BillTheCat
Member
- :
- 2009 Mazdaspeed3 Sport
I posted a shorter review of the car when I first bought it, with initial impressions. Some of those thoughts are repeated here because the impressions have lasted. FWIW, I am 37, male, single, live near Tampa, and commute 50+ miles round trip to work. I also love to go on road trips. I no longer autocross, but I do like to have a little fun with my car when conditions permit.
When I traded in my 2005 MINI Cooper S for my current 2009 Mazdaspeed3 Sport, I knew what I was expecting: More power with slightly lower fuel economy, less impressive handling, more practicality, less attention from LEO's. Not that I got tagged a lot in the MCS, but the MS3, to me, seemed more like a grocery-getter with a dark secret. I also chose Metropolitan Grey Mica both for the ability to blend into traffic, and the fact that I figured it would hide dirt well, since I tend to neglect that aspect of vehicle maintenance. And I have pretty much gotten what I expected.
I think I posted up about the reasons I dumped the MCS and went shopping previously, so I'll skip it here. Straight to my thoughts on various aspects of the MS3..
The clutch was a bit difficult to get used to, as has been noted in many threads. It's grabby & has a very narrow friction point. Definitely took some getting used to. But naturally, it has become nearly automatic over time. Granted, once in a while, I'll be off in lala-land while shifting & get a little rough. I even stalled it the other day pulling out of a parking spot while trying to do 6 other things, and I laughed out loud. But the clutch isn't so rough as to be a serious detriment to enjoying the car. It just takes getting used to.
Power is where the car shines for me. It's amazing how much power we're pulling out of smaller & smaller engines all the time. My 1990 Supra Turbo was a 3.0L Straight 6 & cranked out a whopping 220 crank hp in stock configuration. It was considered fast & powerful in its day. (Mind you, when I finally got rid of it, it was well over 400 hp & modded to the point where a Toyota engineer would not recognize it, but that's a different story.) Now, we have a 2.3L 4-banger pushing nearly 270hp. Simply amazing!
Yes, low end torque is a little lacking, but it doesn't take much to get this car rolling & it pulls with satisfying power once the turbo spools up. My old MINI might get it ever so slightly off the line thanks to the supercharger & mods, but by 2nd gear, it'd be no contest.
I use www.fueleconomy.gov to record & track my mileage. Overall, I am averaging 23mpg at about a 65/35 hwy/city ratio.. I tend to cruise at about 75-77mph on the highway, and I enjoy a little spirited driving now & again on surface roads. No drag races from traffic lights, but I will let it breathe & go like a bat outta hell until I hit the speed limit once in a while. I also run my A/C a LOT. Bad combination- I live in Florida and I do NOT tolerate heat well.
The one area where I am tempted to push my luck, warranty-wise, is in the suspension. Driving the MINIs (I had 2) really got me addicted to go-kart handling. My Supra was a straight line beast, but worthless in the corners. The MINI ate corners for breakfast (especially modded) and asked for seconds. The MS3 is respectable. Better than average. And with its power, it is a great combo. But it is heavy, the whelebase is a little longer than I'd like ldeally, and it could use some help with grip & stability in hard cornering. Now, granted I am still on the stock Poortenzas, but I keep thinking that a good set of progressive springs (or better yet, coilovers) and some upgraded sway bars would make the MS3 far more enjoyable to toss around laterally.
I am both enjoying & hating the anonimity of this car. Out in the real world, where most folks are not auto enthusiasts, 90% of the population has no clue what Mazdaspeed is. And they couldn't tell a MS3 from a MZ3 if their children's lives hung in the balance. And I am sure that even LEO's are probably 75-80% unaware as well. So that's kind of nice. But I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me, without even asking what the car is, "Oh, my (relative/friend) has one of those." But it's not one of these. It's a Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix, or any one of a dozen small hatchbacks out there. All of which I consider to be far lesser vehicles, so the comparison annoys me. Oh well, I guess you can't have your cake & eat it, too.
