Looking for a new car MS3 is one of my choices.

[squidmotion]

i'm not a big honda fan... i just can't get used to winging an engine that hard to get to the power...

i test drove an ms3 last week, and i'm sold... very solid, tight car with GOBS of power... i like the limited slip ALOT. the breaks feel nice as well... all that matters is a test drive by the mrs. and that should be an easy sell... she loves a car with some kick.

WRX, more than i would spend... same with the VW as well

but for a few k over the cost of a plain corolla S (SER, gimme a break)... or a nissan Vspec, i can get a 60-100hp boost on all of them....

263hp and 280lbft of torque? in a 3100lb car... that is getting my attention!
i have owned muscle cars of various sorts, and luv trucks with V-8s... so when i put my foot into it in third gear and felt that familiar push in the back.... i tried not to giggle too much...


my only question is the long term reliability of the turbo engine... can i get 150,000 out of one of these?


gonna be a cool christmas.

 

[GETxERxDONE]

how tight is the steering in the MS3? the gti wasnt that great, but the civic is excellent, i didnt really pay that much attention to it in the MS3. and the MS3 has a smaller steering wheel than the GTI but still not as small as the civic

 

[squidmotion]

i would say very tight... in general the car had a very tight feel overall to me... almost felt like i was in a more expensive european car... fit and finish on the interior was also good, and i like the fact that a larger driver fits well into this car... the seat goes down and back more than enough for me, and i'm 6'4".... this will be my first mazda...

 

[DaleNixon]

People here discount Civics so quickly. My wife's Si sedan with a K&N SRI is an absolute screamer. And I like the Si interior. If you get one stay away from the ugly ass 2009 revision though!

The GTI is an awesome car, and I've read it's VW's more reliable model vs. their other cars. I've always had a thing for GTI's and VW's in general.

The Mazdaspeed3 will make you $H1T your pants the first time you drive it. Give it the beans and find something to hang on to. The clutch is pretty tricky for starting from 1st, and you'll be in triple digit speeds in no time if you don't watch out.

The Speed3 is definitely the driver's car of the three choices here. That can be annoying when you want to forget you are driving though. Personally, I love driving! (headbang)

 

[GETxERxDONE]

yeah i have driven it and it the clutch was pretty tricky in first but i kinda got used to it in the test drive

and yeah, people think civic and just think "eww rice car" when its really a nice car, handles awesome, drives great and vtec is like nothing else, and is faster than the GTI stock. but it is harder to get power out of. i like the 09 revision for the sedans but the coupes look like s***

but i looked at the 2010 models and i might wait for that to come out, and itll give me alittle time to save up more money.

 

[tiagotiago]

I also think you should give the MS3 the nod. In my case I bought the Speed3about 5 months ago and also had the Si on the shortlist. Coming from another VW (a 2000 New Beetle) I wanted nothing to do with veedubs again. I also had a bad experience reliability wise with the car and the dealership(the only one in town) did little but take advantage of this, so I wasn't about to give them any more business. That car never left me stranded, but it is really frustrating to take care of your car and always have something break every 4 months. I've had 0 problems (nock on wood) with the Speed3 so far.

In the end I chose the Ms3 over the Civic Si coupe because of:
1) Torque. I've read that the Si on a hot summer day will feel like a dog of a car. After a full summer with the ms3 at desert temps, I never felt like it was low on power (but it does feel better in cooler days).
2) Cargo capacity. As my only car, I needed as much space as possible. I could have gone for the civic sedan, but I really didn't like it's looks.
3) Dealership. Even though my mom owns a civic and has gotten nothing but stellar treatment from that dealership, the day I had my test drive appointed I got a call at the last minute (I had left work and was driving to the dealership) saying that there had been a mixup and the car was taken by another customer for a test drive, and that they'd call to reschedule. A few days later after no call, I walked to Mazda to start the credit applications.
4) General deal: Over here, the Si is about the same price as the MS3, and the MS3 only comes with the GT package, so it was far better equipped. The alcantra seats on the GT are excellent in my opinion (others hate them though..)

