Yup, I've finally hit 5000 miles in 3 months, and I'll write up a review that might interest potential buyers of the ms3. First, I should mention that my previous car was a Toyota Prius, and a BMW 325i before that.
So, why did I trade in my Prius for a ms3? Simply put, I was so bored with the prius. When I test drove the ms3, it felt like a rocket. I said, $5/gallon gas price be dammed, I'm getting a ms3.
It was a thrill to be driving something that was so fast and handled so well. But soon, I got used to the acceleration, and I started noticing things that bothered me more and more. Most prominent was the noise. The engine noise under hard acceleration didn't bother me much, but the exhaust drone did get on my nerves. Turning up the music eliminated the annoying drone, but sometimes you just want some quiet cruising. After doing some research I decided that aftermarket exhaust would not help. So after a few thousand miles, I kinda got used to it. But my advice to Mazda would be to lower the noise for the 2010 ms3. I would rather sacrifice a few hp for a quieter car. If the 09 WRX can do it, ms3 should do it too.
My second gripe is the transmission. It's not easy to engage into 1st and 2nd gears smoothly, especially if you want to shift quickly. Others have described the clutch as being "grabby", and I would agree. Also, I think the engine mount isn't very secure, which may be causing the crappy shifting. I hate modding cars, so I won't even try a new motor mount. So now I simply tolerate the transmission, and I just engage the clutch more slowly. I've gotten used to it, and it doesn't bother me much now.
Other than these 2 gripes, the ms3 is a great car. Very practical, roomy, and I'm getting an overall 27 mpg. And most importantly it's pretty fun because of the acceleration and taut handling.
But I keep thinking whether I would have been more happy if I had a BMW 328, or infiniti g35/g37, or even the lexus is350. I could have bought any of these, but I just wanted to be more frugal. But that's just my nature. I keep thinking about my next car. It'll be fun in a couple years. The new ms3 will be out, and I'll compare it against the wrx, bmw 3 series, infiniti G, acura TL, etc.
So, why did I trade in my Prius for a ms3? Simply put, I was so bored with the prius. When I test drove the ms3, it felt like a rocket. I said, $5/gallon gas price be dammed, I'm getting a ms3.
It was a thrill to be driving something that was so fast and handled so well. But soon, I got used to the acceleration, and I started noticing things that bothered me more and more. Most prominent was the noise. The engine noise under hard acceleration didn't bother me much, but the exhaust drone did get on my nerves. Turning up the music eliminated the annoying drone, but sometimes you just want some quiet cruising. After doing some research I decided that aftermarket exhaust would not help. So after a few thousand miles, I kinda got used to it. But my advice to Mazda would be to lower the noise for the 2010 ms3. I would rather sacrifice a few hp for a quieter car. If the 09 WRX can do it, ms3 should do it too.
My second gripe is the transmission. It's not easy to engage into 1st and 2nd gears smoothly, especially if you want to shift quickly. Others have described the clutch as being "grabby", and I would agree. Also, I think the engine mount isn't very secure, which may be causing the crappy shifting. I hate modding cars, so I won't even try a new motor mount. So now I simply tolerate the transmission, and I just engage the clutch more slowly. I've gotten used to it, and it doesn't bother me much now.
Other than these 2 gripes, the ms3 is a great car. Very practical, roomy, and I'm getting an overall 27 mpg. And most importantly it's pretty fun because of the acceleration and taut handling.
But I keep thinking whether I would have been more happy if I had a BMW 328, or infiniti g35/g37, or even the lexus is350. I could have bought any of these, but I just wanted to be more frugal. But that's just my nature. I keep thinking about my next car. It'll be fun in a couple years. The new ms3 will be out, and I'll compare it against the wrx, bmw 3 series, infiniti G, acura TL, etc.