I hve to say that I love the interior. I'm not one for flashy, shiny interior design. I want everything to be within easy reach, clearly marked, and functional. If the engineers & designers get those parts right, then I don't mind some understated, tasteful accents. But I find that most eye-catching interiors are lacking in functionality. The MS3 has every bit of functionality I could ask for, plus tastefully upgraded looks in the dash cluster. I can appreciate that. It's striking, but not "in your face." And one of my favorite little upgrades- actual adjustable imtermittent wipers, which seem so rare these days!!! There's also plenty of storage- much more than in the MINI, and with practical cupholders that really work! (Supra had none, MINI had 2 little jokes under the center dash that could barely hold a can of soda, and failed to manage a 20-oz bottle, much less a Big Gulp)
The seats are comfortable & supportive, even for my, um, substantial (but diminishing) posterior & midsection. I also love the piano black accents- fits right in with my love of understaded, yet classy. And even with the rear seats upright, there's plenty of storage in the hatch. I haven't had that in a long time. The MINI would surprise you with how much storage it had, but the upgrade is still very nice, as I never have to put the seats down to go grocery shopping, etc. The stereo (non-Bose) is satisfactory, but Bluetooth would've been a nice touch. The only interior gripe I have is the lack of a ground loop isolator for the AUX port in the armrest. Kudos for multiple 12v outlets, though. In this day & age, there's no excuse not to have at least 2 in the front seat area.
The exterior is pleasant, maybe a little boring from certain angles, but even the "boring" Metro Grey paint is quite nice up close. The stock wheels are the only major gripe I have out there. They are fugly & have twice as many spokes as needed. I like my brakes to breathe a little better. I also love the styling of Mazda's headlights & taillight assemblies over the last few years. It always amazed me that more manfacturers didn't go for that more clean, modern look.
I am still on the fence about replacing the factory stereo head unit with a double DIN touch screen GPS unit, like the AVIC F-Series, etc. On the one hand, I have a PDA with GPS, but there's no good place to mount it. For that matter, I don't like any of the mountig options I have seen for basically any personal electronics, because I hate blocking vents, controls, gauges, etc. So I may yet cough up for something new, but I am far from certain.
As much as I am tempted over the coming few years to mod the ever-loving heck out of this car simply because that's what I do, I am so far satisfied enough with its power to leave it alone. For 95% of my driving needs & wants, it has plenty of power. I may, however, look into some Mazdaspeed (See: warrranty-friendly) suspension goodies, because I'd like to tighten it up a bit, and some aftermarket wheels because... UGH.
I am still amazed that Mazda sells these little beasts for under $25k Fantastic value, IMHO. No regrets after 6 months of driving. I know I made the right decision,and will be happy with it for years to come.
When I traded in my 2005 MINI Cooper S for my current 2009 Mazdaspeed3 Sport, I knew what I was expecting: More power with slightly lower fuel economy, less impressive handling, more practicality, less attention from LEO's. Not that I got tagged a lot in the MCS, but the MS3, to me, seemed more like a grocery-getter with a dark secret. I also chose Metropolitan Grey Mica both for the ability to blend into traffic, and the fact that I figured it would hide dirt well, since I tend to neglect that aspect of vehicle maintenance. And I have pretty much gotten what I expected.
I think I posted up about the reasons I dumped the MCS and went shopping previously, so I'll skip it here. Straight to my thoughts on various aspects of the MS3..
The clutch was a bit difficult to get used to, as has been noted in many threads. It's grabby & has a very narrow friction point. Definitely took some getting used to. But naturally, it has become nearly automatic over time. Granted, once in a while, I'll be off in lala-land while shifting & get a little rough. I even stalled it the other day pulling out of a parking spot while trying to do 6 other things, and I laughed out loud. But the clutch isn't so rough as to be a serious detriment to enjoying the car. It just takes getting used to.
Power is where the car shines for me. It's amazing how much power we're pulling out of smaller & smaller engines all the time. My 1990 Supra Turbo was a 3.0L Straight 6 & cranked out a whopping 220 crank hp in stock configuration. It was considered fast & powerful in its day. (Mind you, when I finally got rid of it, it was well over 400 hp & modded to the point where a Toyota engineer would not recognize it, but that's a different story.) Now, we have a 2.3L 4-banger pushing nearly 270hp. Simply amazing!
Yes, low end torque is a little lacking, but it doesn't take much to get this car rolling & it pulls with satisfying power once the turbo spools up. My old MINI might get it ever so slightly off the line thanks to the supercharger & mods, but by 2nd gear, it'd be no contest.
