http://www.motortrend.com/av/roadtests/112_0808_handling_contender_2009_mazda_rx-8_video/index.html http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/112_0810_americas_best_handling_car_contenders_instrument_tests/index.html http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/112_0810_americas_best_handling_car_track_testing/index.html http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/112_0810_americas_best_handling_car_conclusion/index.html excerpted
the RX-8, basically a 5yr old car has made the newest list of 10 of the best handling cars in the world as tested... again.
some of them costing 2/3/4x’s as much as the RX8.
Mazda RX8 3rd on the test drivers list and 4th over all as a balanced excellent handling car ahead of the Porsche 911 and Shelby Mustang KR, WOW!
behind a BMW M3($63,000) an Audi R8 ($120,000) and a Nissan GT-R ($70,000)
ahead of Shelby Mustang GT500 KR ($79,000), EVO-MR($38,000), Mini Cooper S($23,000), Viper($100,000), Chevy Cobalt SS $23,000), Porsche 911 Turbo($134,000)
In the end all fine autos...and the sum total of the RX-8 ($32,000) is better than it''''s individual numbers.
quoted...“it slips through turns like Hermes silk pulled through a scarf ring“ "Big handling numbers are instructive and meaningful, but they often tell you nothing about the actual experience of driving a car, how it "feels." Though underpowered and under-tired compared with other entries here, the RX-8 has grace and fluidity and balance like few other sports cars on the market today. "The more powerful cars feel like riding a horse, The RX-8 feels like wings bolted right to your arms."
If I were one of the kids who sometimes come here looking for a lot of bang for the buck but can''''t afford a new RX8, and are wondering about an older used one...... at the same or similar price I''''d say if no really good used RX8 is available, look at a Mini Cooper or Cobalt SS.
