Now four seats get even sportier makeover ; THE RX-8 has been a huge hit for Mazda. In R3 guise, it's now been updated to keep it at the top of its game. ANDY ENRIGHT reports

THE RX-8's formula of four adult-sized seats, rear-hinged free-style doors, a large boot and a 1.3-litre rotary engine may remainunaltered but in tidying up the cabin, boosting the equipment levelsand making the styling a touch more aggressive, Mazda has enabledthe RX-8 to continue raking in big sales.

The driving experience in this R3 version has been enhanced byfaster steering, chassis and engine responses plus greaterrefinement.

Mazda's position as Britain''s favourite sportscar brand (ittakes 25 per cent of the market), depends a great deal in the UK onthe sales of this RX-8, which is something that you wouldn't havepredicted when it was launched here in 2003. …