fostersafb
Member
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- 2009 Mazdaspeed3 GT MGM
I finally pulled the trigger and last night, traded in my 04 Subaru Forester XT for a 09 MS3 GT in MGM. I picked her up for a song at $22,805 + T&L.
My first driving impressions, after having driving 2 others before this are nothing short of impressive. Prior to the MS3 I was AWD or nothing. I owned 5 Subarus from a 2 door GL to a Legacy wagon, 2 WRX's and the FXT. The FXT had the most power (280/320whp/wtq) and was a beast no doubt but never felt all that solid to me. It always felt as if I was making it more car than it was intended to be. The WRX's were great as basically my intorduction and first taste of the tuner/performance realm of cars. Honestly the 2 WRX's felt more solid although not as potent as the FXT but overall a better package.
Recently I rode in my buddies stage 1 08 STI and that thing was a beast, even at stage 1. It felt planted, solid and the engine felt very strong. The new suspension geometry has given it a more refined feel but underneath that I could still pick out the characteristics of a suby with the sound of the engine and drivetrain feel. I think Subaru did great with it but at the same time I still felt that it wouldnt be quite right for me needs now.
Onto the MS3. Before the 90 miles drive home from the dealer last night I had test driven 2 used MS3's, both low mileage (3k and 445 miles on them) I liked them both equally but like most test drives I didnt spend enough time behind the wheel to get comfortable and allow the car to sort of "speak to me," you guys can relate to that right? On the drive home I had plenty of seat time to "listen." The difference between it and my retired subies is night and day. The MS3 feels as if it is put together so much better than the subies were. I feel as if I've moved up in class, which I suppose on some level I have.
The interior cant really be compared. The treatments, features and aesthetics of the MS3 interior are a huge leap over the subies I've owned. The GT package is exactly what I was looking for. The Bose stereo is amazing! As far as the exterior, we all know the 3 is the best looking hatchback around.(yes) The MGM color gets better every time I look at it and really completes the class improvement impression for me. I just still cant get over how good the car looks, the fit and finish and overall quality of components for ~$23k! BTW my old 05 WRX was $27k and the FXT was $18k....
The drive home was an absolute pleasure. Road noise was minimal, only a slight hum from the tires. No more whistling side mirrors and windshield moulding. The suspension is very firm yet still compliant enough for the rough surfaces and made me feel very connected with the road. On very smooth sections of the highway I found myself eclipsing 80,85,90mph without even thinking about it. I think the speedometer layout is partially responsible because 80mph on the MS3 is at the same position 40mph was in the FXT, lol.
Coming on and off of onramps the steering feel and overall grip did nothing but inspire me to hold my speed or even roll on the throttle half way through a turn. To my surprise the car rotated very well. The rear of the car tracks nicely and really added to the confidence I felt. The brakes are night and day better than the FXT. Who needs Brembos, the MS3 brakes feel phenominal! How does mazda do it? maybe they know what BMW knows and can get basic 2 pot calipers to clamp and feel like 4 pots. Whatever it is, I am very pleased with the brake feel as that was always a weak link with the subies I had.
The gearing feels nicely staggered and doesnt feel like like I'm constantly having to shift to stay out of the upper rpm range. The low-end torque makes having to downshift unneccesary which is very convenient. What can i say about the engine you you all dont already know? I can at least tell you that I've experienced the Subaru 2.0l turbo (ej205) and the 2.5l (ej255) turbo as well as the Mitsubishi 4G63 2.0l turbo. I always liked the way the 4G63 felt better than the subaru motors. It seemed more lively and smoother overall. The ej205 revved nicely but didnt offer much torque while the ej255 had gobs of torque but seemed to loose a little bit of its pep up top. The MZR DISI feels a bit like a combo of the 4G63 and ej255. It makes huge torque down low and although looses some power up top with the stock factory setup, it wants to rev and does so smoothly like the 4G63. Needless to say I love the way it feels and sounds. Surprisingly the facotry exhaust sounds pretty meaty (naughty)
Anyways, for those that are still reading I am a very happy convert and a few years ago would have never thought I'd drive a mazda some day.
I do have one dispute (I know, not even a day yet)
The shifter linkage or the synchros seem a bit sluggish sometimes. Downshifting into 2nd I can sometimes feels the synchros and going from 1-2-3 the shifter just feels heavy and sluggish. I have read other posts about this, whats the reccomended fix?
