MAZDA RX-8 vs MAZDA MX-30 (2008) (2021)
There’s more that links this rotary sports car and electric crossover than you might think
AN RX-8? I’VE NOT SEEN ONE OF THOSE FOR AGES.
Nor had we. See, though the RX-8 was a reasonably popular choice in its heyday, since it went off sale in 2010 the little Mazda has earned itself a reputation for being tricky to keep in fine fettle. And for drinking engine oil at roughly the same rate most others consume super unleaded. Nowadays you can pick one up for next to nothing, but be careful, it’ll cost you £££s to run and maintain, and the potential for cataclysmic mechanical failure is significant.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
The engine, which is precisely what makes this car so special. The RX-8 was the last Mazda to be equipped with a rotary engine; a technology with which Mazda has become synonymous, and that ever-tightening emissions regulations effectively killed off a decade ago. That said, Mazda has been talking for a while now about resurrecting the rotary as a range extender for its first all-electric production car, the MX-30 crossover.
GREAT NEWS!
It is. Mainly because rotaries are smooth, compact and lightweight relative to conventional ICEs, so they’re ideally suited to this kind of application, but also because the MX-30 is crying out for more range. Mazda claims it can travel 124 miles between charges, but in reality you’re looking at fewer than 100 miles of usable range.
WHAT’S THE ROTARY LIKE AS AN ACTUAL ENGINE?
The MX-30 weighs almost 400kg more than the RX-8, has 78 fewer horsepower and takes three seconds longer to reach 62mph from a standing start. But most of the time the instant torque from the e-motor means it feels so much faster. The RX-8’s 221bhp doesn’t arrive until you’re almost at the redline and it only has 156lb ft of torque. Which makes it a proper laugh to drive quickly, when you can really wring it out, but bloody hard work the rest of the time.
IGNORING THE POWERTRAIN, DO THESE FEEL SIMILAR TO DRIVE?
No, not really. The RX-8 is properly entertaining in an old-school rear-drive coupe kind of way. It’s well-balanced, agile and steers with real precision. That the MX-30 – 13 years this particular RX-8’s junior – steers and rides better than the majority of affordable, mainstream EVs is evidence, were any needed, Mazda still gives a damn about making cars handle properly. There is something that more obviously binds these two cars, though...
IT’S THE DOORS, ISN’T IT?
Correct, and aren’t they just the coolest things you’ve ever seen? Not massively practical admittedly – less of a problem in the RX-8 than the MX-30, given the kinds of cars they are – but cool to look at and operate. The handles to open them are so similar, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they had the same part number.