2006 Mazda RX-8 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

They are over all terrible vehicles, but you must have a serious love for these vehicles. If youre mechanically inclined, and dont mind rebuilding the engine every 30,000-80,000 miles. Its perfect for you. The fuel economy is junk, and isnt very environmentally friendly, but they drive, ride, handle, and sound amazing... Just needs a lot of up keep. Aka very high maintenance vehicles..Mar 17, 2020

This is a fun and good looking vehicle! It handles well on the road and is decent on the fuel consumption. The back seat area is small, so for all practical purposes, this is really a comfortable 2 seater! The resale value on these vehicles is fair. I suggest if you purchase one to do some research on care/maintenance on the rotary engine so this will save you unnecessary costly repairs. Overall, we give it a thumbs up.Sep 17, 2014

I love everything about this car from the way it handles to the look and feel of the car. It is beautiful inside and out. This car is loaded with all the options! All leather power seats that are heated, bucket seats throughout the car but in a way that 4 adults can fit, power moon/sun roof, XM radio with cd and am/fm radio, KEYLESS entry with alarm. Suicide doors are a great addition to this vehicle and what an eye catcher! Overall a great vehicle!Sep 16, 2014

the style of the car outside is a sure head turner and the finish of the car inside is simply stunning, i loved the luxery of the front heated seats and all the controlls are at your finger tips,its also great to be able to seat another two adults in the rear of the car as not many sports cars can boast that with comfort and very good leg room, again reasonable size boot and i just love the 18" alloys the one i have is a ltd edit only 400 made in my fav colour COPPER RED and i am proud to say i own one.Jan 01, 2014

The Mazda RX-8 has been on my bucket list since it was released. It's everything I expected and then some! What a blast to drive, it definitely makes you feel alive. And it doesn't juts do one thing well, it does them all. The brakes are responsive and smooth, the handling with the sport-tuned suspension is spot-on, and the "get up and go" from the 210+ hp is perfect.Jan 22, 2012

With two options available, 192bhp or 231bhp its a very different car, one has low end torque, one has high end power, mine is the latter. It'll do 0 - 62mph in around 6 seconds and push on to around 160mph with the wind in the right direction. It handles superbly, although the back end is a bit twitchy and can step out if you're not awake on wet roads. It stops like any of the best supercars, with epic braking that has won many a race and award with them. Build quality is faultless, nothing has ever "just come off" while driving it. Appearance is gorgeous I think, with all the curves in the right places and it is the most aerodynamic car in production today. The cost of ownership is, honestly, horrific. With HUGE Road tax of over £400 per year, insurance up in group 16E and doing 20mpg on a good day it's not one for the tight wads. But is it fun to drive, and does it make up for the horrific cost of ownership? You bet it does.Jan 13, 2010

I love the handling and quick acceleration of the RX8 and of course the body design is one of it's best features. However, if you live in an environment that gets cold or has a real winter season, I'd suggest getting another car or at least that you have a backup vehicle. The RX8 has all kinds of issues in the cold weather from being totally immobile with just a little snow to losing tire pressure. Jan 16, 2009

Overall, the car is easy to drive. I cannot stress how well the car handles from factory. The car doesn't need much effort correct or to break the rear-end loose, nor is it difficult to take corners hard. This would be good for a person who has never driven a rear-wheel drive car before or for the "drifter-in-training". This car is designed for top-end speed, hence having the tachometer stop at 10,000 rpms. My personal top speed was 140 mph @ about 7500 rpms. My topped out my fourth gear at 90+ mph. The car can run as long as there is plenty of road. Unlike conventional piston motors, there are less moving parts on a rotary. If need be, the motor and trans can be easily removed because the rotary is so much smaller.Jan 06, 2009

Has a bit of road noise. Mostly related to the BFG KDW tires on it. They have a unique tread style that results in slightly more road noise. Brakes really well. The interior has some quality issues. The console sometimes comes off its track. The sun visor has cracked and needed to be replaced (covered under warranty). There is a rattling noise coming from the air bag which has a service bulletin associated with it. Nov 10, 2008