Sorry to have made such a long post but I was in your position recently, so I wanted to share my impressions. In the end choose the car you most like, but also ask about the dealerships in your area, cause they can make a lot of difference. Best of luck.

 

[BillTheCat]

I had my decision down to MS3 vs. GTI back in September as well. Test drove both, liked both. Being a bigger guy, the GTI seats were a little narrow & stiff for me, but that's neither here nor there. I don't like holes in my roof, so the GTI's sunroof did not factor in as a positive for me.

Consumer Reports likes the MS3's reliability over the GTI, so that helped my decision. Also, the insurance on the GTI was THRU THE ROOF. At one point, I was halfway into the deal when I got a callback from my State Farm agent. I had been paying about $800/year for $250k limits on my '05 MINI Cooper S. On the GTI, they wanted $1,800/year. MS3 is about the same as the MINI.

I also liked the feel of the MS3 better on the road. Oddly, my VW dealer did not have a 6-speed GTI available to drive, so I had to test the DSG version. I despised the DSG. In normal mode, it was slow & sluggish. And what they called Sport mode was more like Drag Race mode- it never shifted below 5k RPM's. Sure, I could use manual mode & play with the "flappy paddles" myself, but if I am never going to use the auto features of the DSG, why not just go with a simpler, cheaper, standard 6-speed? (I do NOT want to know how much a new DSG costs, with 2 of everything and then some)

So I was kind of glad that the VW deal fell thru, since that led to me testing the MS3. The ride is more refined, more comfortable, and more powerful. Plus, I like Mazda's styling a lot more than VW's.

You are correct about the windows... Driver's window has auto down. All other window operations require that you press & hold. I find that somewhat disappointing. At least the 2 front windows ought to be auto-up/down.

I'd also like to see the doors auto-lock when you get to 10mph, like most cars. And when I shut the ignition off, I'd like to have the option for all doors to unlock. I guess I got spoiled by that feature in my MINI. Countless times, I have gotten out of the MS3 & tried to open the back door or hatch only to find it was locked. I'll get used to it, though.

If the insurance had been comparable between the two, I think I would still have chosen the MS3. It's a close call, but I like the MS3 better overall. I'm sure you'll be happy with either car.

Just double check the insurance rates on both before you go buy.

PS- I'm with 240ka... the new 3 looks like crap.

 

[jazzman]

I have a good friend that has a GTI. He loves it, except when it needs fixed! GTI's are more expensive to maintain. I think you'll find the MS3 to be just as much fun, but it will be more reliable in the long run and cheaper to drive. - well, except maybe for the gas mileage... In the end, it really depends on your own taste.

 

[GETxERxDONE]

thanks for everyones input, whether you believe it or not, it does help me out alot, i know in the end its my decision, but with the owners insight it helps me find out more about the vehicle

but yeah i think imma wait for the 2010 maybe they will have more features, and itll be alot easier for me to afford.

 

[ScratchNSniff]

I am gonna have to tell the guys over on Clubcivic about your you being a traitor...looking to ditch us I see...lol...


Get the Mazda though...lol...

 

[GETxERxDONE]

haha they already know they were actually one of the first ones i told

 

[Captain KRM P5]

If you want a MS3, I say wait for the next generation to come out in 2010. Should be a little more refined...hopefully, Mazda fixes the issues engines blowing up and turbos leaking oil...

i hope not, there goes 50% of my revenue stream

 

[tiagotiago]

how tight is the steering in the MS3? the gti wasnt that great, but the civic is excellent, i didnt really pay that much attention to it in the MS3. and the MS3 has a smaller steering wheel than the GTI but still not as small as the civic

I can't really say how it compares to a 08 Civic Si, but compared to a 99 Civic Ex sedan, the ms3 it offers more feedback whilst feeling a bit heavier, which is exactly the way I like it, but that is subjective. You can't deny that the civic has very delicate and precise steering, and that is a very hard thing to do for an inexpensive car.

 

[DaleNixon]

The FA5/FG2 Si has that awesome shifter that feels like the stick on an early 90's Street Fighter 2 cabinet.

