More sport-tuned cars show up this year in the line of Mazda, that "Zoom-Zoom" brand from Japan. There's the rotary-powered RX-8 in pillar-less four-door coupe format, a turbo-charged Mazdaspeed Miata roadster, a mid-size sedan titled Mazda6 spinning off a sport wagon and hatchback-style 5-Door, plus the compact-size Mazda3 4-Door and 5-Door. A minivan, SUV and truck also carry the Mazda emblem for 2005.

The slinky sports coupe from Mazda is a high-revving sports car with perfect weight balance and an attitude that seems most satisfied when sent through a slalom course. It's also a high-tech automotive wonder equipped with a modern version of Felix Wankel's rotary engine. And it's a two-door sports car that cleverly conceals a four-door design with the practicality of a sedan and two rows of seats. At the heart of the RX-8 is its powerful rotary engine. The twin-rotor plant, displacing only 1.3 liters, puts intake and exhaust ports on the side in a new design that differs from every previous rotary. When tied to a six-speed manual gearbox, the engine hits 238 hp.

An electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission is also available, but the engine's output dips to 197 hp. Mazda loads the RX-8 with equipment but clusters optional items in packages. The Sport Package includes xenon headlights, fog lamps and a vehicle skid controller; a Touring Package brings a moonroof and Bose audio system, while the Grand Touring Package adds leather seats and heat elements in front buckets and exterior mirrors.

Mazda's sporty mid-size sedan draws from a 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine or twin-cam 3.0-liter V6. The sleek package displays styling hints borrowed from European touring cars. A spacious cabin, with two front buckets and a rear bench for three with split folding seatbacks, adds titanium-finish trim elements on the central dash with round dials and chrome accents.

Changing the optional equipment forges new Sport and Grand Touring editions with new safety gear added like side-impact air bags and curtain-style side air bags. Also, the Sport's automatic transmission on V6 models upgrades to six-speed configuration for smooth shifting. A five-door model called -- go figure -- Mazda6 5-Door looks similar to the four-door sedan yet carries a back gate and cargo bay that expands with rear seatbacks folded. And a five-door station wagon also shares components of the Mazda6 sedan but shows the boxy contours of a wagon. Its cargo compartment measures 33.7 cubic feet with seats up and 60.4 cubic feet with seatbacks down.

Mazda's two-seat and open-top roadster, still the ultimate affordable sports car, has the perfect weight balance which sets up that Miata magic of predictable vehicle control for a driver. For 2005 it continues in two editions -- Miata and Miata LS -- both packing a twin-cam 1.8-liter four-in-line engine zipped to 142 hp. The Miata LS stocks leather seats in either black or parchment, plus power door locks and a Bose audio kit, with a six-disc CD changer optional along with a six-speed manual transmission. The base Miata provides stock items like power steering, power windows and power mirrors, air conditioning, fog lamps and an audio system with CD deck. Two new paint colors emerge this year - Nordic Green and Razor Blue. (CONTINUED...)