Mazdaspeed 3
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 695
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas
Just dropping in to say i love old japanese imports!!! 
Honda City
Toyota Starlet
Mazda 323 all wheel drive turbo.
Honda CRX
Toyota Carolla GTS (AE86)
Datsun 510
Orginal Mazda 3 (1970's)
New mazda 3
Yes im off topic, but im bored at work. sorry!
Edit: ok to be a little more on topic, newer cars are just heavier. All the electric motors for Power windows, locks, sun roofs, side mirrors, seats, heated seats, sound dampening material, plastic dash/door pannel moldings. re-enforced metal structures to meat saftey requirments and provide good crash tests. Air bag systems...ect ect... although these things dont weigh much by themselves, but they do add up. old 70's/80's cars were alot more bare in comparison.
Honda City
Toyota Starlet
Mazda 323 all wheel drive turbo.
Honda CRX
Toyota Carolla GTS (AE86)
Datsun 510
Orginal Mazda 3 (1970's)
New mazda 3
Yes im off topic, but im bored at work. sorry!
Edit: ok to be a little more on topic, newer cars are just heavier. All the electric motors for Power windows, locks, sun roofs, side mirrors, seats, heated seats, sound dampening material, plastic dash/door pannel moldings. re-enforced metal structures to meat saftey requirments and provide good crash tests. Air bag systems...ect ect... although these things dont weigh much by themselves, but they do add up. old 70's/80's cars were alot more bare in comparison.
I am a big fan of this little car, love it!
I'm going to the Mazda Zoom Zoom live event here this weekend... wonder if there is a snowball's chance that they will have one there.
Anyone know the official release date? I want to drive one.
I'm going to the Mazda Zoom Zoom live event here this weekend... wonder if there is a snowball's chance that they will have one there.
Anyone know the official release date? I want to drive one.
The MazdaSpeed 3 is on my short list of cars, along with the GTI, the Civic SI and the Cooper S....reviews like this get me thinking it won't be the car for me though...
"If you're thinking 190kW and 380Nm sounds like too much firepower for a small front-drive hatch, you're right.
The Mazda3 MPS engineers acknowledge this by cutting engine torque under full load in first and second gears, or when the steering wheel is turned into a tight corner.
Giving a front-drive car an excess of grunt, then using electronics to reduce it in situations where it creates untidy dynamics, seems like a futile exercise. And it is. The engine's delivery is brutal but erratic. Put your foot down to drive out of a tight corner and you're unsure what you're going to get, how much, or when. The intervention of the electronics is obvious and clumsy.
One moment the steering is light and responsive, the next it is paralysed and the wheel is almost reefed from your hands, especially when you change into third gear, where the full performance quota arrives with an almighty rush.
The suspension is hard and noisy; the ride is unforgiving.
The Mazda3 MPS handles OK, but you're too often fighting it. The Bridgestone RE050 tyres on 18-inch alloy wheels try valiantly to contain the chaos, and the car has a tendency to push in corners."
In an A-grade sports car, all of the vital components must combine seamlessly to produce a cohesive, satisfying result.
In the Mazda they don't. The engine has too much power and torque for a front-drive layout; it then uses electronics in a vain, inept attempt to cover up the problem. We were happy to park it.
The Mazda3 MPS engineers acknowledge this by cutting engine torque under full load in first and second gears, or when the steering wheel is turned into a tight corner.
Giving a front-drive car an excess of grunt, then using electronics to reduce it in situations where it creates untidy dynamics, seems like a futile exercise. And it is. The engine's delivery is brutal but erratic. Put your foot down to drive out of a tight corner and you're unsure what you're going to get, how much, or when. The intervention of the electronics is obvious and clumsy.
One moment the steering is light and responsive, the next it is paralysed and the wheel is almost reefed from your hands, especially when you change into third gear, where the full performance quota arrives with an almighty rush.
The suspension is hard and noisy; the ride is unforgiving.
The Mazda3 MPS handles OK, but you're too often fighting it. The Bridgestone RE050 tyres on 18-inch alloy wheels try valiantly to contain the chaos, and the car has a tendency to push in corners."
In an A-grade sports car, all of the vital components must combine seamlessly to produce a cohesive, satisfying result.
In the Mazda they don't. The engine has too much power and torque for a front-drive layout; it then uses electronics in a vain, inept attempt to cover up the problem. We were happy to park it.
6th Gear
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 8,404
Likes: 1
From: San Diego, CA
The first ones in CA will be here shortly, then sitting at the dock for a few weeks. So I would guess within the next month or two there would be some available for test drives.
So I would guess within the next month or two there would be some available for test drives.
5th Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 695
Likes: 0
From: Las Vegas
I see this car being every import drag-racers wet dream. I am predicting a chip comming in the near future to get rid of the limited HP/TQ in the first gears. Then people slaping on some hoosier/mickey street ET's.
so i got the 3 sedan as a rental this week while in FL... the last time i
test drove the 3 was the wagon which i thought was pretty cool...
had leather seats and all... but...
being in my 06 Civic since April of this year, i have to say the Civic is
a much better car than the 3. honestly, the interior of the 3 is like
a corolla... small and out dated. wtf is with that early 90's karaoke
machine LED's next to the stereo volume control? i didn't know
it flashed left and right like that since i didn't try out the stereo during
my test drive. my partner and i were cracking up turning the **** right,
then left, then right as if it was KITT.
the ride itself felt like my old corolla that i hated. handles well, but not
the smooth, sporty feel of the new Civic's. The 4sp SAT was also
ikkkkk... the ratios sucked at 50-60mph range... i kept down shifting
to 3rd, even 2nd at high rpm to get any kind of acceleration i could
use.
trunk space is too small. i have a bazooka sub in my Civic and i can still
put hell of a lot more luggage in there than the 3.
oh well, i guess it's time Maz releases the next gen 3's. it's out
dated, imho.
test drove the 3 was the wagon which i thought was pretty cool...
had leather seats and all... but...
being in my 06 Civic since April of this year, i have to say the Civic is
a much better car than the 3. honestly, the interior of the 3 is like
a corolla... small and out dated. wtf is with that early 90's karaoke
machine LED's next to the stereo volume control?
i didn't know it flashed left and right like that since i didn't try out the stereo during
my test drive. my partner and i were cracking up turning the **** right,
then left, then right as if it was KITT.
the ride itself felt like my old corolla that i hated. handles well, but not
the smooth, sporty feel of the new Civic's. The 4sp SAT was also
ikkkkk... the ratios sucked at 50-60mph range... i kept down shifting
to 3rd, even 2nd at high rpm to get any kind of acceleration i could
use.
trunk space is too small. i have a bazooka sub in my Civic and i can still
put hell of a lot more luggage in there than the 3.
oh well, i guess it's time Maz releases the next gen 3's. it's out
dated, imho.
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,904
Likes: 1
From: Richardson, Texas
I don't know if this was already posted, but there's a great article about the new Mazdaspeed 3 in the October issue of the free digital magazine Winding Road.
http://www.windingroad.com/download
It's a pretty impressive little car.
http://www.windingroad.com/download
It's a pretty impressive little car.
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