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"         Just what exactly is the definition of a sports car these days? Can a 4-door actually be considered in that realm? Thumbing through the Road &amp;amp;amp; Track Dictionary, we found this definition for the term: &amp;quot;Once used to describe any open car with sporting pretensions, current use embraces two-seat and two-plus-two open designs with low sleek bodies as well as their closed coupe equivalents, which should be more precisely called Grand Touring, Gran Turismo, or simply GT cars. In truth, these days a sports car can include almost any performance car that is exhilarating to drive and puts a smile on the driver&amp;#039;s face.&amp;quot;           The with its rear-hinged rear doors (Mazda&amp;#039;s term for them is &amp;quot;Freestyle&amp;quot;) and fairly livable rear-seat accommodations is the best attempt yet to answer the 4-door sports-car question: Can you still have a life, a wife, and maybe a couple of kids, for that matter, and not have to give up automotive style and performance?   Whatever tag you choose to put on the RX-8, for sure it is one fine driving machine, providing a far superior ride to the Nissan 350Z or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, while still holding its own when the going gets twisty. Its back-road manners are best described as communicative, reassuring...and lots of fun! Needless to say, we just knew we had to add one to R&amp;amp;amp;T&amp;#039;s long-term fleet.   The RX-8 is decently quick, despite delivering only 238 bhp at 8500 rpm and a measly 159 lb.-ft. of torque at 5500 rpm from its 1.3-liter 2-rotor rotary engine, which, by the way, sounds like the most potent Singer sewing machine you&amp;#039;ve ever heard. It reaches 60 mph in just 6.1 seconds (the Mazda, not the Singer) and the quarter mile in 14.6, no doubt helped by its relatively scant 3000-lb. curb weight. And everyone loves the shift &amp;quot;beep!&amp;quot; at 8500 rpm, 500 before redline.           The RX-8 with a 6-speed manual transmission starts at an extremely reasonable $26,680. That includes air conditioning, cruise control, power windows and locks, a 6-speaker stereo with CD player and an outside temperature gauge. On the performance front, that price gives the buyer 18-in. alloy wheels with 225/45R-18 Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tires, a limited-slip differential, a thick-rimmed leather-wrapped 3-spoke steering wheel with audio/cruise functions and a leather shift knob for working over one of the best gearboxes \u2014 both in terms of short throws and precise gates \u2014 currently in production.   We also ordered a navigation system ($2000) and the Grand Touring Package ($4000), the latter coddling us with heated leather seats (the driver&amp;#039;s with 8-way power), upgraded Bose audio, a power moonroof, heated mirrors, xenon headlights, foglamps and a stability-control system. A spare tire kit ($395) and destination fees ($520) brought the grand total to $33,595.   Despite the odd two-tone effect on the seats and steering wheel, in comparing the RX-8 with our long-term 350Z we wonder why Nissan has such trouble with their interiors when Mazda continues to get the quality, textures and user-friendliness spot-on with each new car. The interior alone could be the swaying point in the purchase of an RX-8, it&amp;#039;s that good.   After the 1000-mile break-in period, the guys and gals at R&amp;amp;amp;T have let loose on the RX-8, returning, as you can see, a fairly dismal 15.9-mpg average. Let&amp;#039;s chalk it up to &amp;quot;the thrill of the commute,&amp;quot; and more than likely those figures will improve as the engine gets even more thoroughly broken in. We also had to add two quarts of oil in the first 3800 miles, but that kind of consumption is fairly common for rotary engines.   Our biggest gripe so far is with the small trunk, which pretty much relegates this 4-door sports car to nothing more than day trips when all seats are occupied; weekend trips would be a tough fit with more than two people and luggage. Maybe the best test for the RX-8 would be to put our four tallest editors in the car together, and see how far they make it before skirmishes break out.          2004 Mazda RX-8 Specifics    Total miles 4607   Miles since last report n/a   Average mpg to date 15.9   Best mpg (avg of 3) 19.1   Worst mpg (avg of 3) 13.9   Repair costs to date $0   Maintenance costs to date $0   Delivered price $33,595        "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/reviews/a10124/2004-mazda-rx-8-1/>