to get out, so it really depends on the use, the info you gave isn't really much. Also their's personaly styling, I personally would take the Rx-8 because it drves almost exactly like my car but with more torque and I think it looks better than the speed 6. A Shenka Rx-8 would have all the goodies with limited edition perferated leather w/ baseball style stitching, heated seats, heated mirriors, 6 CD in dash CD player w/ XM satelite radio, DVD navigation, special badging, and coloring options. It's the choice I'd gor for an Rx08 Shinka runs about $30-$32 thousand dependnig on where you're Mazda dealership is and how well they are selling Rx-8s, they have no options because they have ALL the options of the standard plus Shenka only features. as for the Speed 6, the turing packag would bring you nice leather, but no the limited edition interrior of a shenka 8.

 

you pretty much nailed that response , 87TII.

humperdink, you should definitely test drive both of the cars. one con about the rx-8 is that it loves to eat oil. and in the mazdaspeed6, theres virtually no turbo lag...

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

When I said country roads on weekends, I meant driving for fun. Everything is flat around here (Houston), but there are some curvy roads.

I have driven both, and will drive them again next week. My impression was that the Speed 6 might be a bit faster. It certainly seemed to have more low end torque. I need to drive the RX8 and keep the rpms up to see how it compares, I guess.

By the way, an RX8 was the pace car for the Star Mazda series here at the Grand Prix today. I took a pic of it, if anyone is interested.

 

definitely post that picture of the RX-8

 

Here you go, along with the Star Mazda sponsored by my dealer:


[IMG]local://upfiles/4306/34FEABAECF3D41A0AD63A76B72CFD628.jpg[/IMG]

 

Yeas, you want to shift the Rx-8 in the 7 to 8 thousand rPM range for the best power, most first time rotary drivers shift earlier from instinct and are too scared to puch the car to the limit.

 

87turbo.... you said so much information that this guy probably has no more questions between the two cars now haha! great write up there sir! personally i would go with the speed6 for more modern driving (room as well as handling and power).

thats just my couple of cents to throw in.

 

haha thanks, that's why I'm here. You can't have too much information. I hope I didn't babble on too much about any one thing.

 

The RX-8 is 0-60 in 5.9 and the speed6 is 6.2. Also, 87 turbo said almost everything. I can add the fact that you can get the rx8 Mazdaspeed full suspension (shocks, sport lowering springs, stabilizer bars, and strut bars) for $1,585 which gives it amazing cornering, much better than speed6.

Also, the speed6 is a sleeper. Most people do not know the difference between it and the other 2 mazda6. The people who do know the difference can't tell unless they are standing next to it. The speed spoiler just doesn't stand out.