DailyDriver, I havent posted on this board in probably more than a year now but I just read through this thread and thought I should comment. While I don't own a 2010 MS3, I'm a former mazdaspeed protege owner and have had a similar experience with a turbo-4 vs american v8. The MSP was my first car - I bought it a few months before I turned 16 which is about 2 and a half years ago now. I had driven stick before once in my life and I hopped in and drove it home with no problems - this should have been a sign to me from the get go. I owned that car for around a year and from day 1, it was simply a very friendly, DRIVER ORIENTED vehicle. I was so sick of driving my mom's minivan and my dad's truck with my permit that the 5 speed turbo-ness of the MSP were just what I needed. Obviously, with 170hp, the car wasn't a rocket but at 2900 pounds, the handling was incredible. My own stupidity and lack of experience eventually bit me in the ass one day but I spent hours practicing on backroads and getting to know how the car handled and I will tell you, mazdaspeed knows what the hell they're doing - the thing was on rails and you ALWAYS knew if you were gonna get throttle-lift oversteer when you let off or if you needed to power through a turn. extremely communicative car.
Well, anyway, I had always wanted an SS camaro but my pops had said it was too fast - I nagged my parents for the last like 3 months of MSP ownership to let me sell it and pay the difference for an LS1 camaro. I almost had my dad sold on it and I raced to sell my MSP while his good mood held out. Eventually, he came to his senses, AFTER the car was sold unfortunately, and said an LS1 was too fast - 310+rwhp wasn't what he thought I needed as a barely 17 year old driver. granted I had never been in any kind of accident or gotten any sort of ticket, so I managed to convince him (BARELY) on the slower 99-04 mustang GT. But after driving such a limited edition car for so long (the msp), i coudlnt drive such a common car so I found a 2001 Bullitt for sale in GA and jumped on it. That car was BEAUTIFULLY kept and had a lot of really nice mods. You mentioned your wife's being sluggish and lazy feeling and I would agree - the stock GT's (even the new 05-09's) feel that way. Mine however was lowered 2 inches on eibach sportlines + the upgraded suspension that comes with the bullitt package. The interior was nice black leather and the previous owner had installed a lot of custom aluminum trim but it looked really nice and not gaudy at all. It had a CAI, twin throttle body from the cobra, pullies, and i added a catless prochamber and mac exhaust to it. It sounded mean, looked mean, and since it was a 5 speed manual with a short throw shifter (I'll never again drive a car without a short throw kit), it was a LOT of fun to drive.
At this point, I was so enamored to american muscle cars and the speed increase over the MSP that I swore off buying another "ricer". Now, heres the point of my story. I recently had to sell my bullitt before i went off to college, and while I miss it dearly, I'm also missing my MSP equally as much if not more. Why? because honestly, the MSP was such a COMPLETE package. The stereo sounded amazing (bose in the MS3), the handling was incredible (much better than the mustang even with its suspension upgrades), you could heel and toe it (impossible in the bullitt), and you generally felt more "involved" with the driving experience. I don't know how after all my years of lusting after camaros and mustangs and wanting nothing more than v8 rumble and then settling on the "little" MSP and 170 hp turbo 4 that I've come back to mazda to look for my next car but they managed to sell me on something. Mazdaspeed knows how to make a desirable limited edition production car becuase they create the whole package - good looks, good stereo, amazing handling, adequate power, and a level of driver involvement that makes you FEEL like you're much more in tune with the road than every other driver around you. If you can, I HIGHLY encourage you to go and drive the MS3 for another half hour or so - run it through the gears, take it through a few sweepers - get to see the car in its element - after you experience these things it has to offer, you'll appreciate the practicality of it all the more. OH! and i almost forgot to qualify myself, I HAVE driven an MS3 before, a 2008 I believe it was.. Whatever year the Black Mica comes in...
I swore that my next car (the next one I can buy has no parentally-imposed horsepower restrictions) would be a cammed GTO or WS6 and that I wouldn't go back to the "ricer" scene but the more I remember my MSP and look at the MS3, I see it as less of a ricer and more of a driver-involved race-car that presents a more total package.... Who knows, just my 2 cents coming from someone who loves muscle cars but can't resist the allure of the MS3!
P.S. I wouldn't be swayed in the direction of the STi, do a couple youtube searches and youll see that the STi is by no means faster than the MS3 - MS3's with a few mods pull on stock STi's all day from a roll and the newest hatchback STi is slower than some of the older ones... They're mighty expensive for what you get and IMO the interior doesnt even compare with that of the MS3...
Which is one reason I will own another one someday. I'd love to have one as a second car, as a weekend driver and/or track/autox car.
