Mazda RX-8 review

The good news: RX-8s are cheap. Almost suspiciously so. A cursory glance of the classifieds will make it look impossible to buy one that a) costs you more than three grand or b) has more than 60,000 miles.

But if your Spidey Sense is tingling, then well done. RX-8s come with an unofficial best-before date thanks to their esoteric engine, and that date is – you guessed it – around 60,000 miles. It’s at this point their rotary power source needs some considerable attention if it’s not to have a fairly catastrophic moment to itself.

So in very bald terms, don’t buy a car you wish to last beyond said mileage if you’re not also setting aside some cash to look after it properly. And only buy a car if the seller has recently had a professional compression test carried out on the powertrain – or is willing to fund one – then really drive the car properly on a quite-clearly-essential test drive. A run round the houses simply won’t do. Make sure it’s not hesitant on start-up and there aren’t major flat spots when you accelerate. Engine seem in decent health? Check thoroughly for rust, especially if there’s been any sort of body kit fitted which might have hidden the bubbling or trapped moisture in.

I’ve found a good one! What next?

Buy it, then run the thing properly. Pour in oil far more frequently than you would any other internal combustion car – Mazda reckons on 250ml every 1,000 miles, but in reality it might ask for a touch more – and get compression checks done as a matter of course. Oh, and prepare for circa 20mpg fuel economy (Mazda claimed 25 when new). It needs working hard, this car, whether that’s your usual style or not. Annual UK road tax is £340 on earlier cars (as we write), or £600 on anything registered after March 2006. Yowch.

Three grand seems to be the average cost of an RX-8 in decent fettle that’s south of 60,000 miles. Cars with higher mileage, question marks over their history or curious modifications can drop as low as £1,000. If it looks too cheap for a car this exotic, then it probably is.

Most remaining Eights appear to be the feistier 227bhp tune, though a few 189bhp cars have hung around too. At this stage in the RX-8’s life you might be better prioritising a cared-for car over anything else, but there should be enough choice to also favour the quicker tune, which gets an extra gear, don’t forget. Only manual RX-8s made it to the UK – if it’s an auto, it’s an import.

It’s a Mazda sports car. There must be special editions.

Oh yes. There were numerous specials over the years, like the 40^th Anniversary edition here, which celebrated four decades of rotary-powered Mazdas in 2008. Of the 400 produced, 200 came to the UK. Expect to pay £5-6,000 for one of these.

More common, and perhaps even more desirable, was the RX-8 PZ. There were 800 sold in the UK in 2006 and they came with a Prodrive suspension makeover to better handle British roads. Expect to pay similar money to the 40^th – if you can find one for sale now, of course. End-of-line R3s top the billing at around £7,000 in great nick.

The RX-8 was introduced in 2003 and while production ended in 2012 – at just shy of 200,000 cars – UK sales stopped in 2010 as the car’s high emissions began to hold it back. We lost the Honda S2000 around the same time, though the Nissan 350Z had long since morphed into the 370Z, which only very recently departed European showrooms. Though we aren’t getting its replacement.