I use www.fueleconomy.gov to record & track my mileage. Overall, I am averaging 23mpg at about a 65/35 hwy/city ratio.. I tend to cruise at about 75-77mph on the highway, and I enjoy a little spirited driving now & again on surface roads. No drag races from traffic lights, but I will let it breathe & go like a bat outta hell until I hit the speed limit once in a while. I also run my A/C a LOT. Bad combination- I live in Florida and I do NOT tolerate heat well.
The one area where I am tempted to push my luck, warranty-wise, is in the suspension. Driving the MINIs (I had 2) really got me addicted to go-kart handling. My Supra was a straight line beast, but worthless in the corners. The MINI ate corners for breakfast (especially modded) and asked for seconds. The MS3 is respectable. Better than average. And with its power, it is a great combo. But it is heavy, the whelebase is a little longer than I'd like ldeally, and it could use some help with grip & stability in hard cornering. Now, granted I am still on the stock Poortenzas, but I keep thinking that a good set of progressive springs (or better yet, coilovers) and some upgraded sway bars would make the MS3 far more enjoyable to toss around laterally.
I am both enjoying & hating the anonimity of this car. Out in the real world, where most folks are not auto enthusiasts, 90% of the population has no clue what Mazdaspeed is. And they couldn't tell a MS3 from a MZ3 if their children's lives hung in the balance. And I am sure that even LEO's are probably 75-80% unaware as well. So that's kind of nice. But I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me, without even asking what the car is, "Oh, my (relative/friend) has one of those." But it's not one of these. It's a Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix, or any one of a dozen small hatchbacks out there. All of which I consider to be far lesser vehicles, so the comparison annoys me. Oh well, I guess you can't have your cake & eat it, too.
I hve to say that I love the interior. I'm not one for flashy, shiny interior design. I want everything to be within easy reach, clearly marked, and functional. If the engineers & designers get those parts right, then I don't mind some understated, tasteful accents. But I find that most eye-catching interiors are lacking in functionality. The MS3 has every bit of functionality I could ask for, plus tastefully upgraded looks in the dash cluster. I can appreciate that. It's striking, but not "in your face." And one of my favorite little upgrades- actual adjustable imtermittent wipers, which seem so rare these days!!! There's also plenty of storage- much more than in the MINI, and with practical cupholders that really work! (Supra had none, MINI had 2 little jokes under the center dash that could barely hold a can of soda, and failed to manage a 20-oz bottle, much less a Big Gulp)
The seats are comfortable & supportive, even for my, um, substantial (but diminishing) posterior & midsection. I also love the piano black accents- fits right in with my love of understaded, yet classy. And even with the rear seats upright, there's plenty of storage in the hatch. I haven't had that in a long time. The MINI would surprise you with how much storage it had, but the upgrade is still very nice, as I never have to put the seats down to go grocery shopping, etc. The stereo (non-Bose) is satisfactory, but Bluetooth would've been a nice touch. The only interior gripe I have is the lack of a ground loop isolator for the AUX port in the armrest. Kudos for multiple 12v outlets, though. In this day & age, there's no excuse not to have at least 2 in the front seat area.
The exterior is pleasant, maybe a little boring from certain angles, but even the "boring" Metro Grey paint is quite nice up close. The stock wheels are the only major gripe I have out there. They are fugly & have twice as many spokes as needed. I like my brakes to breathe a little better. I also love the styling of Mazda's headlights & taillight assemblies over the last few years. It always amazed me that more manfacturers didn't go for that more clean, modern look.
I am still on the fence about replacing the factory stereo head unit with a double DIN touch screen GPS unit, like the AVIC F-Series, etc. On the one hand, I have a PDA with GPS, but there's no good place to mount it. For that matter, I don't like any of the mountig options I have seen for basically any personal electronics, because I hate blocking vents, controls, gauges, etc. So I may yet cough up for something new, but I am far from certain.
As much as I am tempted over the coming few years to mod the ever-loving heck out of this car simply because that's what I do, I am so far satisfied enough with its power to leave it alone. For 95% of my driving needs & wants, it has plenty of power. I may, however, look into some Mazdaspeed (See: warrranty-friendly) suspension goodies, because I'd like to tighten it up a bit, and some aftermarket wheels because... UGH.
I am still amazed that Mazda sells these little beasts for under $25k Fantastic value, IMHO. No regrets after 6 months of driving. I know I made the right decision,and will be happy with it for years to come.
