1985 Mazda RX-7 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

This Generation RX7 Is amazing. This car could out handle any car at the time and even most cars of this time. The RX7 was the first car to ever pull a full G-force on the skidpad. The RX7 Of this generation wasn't meant for straight line speed even though it could keep up with a V8 mustang at the time. Overall, this generation RX7 was one of the ground breaking sports cars of the time. Without the RX7, there wouldn't be double wishbone suspensions, rotary engines, or even the overall popularity of the sports car name.Aug 19, 2014

I grumble about certain things regarding the 1st gen RX-7, but I still haven't gotten rid of mine (which should tell you something.) It's a fun car to drive and you don't see them every day on the road. They have pretty lines to them. Kind of graceful. One thing I like is that they're not particularly difficult to work on. Don't let the unique engine design fool you...unless you're planning to rebuild the thing it won't make any difference. It has plugs, wires, and a distributor just like other cars. It's a small engine so there's plenty of room to work, which I like. The engine compartment isn't as "packed" as modern cars and contains less electronics. I don't keep mine for performance (by today's standards the stock 12A is a bit sluggish with something like 100 HP) but because it's a cool car to have. I like the first generation (79-85) better because I think the lines are more appealing than the 2nd (albeit the 2nd is faster.) There are guys who do a lot of jiggering to make their cars a lot faster than stock, so if you are into that, it's quite doable. Out of the box, though, they just aren't very fast any more. The best you could do is try to get an 84/ 85 GSL-SE with the 13B engine in it, as that would boost things by about 30%. I prefer the GS trim level, myself. The "S" model had steel wheels, a lesser stereo, and lacked a few other features. And while I would have liked to have the moon roof, the other things in the GSL model I can do without: the leather seats, power windows and locks, and rear wiper on the GSL are just more things to break. The leather usually doesn't hold up very well after all these years. I like to keep things simpler. It uses a lot of gas by today's standards (which is annoying because it's not very fast) but what can you do. I think I get about 16 MPG in the city with the AC on. it's better on the highway. I'm probably at about 25 there. It has a carburetor, which people seem to have forgotten about how to work on, but if you keep the car maintained it's not hard to adjust now and then. The ride is low to the ground (and not very comfortable) but I always feel like I'm going faster than I really am so that makes up for it. This car blows in the snow. I put in in the driveway one day when I was moving some stuff around in the garage and it started to snow. With a couple inches on the ground, I couldn't get it up my angled driveway. On the road it's like a hockey puck. With snow tires and some weight in the back you'd do better, but there are no airbags in this car so if you get hit you're going to feel it. Overall, they were well made by 80's standards and good examples are still fairly easy to find. If you're up for it, get a 1979 and own a real classic. Otherwise, the 85 model year is pretty popular. I know I said that the GS trim was best, but I'd still pick up a GSL-SE if you can find one. Despite the increase in electronics, you'll step up to fuel injection and a bigger engine. Of course, it's all relative. If you're really into speed you'd probably want to look at the turbo-charged second generation or the ultimate prize: third gen.Jul 22, 2012

Performance- It was very light and extremely nimble, cornered awesome and stopped awesome, It was lacking on torque but revved to like 8 or 9k RPM Build Quality- Fit and finish was pretty nice for being a 1985 Appearance- It is in my opinion the best body style RX-7, but its also the lightest and simplest. Cost of ownership- The gas mileage wasn't what you would expect for something that was a little over 1.1 liter.May 29, 2011

