The face-lift and styling updates provide a welcome refresh for this aging but excellent platform. The R3-specific elements help turn up the volume a bit but don't make the RX-8 a boy-racer that's unbearable to drive at a normal pace. The seats, however, leave a lot to be desired, what with their jutting outcroppings in the lower seatback and their extra-large side bolsters.
For $32,000, you get an extremely sporty car that also has back seats and a decent-size trunk (as long as you get run-flat tires). The back seats aren't huge, but they're among the best for a sporty coupe. I even drove three friends to a Tigers game, and the guys in the back seat - one of whom is six-foot-one - were shocked at how much room there actually is back there. I wouldn't want to drive to Florida four-up, but for an hour's ride, it's surprisingly tolerable.
Rusty Blackwell, Copy Editor ...next page >>