WTF? Why a 4 cylinder? (partial rant)

[wolverine_man]

You obviously did not research or test drive enough cars. I researched for about 3 months or so. Personally, I was looking for a compact sedan, with manual transmission, that handled well, had great interior ergonomics and quality materials, got decent fuel economy (high 20s or low 30s), required only regular fuel and was priced around $20K. At the end of the day, there was only one choice, Mazda3 S Grand Touring, 5-speed. I had zero desire to buy a Speed and have zero regrets.

And by the way, due to reliability concerns and extremely expensive repair bills, Volvos, VWs (I've owned one before) and domestics were not even considered from day one.

 

[jred321]

i have 2 thoughts.
1) what you are missing is the torque, not the power. the feeling of horsepower, not actual horsepower. with a 4 cylinder, even if turboed, it's always going to feel slow, esp when compared to a giant v8 made to tow a house.
2) learn to let it rev. i know it's not as easy because you got the female version of the car but wind it out a bit. 4 cylinder cars know they aren't going to get the torque down low. to make up for it they gear themselves high and allow the engine to rev more. that's what they're designed to do. granted the 3 isn't like an S2000 but still much moreso than a giant v8 or a turbo diesel who don't like being reved above 4k


give it some time and have reasonable expectations. then if it still doesn't work for you pick up a new camaro next year

 

[coyfish]

Volvo s60r faster than a speed 6 . . . I don't think so. If you put in enough money into the volvo s60r you can get more out of the stock engine than the speed 6. For speed I would take an s40 or speed 6 over the s60r any day. My uncles got an s60r that I have driven a couple times and my speed 6 feels so much faster. Maybe its just the smoother ride or the fact that im driving a volvo, but it just feels slow and boring.

Saw a white pontiac g8 today. Those look nasty.

 

[bgibb68]

speaking of the g8.....6.0l v8.....YUM

 

[eg6motion]

sounds like the OP needs another B.O.S.T.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxxylQqMu28

seriously, worst rant I have ever seen. And you bought an auto...

 

[bazooka joe]

are you sure you want just 178 hp? you seem pretty up on your cars, how did you miss the boat with the 3?? didn't you take it for a drive before you bought it? i don;t know anyone with a 3 that doesn't like it...i mean it's a fun to drive eco car...it's not advertised as anything mor that that..

 

[my3needsaname]

I researched my cars for a good 8-9 months and it came down to a Tacoma, MZ3, and MS3. Had to get a brand new car and couldn't go stick for a few reasons, insurance was too much on the truck and the MZ3 was my last choice because of the engine. But it was the only other car I could get in a short period of time. It had to be bought that weekend.

I do let it rev, It doesn't want to downshift where it should so it sits in the mid RPM range before it can hit its power band. This is why I need a wider range of power which means more power in the low and high end.

I'm not going to argue because I know it's the fact that you own a speed6 that makes you disagree with me but in the end, the S60R is definitely faster than a speed6. It may not be much but Volvos got the power no money needed.

Yes G8's are amazing except when you get to their quality...but I almost did get a BOST except Tacoma insurance was an issue. Nothing else but the damned insurance.

 

[bazooka joe]

it came down to these very different vehicles? the auto is a killa (i know)

 

[my3needsaname]

are you sure you want just 178 hp? you seem pretty up on your cars, how did you miss the boat with the 3?? didn't you take it for a drive before you bought it? i don;t know anyone with a 3 that doesn't like it...i mean it's a fun to drive eco car...it's not advertised as anything mor that that..

Yea 178 seems to be pretty good because that would get it up to 23lbs/HP and have it in the same ranks as the Expedition's V8. I have absolutely no issue with more HP, the more the merrier...the more the better...the more there is the more I will want to drive it everyday.
When I test drove it, test drives never are good enough, the thing pulled itself and 2 other people up a pretty steep hill nicely. It seemed that it was good until I had to get on the congested freeway at 4pm with a 100ft on-ramp and I was like "s***, this isn't a good enough engine" but stuck with it to see because the on ramp was under construction.
It is a fun car, it's just not the right car for my wants/needs and now I'm pretty much stuck until I can afford to sell it and put myself into another car. I could sell it now but then I would have to get a V6 Honda or a Tacoma or something brand new since 2007 is barely new enough for how long I might be keeping it.

