Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:14
Got this from...
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_li...eature/(page)/1
2008 Mazda RX-8
1.3-liter 2-rotor, 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
16 mpg city/22 mpg highway
The little Japanese automaker that can, Mazda consistently produces vehicles that make us smile. No other company imbues its entire product line—including entry-level vehicles—with such focus on driving fun. This focus apparently isn’t lost on the public, as Mazda’s sales numbers grew more than any other major automaker's in 2007.
An unavoidable trade-off for entertaining driving, though, is fuel economy. The RX-8 scores worse than some might expect because of its rotary engine, a design inherently thirstier than a piston engine. Displacing just 1.3 liters, the RX-8’s 232-hp Renesis rotary with 159 pound-feet of torque sucks down fuel like Homer Simpson chugging Duff at Moe’s—returning just 16 mpg city and 22 highway.
We like the RX-8 enough that it made our 10Best list from 2004 to 2006 and won its last comparo despite being in its fifth year of production, but the rotary is certainly not without its compromises. The bingo-and-buffet-express Honda Accord V-6 runs a quicker and faster quarter-mile, and the Chevrolet Corvette makes 204 more horsepower and 269 more pound-feet of torque yet bests the RX-8 by 4 mpg on the highway.
It is rumored that the RX-8 will receive the next iteration of the Renesis rotary, dubbed the 16X. It weighs less than the current 13-B but gets a bump in displacement, and with the more precise fuel metering of direct injection, it is entirely possible that more horsepower and torque could be coupled with more mpg. We love 9000-rpm redlines and hope the rotary’s flatulent exhaust note will pour from generations of Mazda vehicles to come.
2008 Mazda CX-7
2.3-liter inline-4, 6-speed auto, 4-wheel drive
16 mpg city/22 mpg highway
The best interpretation of the term crossover we’ve seen yet, the Mazda CX-7 appeals to people who want something that looks sporty and drives better than most cars while providing some pretense of outdoorsiness and a DIY spirit to perpetuate the great SUV lie. Good thing they require only pretense, as the latter two requests are pretty much quashed by a modest amount of usable space and limited off-road talent.
The CX-7 shares its engine with the late Mazdaspeed 6 and various chassis bits and layouts with the Mazda 3. Depending on equipment, it weighs an Al Pacino or Calista Flockhart less than two tons. The high-tech, direct-injection 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder produces a sporty 244 horsepower, helping produce a respectable 7.9-second 0-to-60 time but, unfortunately, gulps a gallon of premium every 16 miles in the city and 21 on the highway. The competing Toyota RAV4 V-6 with all-wheel drive, however, sprints to 60 an immense 1.6 seconds faster, yet gets three more mpg in the city and four more on the highway. It does not, however, look anywhere near as cool or drive nearly as well.
The CX-7 is Mazda’s first mid-size SUV since it rebranded the Ford Explorer as the Navajo—not a high point for the Mazda. Despite the poor fuel economy and questionable utility, the CX-7 is undoubtedly a Mazda, and the most rewarding crossover to helm.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_li...eature/(page)/1
2008 Mazda RX-8
1.3-liter 2-rotor, 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
16 mpg city/22 mpg highway
The little Japanese automaker that can, Mazda consistently produces vehicles that make us smile. No other company imbues its entire product line—including entry-level vehicles—with such focus on driving fun. This focus apparently isn’t lost on the public, as Mazda’s sales numbers grew more than any other major automaker's in 2007.
An unavoidable trade-off for entertaining driving, though, is fuel economy. The RX-8 scores worse than some might expect because of its rotary engine, a design inherently thirstier than a piston engine. Displacing just 1.3 liters, the RX-8’s 232-hp Renesis rotary with 159 pound-feet of torque sucks down fuel like Homer Simpson chugging Duff at Moe’s—returning just 16 mpg city and 22 highway.
We like the RX-8 enough that it made our 10Best list from 2004 to 2006 and won its last comparo despite being in its fifth year of production, but the rotary is certainly not without its compromises. The bingo-and-buffet-express Honda Accord V-6 runs a quicker and faster quarter-mile, and the Chevrolet Corvette makes 204 more horsepower and 269 more pound-feet of torque yet bests the RX-8 by 4 mpg on the highway.
It is rumored that the RX-8 will receive the next iteration of the Renesis rotary, dubbed the 16X. It weighs less than the current 13-B but gets a bump in displacement, and with the more precise fuel metering of direct injection, it is entirely possible that more horsepower and torque could be coupled with more mpg. We love 9000-rpm redlines and hope the rotary’s flatulent exhaust note will pour from generations of Mazda vehicles to come.
2008 Mazda CX-7
2.3-liter inline-4, 6-speed auto, 4-wheel drive
16 mpg city/22 mpg highway
The best interpretation of the term crossover we’ve seen yet, the Mazda CX-7 appeals to people who want something that looks sporty and drives better than most cars while providing some pretense of outdoorsiness and a DIY spirit to perpetuate the great SUV lie. Good thing they require only pretense, as the latter two requests are pretty much quashed by a modest amount of usable space and limited off-road talent.
The CX-7 shares its engine with the late Mazdaspeed 6 and various chassis bits and layouts with the Mazda 3. Depending on equipment, it weighs an Al Pacino or Calista Flockhart less than two tons. The high-tech, direct-injection 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder produces a sporty 244 horsepower, helping produce a respectable 7.9-second 0-to-60 time but, unfortunately, gulps a gallon of premium every 16 miles in the city and 21 on the highway. The competing Toyota RAV4 V-6 with all-wheel drive, however, sprints to 60 an immense 1.6 seconds faster, yet gets three more mpg in the city and four more on the highway. It does not, however, look anywhere near as cool or drive nearly as well.
The CX-7 is Mazda’s first mid-size SUV since it rebranded the Ford Explorer as the Navajo—not a high point for the Mazda. Despite the poor fuel economy and questionable utility, the CX-7 is undoubtedly a Mazda, and the most rewarding crossover to helm.