With my avatar round the track at M3 speed and the indestructable Toyota

but typically they had to slag the lexus

makes me wanna buy a Hilux now!!!

I can carry my mates in the back with machine guns!

i enjoyed the RX-8 bit, might go and have a look at one in the new year.

i wonder if my IS is as solid as the pick up?

I've always had a soft-spot for the Toyota pickup.. a very blokey car..

That just made me want one even more..

Have them in our showroom now

it was a good show tonight, simon cowl givin jc some of his own medicine

was a good show for a change, good review of the rx8 and an unforgettable review of the hilux, wonder f they do them for a couple of hundred quid down here

You want a blokey pick up.........F150 lightning?

do i get gold discount?

Rx 8...... Test drove the high powered one today and its crap The engine is a pathetic and unless until you get it above 6500 rpm and then and only then does it start to perform up to its limit of 9000rpm.

It like driving a car with huge turbo lagggggggggggggg...... as you sit there waiting for the revs to rise. So driving it quickly needs masive revs, which makes it hard work to drive quickly.

I am test driving the lower powered one on Thursday as this only revs to 6000rpm and I am told has better low down torqe. Handling was very good and quite neutral.

I still love the style but could not live with the engine

the first batch of RX-8's in the US have been recalled with engine problems.

i was looking at importing a Ford F150 lightning a couple of years ago.....£20,000

fifth gear

tiff nedell


says the same !!

James May said the original LS400 is a future classic, it's only the others who disagreed.

I think the Soarer fits the Future Classic mould.

Rare, Beautiful, Built to last, Top quality owners need I say more?

They'd probably say imports dont count I suppose.

just skint running it! LOL

Yeah! but you know they only do it because it's THAT good!

Needell had a dig at Top Gear on today's 5th Gear:-

"There are no great runways to excuse any errors. This is a real racing track for real racing drivers."

Whereas Clarkson thought the Mazda RX-8's handling was the bees knees, Needell thinks it's too soft. Considering even Simon Cowell (or whatever his name is) can out drive Clarkson and Needell is ex-F1, I'd put my money on Needell's assessment.

Of course there's also Vicki Butler-Henderson who squeals and chuckles when she's racing too.

I didn't catch TG, but were they comparing the RX8 to the Nissan 350Z? If so, I'd be interested to hear what they said about it.

I think they basically said that the 350z wasn't worth the extra cash...

Mmm, I guess the biggest risk with the Nissan is potential poor residual values. I must be the only person on the planet that doesn't like the RX-8. I think it's yet another Mazda rip-off design - looks too much like a Honda S2000 at the front and back for my liking.

Last night on 5th Gear they raced the BMW Z4 and the Porsche Boxster on the race track and the Z4 was faster. But when Top Gear did the same car test(obviously didn't track) the Porsche came out on top. So in the end I guess it comes down to the how well a car is suited to the track and the drivers ability.

Would be good to see Tiff and Stig on a neutral track with those same cars and see what the results are

You cannot be serious!

The Nissan replaces a classic!

Are you sure you have the right car? The S2000 looks nothing like the Mazda. In fact nothing looks like the Mazda!

Top Gear didn't compare the RX-8 with Nissan but Fifth Gear did. VBH said "I really like this car" and was 4s ahead of the new 250bhp Audi TT

Needell said: "... whilst the reliability of the engine may have been proven,...notably those emissions, ..poor fuel consumption...and a lack of torque for low down acceleration..yet I could forgive it all of that because of this: 9500 revs. Two models are available 190bhp which no-one will want and ... much more useful 230bhp...Yet ...less than 2/3 torque of ...350Z and does 6mpg less than Audi ...Bizarrely, the high power model has less torque than it's baby brother so it really does need the extra 2000 revs and the extra six speed in the gear box...Good seats. Good driving position. Nice steering wheel...interior sharp styling...Rear wheel drive with a traction control an option, the handling is very good, if somewhat on the soft side...more audi than nissan but the steering feels much better than the German opposition and the gear box one of the best..but no MX-5 in the handling department... genuine 4 seater £22000... £5K cheaper than the audi and £2k less than the nissan.

I'm deadly serious -








You decide!

Not the first time, Mazda have failed to be imaginative though is it? (think New 626 and our own IS200 rear lights!)

I like the S2000 too Also for its revs

Have you seen both the RX-8 and S2000 in real life? The similarity between them isn't really the first thing that springs to mind... You wouldn't mistake one for the other.

Cheers,

RX-Men-8

I haven't seen them together, but I did see an RX-8 in the US a couple of months back. I can appreciate why somepeople love it, but I really don't like the idea of a 4 door coupe.