Idk, i/h/e sounds like it will render more than enough power to satisfy the car's needs. Lottery here I come! lol

 

[my3needsaname]

it came down to these very different vehicles? the auto is a killa (i know)

Interestingly, yes.
The auto is a terrible transmission in this car but if I went stick I would be driving a black MS3. I've never actually driven an auto this terrible. It could just be the power band that makes it bad but holding a gear so it purposely lugs its own engine is not good.

 

[NCZ13]

Interestingly, yes.
The auto is a terrible transmission in this car but if I went stick I would be driving a black MS3. I've never actually driven an auto this terrible. It could just be the power band that makes it bad but holding a gear so it purposely lugs its own engine is not good.

You have 2 things at a disadvantage to you. An auto slushbox, and a car that is drive by wire. There is a delay in throttle response with a drive by wire car, mated with an automatic i can only imagine how disconnected it must feel.

Ive driven my parents audi a4 with a CVT and it is drive by wire. talk about a bad combination. It never feels like its in the right gear, and you actually have to really push it to find the power. Does it drive smoothly? yes for the most part, but my p5 is way more fun (feels more connected) although my car is slower.

 

[bazooka joe]

so what are you going to get next?

 

[my3needsaname]

I don't think the drive by wire is bad, but the auto on this car is terrible combined with the lack of power, it's horrible.

I would like to get out of this car and into something that I really want but I can't risk the repairs with a "every other one is good" Volvo even if it is an S60R and the Tacomas still have too high of insurance. I think it could come down to an i/h/e or sell.
Again, that costs money. $(

 

[coyfish]

I'm not going to argue because I know it's the fact that you own a speed6 that makes you disagree with me but in the end, the S60R is definitely faster than a speed6. It may not be much but Volvos got the power no money needed.

.

When I see a fast s60r i might believe you. Saw one at the track that ran a 14.1 with some mods. My 1st time at track I ran a 13.9 bone stock. Also just saw the top gear episode / test track time of the s60r. . . not impressive.

Ive driven my uncles and I can tell you doesnt pull as hard from 0-60 for sure.

 

[my3needsaname]

Maybe it's just the Volvos I drove because it seemed to pull pretty frickin' hard when I was behind the wheel. 14.1 seems too low for it to be true.

 

[NCZ13]

you dont have a lack of power.

there are cars that get around just fine with less HP. Just because YOU dont like how the car feels doesnt mean it has no power.

And you cant really complain because you can manually select the gears.

idk how many times we have to tell you your driving a car whos aim is at fuel efficiency. That entire class of cars is focused on that. It has just as much power, if not more than the cars in its class...

So again for clarification. You bought the wrong car. Should have just got a speed3 and learned manual.

 

[jred321]

do what i'm doing - hang onto the 3 until the camaro comes out. by then the 3 will be much more paid off, incentives on the G8 GXP will be great, and you'll be able to choose between the camaro and the GXP which is a good choice to make. until then keep driving the 3 cause it's cheap and trading in a car shortly after buying it sucks.

or if you really want you can pick up an old fox body or camaro. it'd be cheaper than the loss you'd take on trading in a new car.

 

[my3needsaname]

I know this and accept it, I just couldn't get a manual car otherwise I would have an MS3.
I guess the right car for me was a Tacoma and the ******* CA insurance is bulls***.

edit: I don't want an american made car, I want it to last. I wouldn't ever trade in a car, you get substantially more selling it yourself even if you don't get the price you want.

 

[jred321]

idk how many times we have to tell you your driving a car whose aim is fuel efficiency.

if that's the case then it sucks there too. i think it's better to say a car that is a balance of ok fuel efficiency and power and whose strength is its fun to drive.

 

[my3needsaname]

After having this car, I'm never going to get a car that is aimed at fuel efficiency again. It is fun to drive but to me there isn't any power when you want to come out of those turns.