There's a good reason why I do what I do. As mutable as my personality seems, believe me when I say that I won't waste my time doing anything that isn't well planned out. The '04 Mazda RX-8 is a perfect example of my strategy. There are two main reasons that this article was the last on my list of things to do. It's not because I was recovering from driving at Laguna Seca, eating too much filet mignon, or getting lectured by my dad about staying at Pebble Beach with Mazda and not knowing how to golf. To start off, I wanted to devote all my attention to this car. That meant no distractions from any other features, four-hour lunches, and annoying losers who get keyboard courage. My second reason might not seem very logical to many, but it will very soon. I wanted to wait until the Chinese New Year to write this. What is the connection between the Chinese New Year and the new Mazda sports car? The number 8. In the Chinese culture, 8 is very significant in terms of becoming prosperous with money and business. That's why you'll see license plates, phone numbers, and addresses with as many 8s as possible in them. Hell, I paid an extra $50 to change my cell number to have more 8s in it, if that makes any sense. The Chinese New Year is a time to celebrate past and future prosperities. From what we've seen, Mazda has a lot to celebrate with the RX-8. The RX-7 was an awesome car, but it was missing something. Call it silly superstition, but I'm going to have to say that the missing ingredient was the number 8.
On The OutsideThe RX-8 bears minimal resemblance to its predecessor. You've probably heard this a hundred times by now, but the RX-8 looks very much like a Honda S2000 with a hard top and 1,000cc of steroids. If you haven't heard it, then expect to really soon. Despite the four-door design, every curve and line is as silky-smooth as a sports car should be. Flared fenders give the RX-8 a much more aggressive look to deter potential highway challengers. Mazda offers several colors, which makes it very difficult to decide on just one. If it were up to me, I'd be gunning for titanium-grey or blue-metallic coats.
Adding two more doors on the RX-8 made it hard to classify the car. Not only because sports cars usually don't have four doors, but also because sedans aren't this good looking. When closed, the rear doors remain very stealth. Space definitely isn't something you would expect from a car like this. And when all the doors are opened up, the car looks quite inviting.
Looking InIt's shocking that the rear seats of the RX-8 are actually functional and not mere ornaments to help qualify for cheaper insurance rates. Yup, you really can fit two adults in the back without getting major leg cramps. You'll see references to the Wankel rotor throughout the interior of the RX-8. Nestle yourself in the driver's seat and there will be no mistaking that this car was designed around the driver. A large tachometer and digital speedometer are pretty much the only two things your eyes will focus on. All controls on the center console appear perfectly symmetrical. And as always, the Bose audio system is simply mesmerizing. We're sure the navigation system on the center dash is great but we wouldn't know for sure. Since we were driving European models of the car, the nav system kept popping up addresses in Prague and Barcelona instead of Monterey, California.
Compartment-wise, there are more pockets and storage spaces in the RX-8 than any RX-7 owner could have dreamed of. Unfortunately, we couldn't shove all of our snowboards in the roomy trunk due to the lack of a fold-down rear seat as a result of two braces that aid in chassis stiffening and passenger safety. So it's not all that bad. There is, however, a small opening that goes from the trunk into the driver's compartment but it's still not enough for our gear, much less Jonny's abnormally large head.