Mazda RX-7 - Used Car Reviews

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Mazda RX-7 Used Car Review

Mazda RX-7 Photo When it comes to engines, people either love Wankel rotary engines, or they've never driven one.

Fortunately, it's not too late: good used Wankel Rotary engines can still be found, purring away and revving to stratospheric heights inside the many used examples of Mazda's venerable and legendary RX-7 sports car.

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The Mazda RX-7 debuted on North American roads in the early 1980's, and was an instant hit with sports car enthusiasts. It was powerful and smooth, incredibly fun to drive, and handled extremely well for the day thanks to a nearly perfect 50/50 weight distribution and live-axle quad-link rear suspension.

But the star of this car was the Wankel rotary engine. Although Mazda had sold rotary-powered vehicles in North America before (most notably the rotary powered Mazda pickup truck and the RX-7's direct predecessor, the cute and nimble RX-3), it was in the RX-7 that the rotary engine found its home.

The displacement and power output of the RX-7's rotary engine was superbly matched to the driving and handling characteristics of the car. Rear wheel drive with a tight-but-smooth 5 speed transmission, the early engines produced a healthy 100hp with normal aspiration. In later years the displacement increased and turbo charging was added, boosting the RX-7's engine output to well over 200hp.

But all of those ponies were unleashed with the almost ethereal smoothness that only a Wankel rotary engine can deliver. It was so smooth in fact that Mazda had to add a noisy red-line buzzer to alert drivers of the approach of the 7000rpm red line. Smooth like that is very smooth indeed.

But like most things in life, the Mazda RX-7 strength was also its weakness. When those Wankel rotary engines failed, they failed big time. When a rotary engine bites the dust, often the only cost effective solution is a new engine, and many RX-7's on the roads today are powered by their second engine.

This is not to say the Wankel rotary engines powering the RX-7 were in any way flawed or failure prone. But unleashing a sports car that loves to rev on a North American public that loves to rev and drive, while sometimes forgetting about those pesky maintenance intervals, is bound to generate a few engine casualties.

Today, the Mazda RX-7 makes a fantastic used car. Used prices have really come down as rotary engines tend to be a little thirsty compared to their inline 4 counterparts, and, as mentioned, engine failures tend to be expensive to repair.

But close to 700,000 Mk-I and Mk-II Mazda RX-7's were produced, meaning that even in your neck of the woods, good used bargains shouldn't be too hard to find. Prices are generally reasonable, and given the sportiness of the RX-7, they are a real bargain used sports car for those who like to drive.
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