This brings me to talk about the 4-door coupe configuration, which I think is genius. The extra half doors, so to speak, make it so adult passengers don't have to wiggle their way through the seatbelt jungle to sit down in the rear. How many times have you got caught on a seatbelt trying to get to the back seating area of a coupe because a friend called 'shotgun'
before you? It has happened to me all too many times. And how many times have you hit your head on your way in, or gotten stuck trying to squeeze into the back? Again, too many times for me. But the RX-8 makes living easy by having the semi-doors for easy access and less head-banging angst!
Life was also made easier thanks to a centre console with a sliding cover that fit almost all of the essential junk that I lug around with me: cell phone, day planner, wallet, steamed milk (in the cupholder of course), energy bar and so on. And that's in addition to my purse that sat on the seat beside me. What's more, when I don't have all that stuff with me, which is a very rare occasion, the sliding cover makes for a comfortable armrest.
Not immediately recognizable to the naked eye, the Shinka's specially tuned suspension features a foam urethane filled front cross member and
specially tuned dampers to improve rigidity, and therefore stability and handling. The stiffer body allowed me to take those tight turns a wee bit faster than I would have regularly able too in a less rigid car, remaining stable throughout. Still, while the suspension is quite stiff compared to more comfort-oriented cars, I didn't feel all the imperfections on the roads.
And as I was taking those turns a wee bit faster, the standard 6-speed manual gearbox, with its tight gear ratio made for excellent shifting whether I was gearing down before the turn or stretching its legs on the straight.
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| The RX-8 makes living easy, by having the semi-doors for easy access and less head-banging angst! (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
Life was also made easier thanks to a centre console with a sliding cover that fit almost all of the essential junk that I lug around with me: cell phone, day planner, wallet, steamed milk (in the cupholder of course), energy bar and so on. And that's in addition to my purse that sat on the seat beside me. What's more, when I don't have all that stuff with me, which is a very rare occasion, the sliding cover makes for a comfortable armrest.
Not immediately recognizable to the naked eye, the Shinka's specially tuned suspension features a foam urethane filled front cross member and
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| The standard 6-speed manual gearbox with its tight gear ratio, makes for excellent shifting. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press) |
And as I was taking those turns a wee bit faster, the standard 6-speed manual gearbox, with its tight gear ratio made for excellent shifting whether I was gearing down before the turn or stretching its legs on the straight.