Performance- It was very light and extremely nimble, cornered awesome and stopped awesome, It was lacking on torque but revved to like 8 or 9k RPM (don't remember where the fuel cut off) Build Quality- Fit and finish was pretty nice for being a 1985, I loved the removable sunroof, it was glass in the summer and had a solid piece for the winter. Appearance- It is in my opinion the ugliest body style RX-7, but its also the lightest and simplest. I can't imagine it with a 3rd gen engine in this chassis. Cost of ownership- The gas mileage wasn't what you would expect for something that was a little over 1 liter, It could be that I could never get it to run well with the carburetor. I would have liked to drive a fuel injected rotary and see how it compared. Feb 02, 2011

performance of the mazda 12A rotory engine is very impressive. It will hold 8,000 RPM's all day long without a problem. Car is a blast to drive with the manual 5 speed transmission, and LSD rear end. Build quality is amazing for a car that is 25 years old she is in excellent shape, only has 84K miles. Appearance is very unique, in my opinion these where the best looking RX-7's ever built (1st Generation) Maintenance can be a little hard if you dont know how to work on the rotary engine. THIS CAR IS A BLAST TO DRIVE!Aug 25, 2010

i recently baught a 2001 saturn SL2 to use for body parts and other salvageable stuff for my 2002 saturn. after i was done i traded it for this 1985 Mazda RX-7 GS. this car runs now but i need to rebuild to carb. but other than that this car is wicked the previos owner bought a Holly carb and Racing Beat air filter and filter cover. i never heard a rotary engine before but it sounds so cool. its a 5-speed manual transmission with a fairly short shift, rear wheel drive, and it ony has two seats. when i do a little more to get it completely road worthy its goin to be fun.Aug 02, 2010

I have an 85 Rx7 GS. I got it last fall and mechnically restored over the winter. It runs really well with no rust anywhere. Hauls some butt with a few mods and looks good for a 25 year old car. I rebuilt and jetted the stock carb with mechanical secondaries. I also put a header and turbo muffler with no cats. Its not the fastest machine, but if you learn how to work the pedal and be on with the car you will love it. Jun 16, 2010

Second car: 85' RX-7 GSL-SE. 1.3L. Manual trans. ? Miles. it could have use some work but i loved that car. a very fun car to drive. it turned out to be a bit of a money pit tho. drove it for about a year and a half till the apex seals went out and that was the end of her. lot of good times in this car. just before that happened i found the... Jan 06, 2010

Great looking auto,handles very well,is the rare GSl-SE five speed transmission model.Four wheel disc brakes,sun roof,interior leather trim,White sheep skin seat covers,factory air.power out side rear mirrors and windows.Color is REDStill turns 6000 if you drive that way,Good brakes(12,000 miles on them.Gets around 15 mpg in city and 25-28 mpg on high way @65-70 mph.My second one and I still enjoy driving it!Dec 01, 2009

It looks like a wedge on wheels. That being said the performance is unbelievable with an 8000 RPM RPM range, it truly is fun to drive. You find yourself shifting quite alot, both because you need the extra rpm's and because its fun to hear it wind up! The cornering and handling is stiff, and solid. You find yourself wanting to jam into a low gear, crank the wheel, and gas it so that you can slide around instead of merely driving.Oct 14, 2009

Performance - 1/4 Mile time 16.0 Top speed 220km/h Lateral Gs .9 Appearance - it really does look good for it's age. Fun factor - The reason anyone has a loud car that will do 8000rom whenever you ask it to. Cost of ownership - Not bad considering I wrapped one around apole and just went and got another one, wasn't happy so I went and got, you guessed it another one. Man-o-man how many words is this thing going to ask me to enter before it lets me continue. Cons: It is a little noisy....:-) Sep 01, 2009

Triangle power!!! it's an older car so quality is not great, but it could be worse performance is pretty good, very unique driving due to rotary engine Super fun car to drive, more like a big go-kart the only things i've found wrong with it, but have learned to love are: bumpers, loudness (can be taken care of), and the lack of stock on much needed parts from the auto part stores.Dec 17, 2008

For a 23 year old car this car is amazing, it has handling that is better than most cars made today... which is saying a lot considering its age. If anyone even thinks about questioning the power behind it's engine, just think about how much power normal 1.1l engines have, or go blow the doors off of most 4 cylinders and a good amount of 6 cylindersJul 29, 2008