With a unique and sporty design, the 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3 will turn heads, but it doesn't quite live up to its looks, and Mazda left out some key tech elements.
The R3 trim brings in Bilstein shocks and Mazda fills the front cross-strut with urethane, both measures improving the handling and softening some of the rough edges from the suspension.
The high-point of the RX-8 is its handling. During hard cornering we could feel it pivot nicely, with the back end coming out in a very controlled manner.