 

[jaxmazda5]

GTI RULES ALLL!!!

just kiddin...My take on the whole GTI vs MS3 vs Civic Si is similar to a lot of peeps in here minus the bias..LOL

GTI better interior IMO, better insulation from road noise, good low end torque, easily mods, 4 yr 50k warranty (helpful when u own a VW), agree that the Si stock 7 spkr stereo is wayyyy better than the GTI 10 spkr but then again, Germans don't even like any bass. GTI is more of a touring car IMO, it's fabulous on long journeys with over 30+MPG, great passing power, quiet, comfy..brakes aren't that great at all.

MS3-sounds better, looks better, handles better, faster, brakes better...and starting to get some good aftermarket support. Mazda will void the !@#$ out of your warrany in a heartbeat where as my VW service dealer actually knows I've got an intake, software etc...no worries, course I have't blown a turbo or anything yet.

Si-I've driven one but I didn't drive it hard enough to form an opinion except it's affordable, great car.

 

[boostdog]

not sure if it's been mentioned but you can get an 08 base sti for around 28k with 0% interest. if i were in any position to buy another car that's what i would get hands down!

 

[F430TECH]

^^^^^^^^^^^ I second that...

 

[Circle9]

I personally owned a '07 Si for a year, and drove a '07 GTI for a month or so in between.

Get the Mazdaspeed3, I've always had sunroofs in my cars and I thought I'd miss it, but I don't at all

 

[Sport6]

Last year I test drove a 07 Si coupe for a weekend. It wasn't too bad, my biggest gripe is the understeer. It didn't have much body roll or much warning before it would just understeer out of a corner. And at relatively low speeds compared to other cars.

The fact that it stayed flat in corners was good, but without any definite warning it could understeer out of a corner wasn't a good thing in my book and out weighed the goods of the car.

I also wanted the GTI and test drove a few of them around the same time as the Si and then again before I finally bought the Speed3. I really love the GTI especially in white! The only reason I didn't buy one was because the dealer didn't want to give a deal on it at all. The power is really smooth, but not earth shattering. It handles nice, a little rough but not too bad. I really loved the GTI because I knew I could afford one and didn't think I could afford a Speed3. Then I found the one I am in and forgot about the GTI.

Speed3 - faster, better handling though probably the roughest of the three, but not too bad. Has the most room for stuff, people. I think it looks better. But mostly I got the speed3 because I have always wanted one. I told myself when the speed6 first debuted, if they came out with a speed3 I would buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[Redlinez]

Whoever said the Si is faster than a GTI hasn't driven both. The Si redefines peak whp. It is absolutely a dog below 6000 rpms compared to the GTI, even moreso vs the MS3. I test drove a Si sedan when it came out while I had my GTI. I went about 1 mile and came back. Hated the dash design, definitely let down by the lack of power, and wasn't impressed with what is supposed to be interior materials second to none. My GTI on the other hand developed more interior squeaks, rattles, and pops than any car I've ever owned. Parts do take forever, like a month or more. Then again, they did on my MS6 as well. All I did to my GTI was a Revo software upgrade and it transformed into a serious pocket rocket. I walked away from a S2000 who was a punk driver and drove like he was racing everywhere, probably 19-23 years old. That's how I was.
Each car has it's appeal, and one doesn't work for everyone. I plan to drive a Cobalt SS turbo sedan soon. Heck, my 02 Spec V was a blast for what it cost back then too. I ran a 15.20 @ 91 bone stock in it. The MS3 isn't without problems, so don't fool yourself into believing it's completely reliable. Performance cars, especially turbocharged ones are inherently prone to issues just by nature of design and the type of drivers who own them. Plenty MS3's have had to have turbos replaced as well as driveability issues etc. Even the Si's have had issues ie bad transmission synchros.
I loved how my GTI drove, granted, I wasn't timing myself down backroads going through traffic lights to work either. It sucked to get in and out of. It was full of neat electronic bells and whistles too. My wife hated the looks, now it has been gone two years.