Gorgeous looks, nice rear-hinged doors to seat 4 persons comfortably. Low-end torque could be better; not-so-good fuel economy. Good handling for a Japanese car, due to its 50:50 distribution. Fun, zippy car to drive. Ageless, coupe looks. Requires regular maintenance. Aftermarket performance tuning is limited for AT models. Would definitely recommend to friends if fuel economy is not an issueSep 09, 2008

I've driven almost every car under $50,000 (and even some over), and the RX-8 is by far the most fun to drive. It lacks low-end torque but the high revving Renesis makes up for it. In no way is the car slow. Handles beautifully in stock form. Rotary engine: can't go wrong! It looks awesome inside and out. I have the stock model so I don't have the sun/moon roof, leather seats, GPS navi, Traction Control, Heated Seats and all but that just adds weight. If you want a cruiser - not so much all-out performance, the GT makes the car even sexier. Two tone leather interior on the seats and doors and all the other above-mentioned options. Build quality gets 4/5 because after about 2 1/2 years of ownership, i have a few rattles here and there, and some of the plastics are cheap (but don't look or feel like it!). However, the fact that it can seat 4 people comfortable and has those sexy suicide doors just makes it shine. Add the Mazdaspeed Body Kit and performance parts and it becomes even better. The RX-8 is a beautiful car that has the best overall package and is cheaper than all of its rivals. If you really MUST have speed, then all you need is a turbo kit =]. Unlike the RX-7, the RX-8 has new rotary engine that is more reliable and will still be reliable after adding Forced Induction if tuned by a rotary guru. Jul 14, 2008

When I was getting ready to sell my 2003 Tiburon I knew I wanted a true rear wheel drive sports car. I looked at the Infiniti G35 and the Nissan 350Z, and they were quite powerful, but they didn't feel spirited enough in the corners. If all I wanted was straight line acceleration I would look at a muscle car, but it's the lateral G's that really give me a thrill. And so I went to drive an RX-8, having ridden in one and hearing that it's a phenomenally well balanced tossable car. My first drive was in an automatic because that's all the dealer had. Sadly it was a complete dog and didn't excite me one bit. Even my second drive (in a 6 speed) wasn't all that great, because the dealer was with me and I had to behave. Finally I drove this one, a used 2006 with 13k miles on it. I loved the car from the moment I laid eyes on it. The color has to be seen in person to be appreciated. I got to take it for a drive on my own and was blown away with how fun it was. The Renesis engine isn't going to win any drag races with its less than impressive torque, but once you spool up that rotary and ride it to its 9k redline you discover the true beauty of the car. The power delivery is so smooth all the way to redline, such a difference from the peaky power curve of my Tib. And then there's the handling. It's really hard to screw up with this car. Even with the DSC off, if you break the back tires loose the car is so well balanced that a light counter steer is all it takes to reign it back in. I haven't found a long sweeper yet that the Rex can't handle with just a little throttle control. I only wish Illinois had some mountains!Jun 25, 2008

The RX-8 is not a successor to the RX-7. In fact, it was created to re-introduce the rotary engine to U.S. Market. It has not been received well to the general U.S. Public due to a variety of factors which include: Lack of advertisement which creates a lack of consumer product awareness, low horsepower compared to other sports cars, awkward styling, suicide doors, rotary engine assumptions. Despite the fact that the RX-8 remains unpopular. It is an exceptional vehicle if one decides to take a chance to drive and own one. It rides like a sedan (Not a bone jarring ride) yet retains exceptional handling. Most of the suspension parts are made of allumnium to reduce unsprung weight. It seats 4 in a pinch which is unheard of in sports cars. It is eager to rev and has a redline of 10,000 RPM in manual transmission form. Nevertheless, because of its unpopularity, the RX-8 when viewed from a strangers point of view can be quite exotic looking because of its rarity among other vehicles. As a result, people assume its more expensive than it is and begin to question what car it is and mistakes it for another brand other than Mazda. The RX-8 is the flagship of Mazda. Apr 13, 2008