How does the Mazda3 compare to the Mazdaspeed3?

[klocktown]

A Mazdaspeed3 has always been somewhat of a dream car for me. Unfortunately, it'd stretch my budget quite a bit to pick one up used. I've seen them go as low as $13.5k but that was at a little shady hole-in-the-wall dealer and I was kinda scared to buy it; most seem to go for about $17k around here though. I really like the look of the Mazda3 hatch. It seems like it'll be coming down to a Scion xB or Mazda3 when I buy a car in the next couple months. How does the Mazda3 compare to the Speed? Also anyone able to compare it to the xB?


Thanks for any help. I really wish I could afford the Speed, lol.

 

[Z-Indy]

How does the 3 compare the the speed 3? Well, It's pretty similar except for the fact that it isn't fast. (drive2)

The regular 3 is a great car. It's just a matter of how much power you want. Go test drive them both and see. You'll have a good time.

 

[Domino81]

More comfortable than a regular 3. I can get 32mpg on the highway... as long as I lay off the throttle. My leather accents are nice and it's a rocketship. Makes a nice noise. It's a dream car for me, too.

 

[Straeliterun]

I was in the same position as you this past spring and ended up picking up the 5speed hatch (not the speed3) (fulltime graduate student, we're used to being poor and living off of water, peanut butter and ramen). While its not the fastest thing in the world its still nice, good ride compared to other cars i drove in that price range, and still offers quite a bit of fun on a lot of the curve fill back country roads where I live. The handling has been more than expected for the model it is (the dealer did throw in some decent kuhmo tires). So for myself I love the car especially for what i paid and it only had 20k miles on it. So just because its not a speed3 don't think you can't have fun in it, but you're prob. not gonna win a lot of street races if thats what you're into lol. Hope this helps.

 

[BlackCherry06]

About 100hp is the biggest difference. Softer suspension, smaller wheels / tires / brakes. Quieter exhaust, no hood scoop, different spoiler. Cheaper insurance. The list is long, but that doesn't make the regular 3 an undesirable car. I had a loaded 2004 3i that I loved, but who woudn't want 100 more hp if they can afford it? But definitely don't make yourself 'car poor'....buy and insure within your means, you'll be happier than eating Ramen so you can make your car payment.

 

[Z-Indy]

There wasn't too much difference in price between used 3's and used speed 3's when I was shopping around this spring. I was surprised.

 

[CWPspeed3]

if you want all the bells and whistles you can price regular 3's higher than the speeds. as most have said the regular 3 is still a great handling car and still reasonably quick with the 2.3/2.5 in it. i wouldnt even compare the 2.0 in terms of doing anything quick. i dont know how it would really compare to the box on wheels though (xb)

 

[SallySpeed3]

There wasn't too much difference in price between used 3's and used speed 3's when I was shopping around this spring. I was surprised.

yeah when I bought mine the difference was about 50 bucks a month, so I naturally went with the speed.

 

[oaklandopen]

Owned an 07 mz3 gt sedan, loved it. Got in a wreck, totalled it

At the time (late 2007) I was able to get a jeep liberty for next to nothing from a relative. We already had a truck so I decided to get rid of the jeep for a car. The only other cars I was looking at were the mini cooperS and a few used acura tsx's.

I had enjoyed the old 3 so much I just decided that I wanted the same car. The only part about getting the speed was that, at the time, I wasn't a fan of how it only came in hatch form. Little did I know that the hatch was going to be the best decision in a car I've ever made.

At the time the cobalt ss was still only supercharged, and the speed was not only cheaper than the srt4 calibur, but the HID option was infinitly more important than having 300hp instead of 263

 

[klocktown]

I was in the same position as you this past spring and ended up picking up the 5speed hatch (not the speed3) (fulltime graduate student, we're used to being poor and living off of water, peanut butter and ramen). While its not the fastest thing in the world its still nice, good ride compared to other cars i drove in that price range, and still offers quite a bit of fun on a lot of the curve fill back country roads where I live. The handling has been more than expected for the model it is (the dealer did throw in some decent kuhmo tires). So for myself I love the car especially for what i paid and it only had 20k miles on it. So just because its not a speed3 don't think you can't have fun in it, but you're prob. not gonna win a lot of street races if thats what you're into lol. Hope this helps.

If you don't mind, how much did you pay for it?



