Most people know that Mazda builds sporty cars. But for driving enthusiasts, it’s the company’s history of building sport coupes with lightweight rotary engines that sets it apart from the competition. The Mazda RX-8 is the latest of these coupes, and it’s the only one with a four-door configuration.

The heart of the Mazda RX-8 is its high-revving, 1.3-liter rotary engine called the Renesis. It’s a made-up word: The “R” and the “e” stand for “Rotary engine,” while “nesis” comes from the word “genesis.” Odd name aside, the Renesis engine is an impressive bit of engineering: Unlike its forbears, it locates the exhaust ports on the side of each of the combustion chambers, rather than on the outer edge of the rotary housing. Sounds simple, but this one change allows for more power, higher fuel economy and lower emissions.

Because of the engine’s compact size, engineers were able to mount it further back in the RX-8’s chassis, giving the car a coveted 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. This, along with balanced suspension tuning, sharp steering and a svelte 3,000-pound curb weight, makes the rear-wheel-drive RX-8 one of the best-handling cars on the market. It’s certainly among the best sports cars available for less than $30,000, and deserving of any consideration you give it.