190 vs 230 ?

[TonyD]

Hi,

I\'m thinking about getting an RX8 but not sure whether to go for the 190 or the 230. I\'m not a boy racer, just a middle age family man with a couple of kids who is bored with a sluggish Merc C180 and wants a bit of fun , so I won\'t be thrashing the RX8 anyway.

According to spec,  the 190 is 1mpg better in fuel consumption and one group lower in insurance but are there any other plus and minus points either way to make the £2K extra either worth saving or spending ?  

Tony

[Carl]

Hi Tony,
i have only driven the hi power Model but the low power has more torque.
some reports say that this makes it better to drive on lower revs,not having to drive hard all the time.
hope this helps.
Kind regards
Carl

[Norton]

I thought this might be of interest.. it was posted on another forum by a fellow Norton Rotary owner who i know. He is a senior employee of a prestige car manufacturer (no, not Mazda). I have obtained permission from him to reproduce this here.

One of the trials of my job is to keep fully aware of the latest developments in our competitors.Unfortunately, this involves driving around Belgium, Germany, Italy and France trying out new cars - purely in the name of research of course. It\'s a dirty job but someone has to do it.
I expect you\'d love to hear about the new Mazda RX-8. Well, I drove it back-to-back with the Nissan 350Z and I have to say I preferred the Mazda. The RX-8 seemed almost on another level. Were this not being read by rotary types I\'d explain about smoothness and turbine-type noises, but you know all that. I want one!
I drove both Low and High-output versions, and actually I preferred the Low Output one. Why? The high output is the sports version, with a few more horses than the Low. However, it has power produced at higher revs and a lower peak torque figure at higher revs than the low power version. In reality, if you like BMW M3 type of power delivery, go for the High; it\'s all revs, which is fine but can get to be hard work. The Low power version is actually a much easier and nicer car to drive, and would be my choice. Hower, it is also the sensible choice and car buyers being what the are, no doubt the High Power will be the best selling version.
Overall, I was very impressed, and a buyer of either version is unlikely to be disappointed. I did not get the opportunity to check fuel consumption though. At the price, it\'s almost a bargain. Get yourself a test drive!
Ian

[R Excite]

Posted elsewhere too......I drove both versions on my test drive (as I fell in love with the car at first site, for me the only question was which version to go for). The dealer said the same thing about the low power having more torque, being more of a driver\'s car is his opinion blah blah but I actually found the high power noticeably more sporty and exciting. I\'m not brilliant on driving technology but it seemed easier with the higher gearing to get to the revs that this car obviously loves.

I felt happier with the 230 personally so that what I went for.

[TonyD]

Thanks for the feedback

Apologies for being such a dork but what does high / low torque and high power/low power actually  mean when it comes to driving the car?

Tony

[Norton]

Originally posted by TonyD
Thanks for the feedback
Apologies for being such a dork but what does high / low torque and high power/low power actually  mean when it comes to driving the car?
Tony

If you are driving along at say 40mph in 5th gear at low engine revs and you put your foot down and the car accelerates strongly its got good torque. BUT...If it only builds up speed very gradually then its a bit weak on low rev torque.
If, however, you are accelerating using the higher end of the rev range and you are pinned to the back of your seat as the horizon rushes towards you at an ever alarmingly increasing rate then the car has plenty of Horsepower (or \'bhp\' or \'PS\'). BUT...If you are screaming the nuts off the engine and you are still being overtaken by a milk float then it aint got much horsepower (unless its that mid engined Chevy V8 milk float that used to go round the custom car shows many years ago).
One version of the RX8 has been engineered for lazy drivers who dont like to work the gearbox like a demon on speed and dont get into races with Subaru Imprezas and the other version is for the aforementioned speed demons who see the red mist everytime they spot a fellow boy racer gaining on them.

[TonyD]

Thanks, Norton, that is excellent.

T.

[RobDickinson]

But the low power only has 4% more torque than the hi power.

hardly going to be noticable or world changing.

Those last few 1000 RPM is where the car is fun - and the engine loves them.

Yesteday I was crusing down a short stretch of motorway at 7k waiting to hit the gas again on the offramp :> Go Go 9.5k rpms...

[R Excite]

Originally posted by RobDickinson
But the low power only has 4% more torque than the hi power.

hardly going to be noticable or world changing.

Those last few 1000 RPM is where the car is fun - and the engine loves them.

Yesteday I was crusing down a short stretch of motorway at 7k waiting to hit the gas again on the offramp :> Go Go 9.5k rpms...

I agree. Having tried both versions the high power seemed to pull away more impressively than the low power. 20% more power but only 4% less torque seems to make the difference (I still don\'t really understand the difference between torque and power - duh !!) :o

[TonyD]

Originally posted by RobDickinson
But the low power only has 4% more torque than the hi power.

hardly going to be noticable or world changing.

So, is 230 worth extra £2K for \'casual\' driver, simply on basis of extra HP, setting aside its also higher insurance and slightly worse mpg, all other things being equal?

Will it hold its value any better than the 190?

I\'m wanting to be persuaded to go for 230 but can\'t see good reasons why!

Tony.

[R Excite]

Originally posted by TonyD
So, is 230 worth extra £2K for \'casual\' driver, simply on basis of extra HP, setting aside its also higher insurance and slightly worse mpg, all other things being equal?

Will it hold its value any better than the 190?

I\'m wanting to be persuaded to go for 230 but can\'t see good reasons why!

Tony.

Yes the 230 will cost a bit more but it does have the extra performance IMHO to justify it. But why not ask to test drive both versions and make up your mind on that basis?

[Norton]

Originally posted by RobDickinson
But the low power only has 4% more torque than the hi power.
hardly going to be noticable or world changing.

Only 4% and 500rpm difference at peak torque revs but what about lower down? I havnt seen comparative torque graphs for the two cars but i would guess that the difference between the two is much greater if you compare the torque of both at say 2500rpm. Can anyone help out with graphs or figures?
As R Excite says, the only way to choose is to drive them both and see which suits you sir. I havnt driven either of \'em so i dont have an informed opinion to put forward. :confused:

[J4P RX]

My 2p...

For the difference in price (not being huge) Id take a Hi Power.  It may hold extra value when it comes to resale time, as for someone like myself Id never consider buying a lower power one when a hi-power is available.

Lee

[Norton]

Originally posted by J4P RX
My 2p...For the difference in price (not being huge) Id take a Hi Power...  , as for someone like myself Id never consider buying a lower power one when a hi-power is available. Lee

Yes, but you\'re a boy racer
(Only joking)

[Glenn Butcher]

Hi TonyD,

I have a low power (automatic version) here in Australia.  Not much really happens under 4500rpm.  The low power manual is not available here, so I can\'t say I have driven one.

I would have liked the high power, but it only comes in manual here (and this is a car that is driven around town a lot - hence the auto, paddle shift!).  You will not notice the torque difference with the low power engine in my opinion.

The main reason I would go for the high power is simply because once you start driving it, you will turn into a boy racer - seriously it is one of the best handling cars I have ever owned.  It is simply astounding.  So if you do get one, you will always be disappointed you didn\'t get the high power.  You will always be thinking "wish I got the high power"  etc. etc.

A little more expensive, and more to insure - but I think it would be worth it.