I was pleasantly surprised to see one of the dealerships nearby had a new MS3 in. Decided to swing by on my lunchbreak and check it out...
1st impressions...
Overall, sharp car. It was a black model so the joker face wasn't quite as pronounced as the other colors. I took a quick walkaround and had a mostly positive feeling about the car. On the last gen (my car) I felt the bright silver snowflake wheels really compliment the silver MS3 nicely... but don't exactly fit the other colors (especially black) nearly as well. Though I still prefer my wheels, this gen's are pretty sweet and will definitely fit all of the colors equally well. It was nice to see the Dunlops instead of the Potenzas as well. The lack of body molding will probably appeal to most (since that seems to be a pretty popular mod) but not me. I feel it gives the car a too 'matrixy' look. I feel the molding adds something to the car... gives it a more rugged look. But whatever. The dual exhaust in the back was probably my biggest dissapointment. They're just too damn small. In fact, the entire rear end is a bit awkward compared to the last gen. Sir-mix-alot would definitely dig this car cuz damnnnn... she's got a big ass.
I was hoping someone would've come out by now... guess they were all too busy selling cars! lol So I went in and found a guy stuffing his face. After displaying his exceptional lack of knowledge about the car (thought it was a leftover '09 and told me it had AWD haha) he grabbed the keys and followed me out. The key, while not as slick as some, is a HUGE improveoment over the old school craptastic last gen. This one's a flip with the keyless entry buttons built in. Mazda unfortuneatly still hasnt' figured out how to make a decent sounding 'lock' sound unfortuneatly. Hey Mazda! Chirp chirp not Beep beep!! But I digress...
Inside...
Not quite a homerun but close. I was thoroughly impressed.
Pros:
Leather armrest cover / Sunglass holder above / Better quality HVAC & center console controls / Interior seems to be put together better... very tight / Nice layout with the display nicely positioned / Audio quality, while not great, appeared to be far better than the crap mine came with. Shifter, while still having ridiculously long throws, definitely was positioned better being slightly angled up on the console as opposed to being sunk into the ground. Gave for a more sporty feel imo. Gauges were pretty sweet... nice to see a boost gauge for once. Wanted to see what they looked like at night but couldn't find any dark places to pull into. Steering wheel, while not as attractive as the last gen imo, had more controls... which I suppose has to be a good thing.
Cons:
The red dotted interior in the center portion of the seats is hideous. The fact that Mazda inserted that same BS into the door inserts only makes it worse. Reminds me of the epilepsy inducing Nintendo Virtual Boy.
Not a fan of the leather bolsters (which is why I got the sport) but apparently you don't have a choice this time around. No standard ipod integration. Come on! An F'in Scion comes with that! The place I put my GPS (directly to the left of the cig lighter) is no longer an ideal place for it. In fact... I couldnt' really find one (other than the windshield which I hate) and I'm sorry but... mazda's non-touch screen version is pure s*** so that aint happening.
Driving Impressions:
well what can I say? It pretty much felt exactly like my car (when I got it). Like I said, the interior is definitely put together better and there's far more sound insulation. Other than that though... it's the same car. With all the stuff I've done to my car, however, it was nice to get back into my non epilepsy inducing car.
Would I consider trading in mine for this? Probably not. But if I was in the market for a car... this would definitely be at the top of my list. $23k sticker is an amazing deal. Joker Face FTW!
1st impressions...
Overall, sharp car. It was a black model so the joker face wasn't quite as pronounced as the other colors. I took a quick walkaround and had a mostly positive feeling about the car. On the last gen (my car) I felt the bright silver snowflake wheels really compliment the silver MS3 nicely... but don't exactly fit the other colors (especially black) nearly as well. Though I still prefer my wheels, this gen's are pretty sweet and will definitely fit all of the colors equally well. It was nice to see the Dunlops instead of the Potenzas as well. The lack of body molding will probably appeal to most (since that seems to be a pretty popular mod) but not me. I feel it gives the car a too 'matrixy' look. I feel the molding adds something to the car... gives it a more rugged look. But whatever. The dual exhaust in the back was probably my biggest dissapointment. They're just too damn small. In fact, the entire rear end is a bit awkward compared to the last gen. Sir-mix-alot would definitely dig this car cuz damnnnn... she's got a big ass.
I was hoping someone would've come out by now... guess they were all too busy selling cars! lol So I went in and found a guy stuffing his face. After displaying his exceptional lack of knowledge about the car (thought it was a leftover '09 and told me it had AWD haha) he grabbed the keys and followed me out. The key, while not as slick as some, is a HUGE improveoment over the old school craptastic last gen. This one's a flip with the keyless entry buttons built in. Mazda unfortuneatly still hasnt' figured out how to make a decent sounding 'lock' sound unfortuneatly. Hey Mazda! Chirp chirp not Beep beep!! But I digress...
Inside...
Not quite a homerun but close. I was thoroughly impressed.
Pros:
Leather armrest cover / Sunglass holder above / Better quality HVAC & center console controls / Interior seems to be put together better... very tight / Nice layout with the display nicely positioned / Audio quality, while not great, appeared to be far better than the crap mine came with. Shifter, while still having ridiculously long throws, definitely was positioned better being slightly angled up on the console as opposed to being sunk into the ground. Gave for a more sporty feel imo. Gauges were pretty sweet... nice to see a boost gauge for once. Wanted to see what they looked like at night but couldn't find any dark places to pull into. Steering wheel, while not as attractive as the last gen imo, had more controls... which I suppose has to be a good thing.
Cons:
The red dotted interior in the center portion of the seats is hideous. The fact that Mazda inserted that same BS into the door inserts only makes it worse. Reminds me of the epilepsy inducing Nintendo Virtual Boy.
Not a fan of the leather bolsters (which is why I got the sport) but apparently you don't have a choice this time around. No standard ipod integration. Come on! An F'in Scion comes with that! The place I put my GPS (directly to the left of the cig lighter) is no longer an ideal place for it. In fact... I couldnt' really find one (other than the windshield which I hate) and I'm sorry but... mazda's non-touch screen version is pure s*** so that aint happening.
Driving Impressions:
well what can I say? It pretty much felt exactly like my car (when I got it). Like I said, the interior is definitely put together better and there's far more sound insulation. Other than that though... it's the same car. With all the stuff I've done to my car, however, it was nice to get back into my non epilepsy inducing car.
Would I consider trading in mine for this? Probably not. But if I was in the market for a car... this would definitely be at the top of my list. $23k sticker is an amazing deal. Joker Face FTW!
).