Thanks for all the replies. I'm really hoping I can come up with some more money and get a down payment to reduce my monthly payments to closer to $200 than $250. From there I'll have to decide if I can get teh Speed or the regular 3. I'm hoping Speed, lol. I'm really bummed that the one I did find was at a shady dealer. They are reviewed on yelp with only 2 stars. Also really bummed that the Audi A3 I checked out was too small, lol. It's not good when sitting straight in a car has your head going through the sun roof. Why oh why do I like small cars....

 

[Domino81]

Personally I think the option of liking the way my car looks rather than enjoying the fact that it has 300hp is more important. That Caliber is an atrocity.

 

[klocktown]

I'm going for looks first and then the actual driving second. I hate the way the Caliber looks, but I like the looks of Scions.

 

[oaklandopen]

New scions do look nice, but then you have the 2-door insurance rate compared to 4-door.

And as rediculous as 300 hp seems in a fwd I knew a guy that had a scion turbo'd out to 500 whp.

 

[klocktown]

Anyone has any idea how reliable buying cars off Ebay is?

 

[LazerBlueP5]

You want a fun car for around 13k? I may get flamed for this but...take a look at the Chrysler Crossfire. They are dirt cheap- and fun little 2-door rwd sport coupes. If you have a little more cheddar (say 15k or so) you can get the SRT6 Crossfire with 345hp which is only a pulley, intake, and tune away from 11's. Something you won't see from an MS3 even though I love them as well.

 

[oaklandopen]

^I always thought they were cool. I don't know how daimler never got a market for those. Were they that much more brande new than an s2k or evo or sti? Or whatever field you could put those in

 

[Z-Indy]

You want a fun car for around 13k? I may get flamed for this but...take a look at the Chrysler Crossfire. They are dirt cheap- and fun little 2-door rwd sport coupes. If you have a little more cheddar (say 15k or so) you can get the SRT6 Crossfire with 345hp which is only a pulley, intake, and tune away from 11's. Something you won't see from an MS3 even though I love them as well.

I just don't like the look of them. Plus, since I have to drive the thing everyday, and year round, a 2 door rwd is a no-go for me.

But that's all personal preference stuff. 345 hp for 13k is pretty good.

 

[LazerBlueP5]

^I always thought they were cool. I don't know how daimler never got a market for those. Were they that much more brande new than an s2k or evo or sti? Or whatever field you could put those in

Yeah they did TERRIBLE for sales. A total automotive flop for Chrysler. I, personally, attribute it to the original bloated price-tag. The SRT6s were in the mid 40's with the verts toping out around 50k. That's a lot of dough and incidentally puts it in a very competitive class including Corvettes and the like. Honestly as much as I like the SRT6 I wouldn't have paid 40-50k for it. I paid $19k for mine with only 15,000 (if memory serves me correct). The only reason I got rid of it was because I needed more space. The trunk is oppressively small.

I know I'm a little bias but E-V-E-R-Y time I hear someone post asking for suggestions for a new, fun car on a budget I can't think of a car that will give more grins for 15K or less. The bang-for-the-buck factor is off the charts....at least if you are shopping in terms of "cheap" performance. Essentially a Mercedes AMG vehicle at a Hyundai Accent price.

 

[LazerBlueP5]

I just don't like the look of them. Plus, since I have to drive the thing everyday, and year round, a 2 door rwd is a no-go for me.

But that's all personal preference stuff. 345 hp for 13k is pretty good.

It did ok in winters- I bought a 2nd set of winter wheels/tires. Granted you aren't going to be trudging through deep snow but that isn't something you'll be doing with the MS3 either. I'm actually daily driving my Corvette- I have a set of Pirelli Sottozeros and ZR1 replicas on it now. Oh course it's not as jolly as my STi in inclement weather but when you do the math the amount of days out of the year where the streets are covered in snow (unplowed) are so low- it's worth driving it daily IMO.

Too many people, ESPECIALLY from the Corvette crowd, treat the car like it's a museum piece, only to trade it in a few years later with only a few thousand miles ....practically NEW for the NEXT guy to enjoy. I bought it to enjoy it rain, shine, or snow- that is....if it's not deep snow. Those are the times I truly miss AWD. Otherwise on highway pulls in the Vette I forget what an STi even is....

 

[klocktown]

The reason I'm looking at the MS3 is because its 4 door. I tend to have at least 2 people with me driving.