MS3 Road Trip Review

[6262MS3]

I just got back from my first big road trip in this car, Calgary to Pender Island BC, to Victoria and back to Calgary. Maybe 2400kms in total. I loved every second of it, the car was simply fantastic on the highway! Normally I'm pretty exhausted and sore at the end of these trips, but I felt 10 times better at the end of this one.

Pros: The seat is supportive and super-comfortable, after 11 hours of driving I still felt pretty good. The steering feel is perfect, the car tracks very well and wasn't fatiguing to drive at all. Gas mileage averaged around 28 mpg, and that included using AC and having to pass fairly often. Passing power is awesome, just drop it into 4th and go, it takes the stress out of single-lane highways. Roadholding was great, I could take the mountain passes at 120-140kms/hr (when there wasn't traffic) without pushing the car at all. Lots of room for luggage and crap as well! The AC isn't very invasive, my old 626 would feel like I dropped a boat anchor when the compressor kicked in, in the ms3 it was barely noticeable.

Cons: Wind and tire noise is pretty high, definitely not a quiet car at speed. The stereo is completely underpowered and can't keep up to the road noise without hurting your ears. I've got to get a proper sound system for this thing! Having to fill it with premium definitely sucks these days (especially having to explain the downside of turbos to passengers who offer to pay for a tank and think I'm trying to rip them off!).

So there's my 2 cents, while it's no luxury car it's a solid road-trip machine that does almost everything I want it to do. For me the value of this car just tripled. Good job Mazda!

 

[Super Unique]

I find on interstate driving no downshifts are required. Just drop the hammer in 6th and your gone like a rocket...

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

+1. 6th gear and boost makes me happy.

 

[happy and angry]

The highway that runs from Alberta to BC is a pretty twisty single lane road for most stretches, with steep hills. 6th gear and boost is fine on a two or three lane interstate on flat roads, but not for some passing situations that will come up on the Transcanada.

 

[6262MS3]

The highway that runs from Alberta to BC is a pretty twisty single lane road for most stretches, with steep hills. 6th gear and boost is fine on a two or three lane interstate on flat roads, but not for some passing situations that will come up on the Transcanada.

Agreed, 6th is great for getting by people on 2 lanes or more at higher speeds, but when you're stuck behind a logging truck doing 90 (~55mph) or less on a tight single lane dropping her into 4th gets you right into the "holy s***!" part of the power-band. I try to pass as safely as possible and this car minimizes the time I'm in the wrong lane.

 

[cosic]

I was going to say, 4th gear? If I want to make the person infront of me look like a fool I'd put it into 4th lol. 6th is plenty

 

[ottawaP5]

I always use 4th gear when passing as well. We don't have much room to pass either on some Quebec backroads.

 

[haberdashery]

i have a lame turbo-noob question, if cruising on the highway at above 3,000 rpms in sixth gear, will the turbo be constantly on and working? i feel like that could be potentially harmful on long drives.. not to mention the decrease in gas mileage

 

[Super Unique]

if your going 70 and the throttle is at a steady cruise it shouldn't be spooling under pressure. or at least not full pressure.

 

[Silver Ecstasy]

I haven't tried it yet, but it seems like if you were cruising on highway speeds, you'd be at roughly around 3,000 rpms. If you were to then downshift to 4th, you'd probably be right at 5,000 rpms which means you're only 500 away from the boost cut. Maybe i'll try sometime.

 

[happy and angry]

The highway he's probably on ranges from 90 - 100 (55 to 65 or so), and dropping from 6th to 4th puts you in to the low/mid 4000 rpm range.

 

[6262MS3]

Yeah, I think 90 (55) in 4th is right around 4000rpm and 6th is under 2500. If you're doing over 100 (60) 5th is the better gear for "urgent" passing.

 

[stevekt]

I just did a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and got 24-25 mpg on the way there and 27.55 mpg on the return trip! The return trip had a lot less traffic. I do a lot of city driving on a daily basis so I typically get about 21 mpg. It's no Prius but I was very pleased the way the MS3 performed on a longer highway commute. (yippy)

 

[imac]

The stereo is completely underpowered and can't keep up to the road noise without hurting your ears. I've got to get a proper sound system for this thing!

do you have the bose system from the GT, or the standard system offered with the sport version? the bose seems to do just fine in the wattage dept for me, tho im not a particularly picky person when it comes to soundsystems.

 

[6262MS3]

I have a Canadian ms3 which only comes with the bose. It can get kinda loud but I guess I have a sensitive ear for distortion so I can't listen to it loud for very long (even after swapping in better tweets and putting x-overs on the mids). In my old 626 I could listen to my aftermarket system for longer periods of time at moderately loud volumes without any ear-fatigue.