The Renesis engine is a new beast. It's a redesigned rotary. We don't have 100 years of advancements in it like we do the normal pushrod engine. So it's really an unknown. I doubt it burns oil every 2 fill ups. That'd be what, 1000 miles? On a new car? That's not a diesel? I don't buy it. And I hate to point out the post about the import is coming from a guy whose been a very big domestic advocate.
Don't put oil in your gas. It's not supposed to be there. And burns far less clean than gas and will merely fuck up your pistons, valves, and sensors. Run whatever the manual recommends. I assure you the engineers @ Mazda aren't stupid.
RX7? You're kidding right??? The newest one is 14 years old now??? Ummm, yeah. I don't think I need to say more.
WRX. I love em. If I were buying a new car tomorrow it'd be an STI. Granted Im gonna hold the Z28 and Van combo for a bit longer and both serve me well. Sadly the WRX wagon is gone, which sucks. I really liked it. But I wanted AWD as I live in an area that gets plenty of snow.
If I didn't have to deal with snow..... I'd own an RX8 already. They look great. They drive well, handle well (Far more important than raw power), and are more efficient gas wise when you beat on them. (Keep the RPMS up.) My only gripe is the stupid suicide doors. But I'd certainly drive an RX8. Sadly a RWD car is not practical in Maine year round.
17k don't buy you a lot of car these days. I can name faster cars that are older and will get worse gas mileage. I doubt that;s what you're looking for. I can name older cars that out perform and RX8, but are less practical. I dont know it that;s what you want. All said and done cheap, decent gas mileage, and fun are mutually exclusive options. So you're gonna have to sacrifice one to have another. WRXs are nice. But AWD so they don't get great gas mileage. They are 4 door tho, which make them a usable car. Coworker bought a V6 Charger for 17k. 1 year old. Nice car with a bunch of features. Fun? Probably not. Nice car? Yep. Big, roomy, cushy, nice looking (IMO), semi decent mpg.
I'd keep the RX8 were it me. But that's my opinion. Also realize that most of the rotary engine knowledge in this thread is based on the issues of the earlier rotaries by Mazda. And they've made ALOT of changes in the rotary. Christ guys, give em some credit. No other car company on the market has even been able to bring a rotary to market that wasn't a complete piece of shit.