or that could possibly be because of the weight distribution. a lot of that "jerking" is caused by the front end of the car bobbing up and down and is also much more common in FWD cars. since the RX-8 has such a small (in relation to other brands) engine, perfect weight distribution and near "mid-engine" placement (behind the front and in front of the rear axle), and is RWD, shifting will inevitably be smoother. I REALLY like the way my true mid-engine (behind the driver) MR2 moves. Although I only have the 130hp 2.2L, it is real torquey I never get the jerky feeling. btw, the smoothness of an engine helps out alot too ... much like the free spinning inline 6's from BMW, the renesis 8 quickly and easily accepts the increase/decrease in RPMS without transmitting a lot of stress to the chassis.
On my test drive, I first stalled out. then I almost stalled again. Not having a lot of torque, and concerned that I'd "peel out" I had a hard time getting the right mix of clutch and throttle. In addition, I noticed too much engine vibration coming up through the gear shift. My MP3 is like that too ... odd. And the handling, while feeling very capable, almost was too good. It's the handling equivalent to having 1000hp in a street car .... like it's your dream, but bittersweet cuz you'd rarely ever get to use it. ATL-SRT said it best, "Based on my test drive: nice car, but not quite right for my tastes." I do emphatically support Mazda for getting a RX back to market and can't wait to see another forced induction model like the 3rd gen RX-7. WOOT!