Other than that I'm a happy MS3 owner and look forward to getting to know this community.
-Jason
My first driving impressions, after having driving 2 others before this are nothing short of impressive. Prior to the MS3 I was AWD or nothing. I owned 5 Subarus from a 2 door GL to a Legacy wagon, 2 WRX's and the FXT. The FXT had the most power (280/320whp/wtq) and was a beast no doubt but never felt all that solid to me. It always felt as if I was making it more car than it was intended to be. The WRX's were great as basically my intorduction and first taste of the tuner/performance realm of cars. Honestly the 2 WRX's felt more solid although not as potent as the FXT but overall a better package.
Recently I rode in my buddies stage 1 08 STI and that thing was a beast, even at stage 1. It felt planted, solid and the engine felt very strong. The new suspension geometry has given it a more refined feel but underneath that I could still pick out the characteristics of a suby with the sound of the engine and drivetrain feel. I think Subaru did great with it but at the same time I still felt that it wouldnt be quite right for me needs now.
Onto the MS3. Before the 90 miles drive home from the dealer last night I had test driven 2 used MS3's, both low mileage (3k and 445 miles on them) I liked them both equally but like most test drives I didnt spend enough time behind the wheel to get comfortable and allow the car to sort of "speak to me," you guys can relate to that right? On the drive home I had plenty of seat time to "listen." The difference between it and my retired subies is night and day. The MS3 feels as if it is put together so much better than the subies were. I feel as if I've moved up in class, which I suppose on some level I have.
The interior cant really be compared. The treatments, features and aesthetics of the MS3 interior are a huge leap over the subies I've owned. The GT package is exactly what I was looking for. The Bose stereo is amazing! As far as the exterior, we all know the 3 is the best looking hatchback around.(yes) The MGM color gets better every time I look at it and really completes the class improvement impression for me. I just still cant get over how good the car looks, the fit and finish and overall quality of components for ~$23k! BTW my old 05 WRX was $27k and the FXT was $18k....
The drive home was an absolute pleasure. Road noise was minimal, only a slight hum from the tires. No more whistling side mirrors and windshield moulding. The suspension is very firm yet still compliant enough for the rough surfaces and made me feel very connected with the road. On very smooth sections of the highway I found myself eclipsing 80,85,90mph without even thinking about it. I think the speedometer layout is partially responsible because 80mph on the MS3 is at the same position 40mph was in the FXT, lol.
Coming on and off of onramps the steering feel and overall grip did nothing but inspire me to hold my speed or even roll on the throttle half way through a turn. To my surprise the car rotated very well. The rear of the car tracks nicely and really added to the confidence I felt. The brakes are night and day better than the FXT. Who needs Brembos, the MS3 brakes feel phenominal! How does mazda do it? maybe they know what BMW knows and can get basic 2 pot calipers to clamp and feel like 4 pots. Whatever it is, I am very pleased with the brake feel as that was always a weak link with the subies I had.
The gearing feels nicely staggered and doesnt feel like like I'm constantly having to shift to stay out of the upper rpm range. The low-end torque makes having to downshift unneccesary which is very convenient. What can i say about the engine you you all dont already know? I can at least tell you that I've experienced the Subaru 2.0l turbo (ej205) and the 2.5l (ej255) turbo as well as the Mitsubishi 4G63 2.0l turbo. I always liked the way the 4G63 felt better than the subaru motors. It seemed more lively and smoother overall. The ej205 revved nicely but didnt offer much torque while the ej255 had gobs of torque but seemed to loose a little bit of its pep up top. The MZR DISI feels a bit like a combo of the 4G63 and ej255. It makes huge torque down low and although looses some power up top with the stock factory setup, it wants to rev and does so smoothly like the 4G63. Needless to say I love the way it feels and sounds. Surprisingly the facotry exhaust sounds pretty meaty (naughty)
Anyways, for those that are still reading I am a very happy convert and a few years ago would have never thought I'd drive a mazda some day.
I do have one dispute (I know, not even a day yet)
The shifter linkage or the synchros seem a bit sluggish sometimes. Downshifting into 2nd I can sometimes feels the synchros and going from 1-2-3 the shifter just feels heavy and sluggish. I have read other posts about this, whats the reccomended fix?
Other than that I'm a happy MS3 owner and look forward to getting to know this community.
-Jason
