mazdaspeed3 first drive on edmunds

[CHICO2003]

it's debateable...

 

[Donas64]

From the front view it's a wash. Both look awesome
From the rear: P5 FTW!

 

[CHICO2003]

though I wish they had left the license plate betwen the lights where it belongs... I do like the large mazda symbol on the 3. the black treatment towards the bottom looks cool too. as for the lights... I think the LED lights on the GT are going to be a huge draw for a lot of us. hopefully the aftermarket will produce something similar so we don't have to spend the extra 2grand for them....

 

[II-Savy]

though I wish they had left the license plate betwen the lights where it belongs... I do like the large mazda symbol on the 3. the black treatment towards the bottom looks cool too. as for the lights... I think the LED lights on the GT are going to be a huge draw for a lot of us. hopefully the aftermarket will produce something similar so we don't have to spend the extra 2grand for them....

You are SO right about the colors, even the MS6 colors are just OK. The red is the very nicest color by far. See the red almost doesn't make sence to spend 30k on an STi.

 

[spike blue]

engine is fairly new and low production so wait a little bit. I've talked to unichip and they said they'll have it ready by new years for the ms6.

is unichip making for the cx-7??
if so i really want one when they finish or the ms6 pcm will work in the cx-7??

 

[dmitrik4]

the colors are a little bleh, but i usually stick w/ black anyway.

 

[msp2fast]

This MS is really growing on me!Look closely at the pics and you can allmost see the p5 in it, it looks kinda like a p5 on steroids!

 

[GMalatrasi]

I wish I had the funds to put the MS3 drivetrain in my P5.
Someday... Maybe...
Unless I find someone to sponsor the project... LOL

 

[Newf]

on a side note... mazda really dropped the ball with the colors they're offering. red is clearly the best choice... followed by black. from there... no offense to anyone who likes the other 2 choices but.... dammmmn!!! for a car that's supposed to conjure up a high level of emotion, they sure picked some bad/dull/boring colors to go along with the aforementioned "no-brainer" colors. Come on mazda! wake up! I'm not gonna fault you for not bringin the spicy orange back. I realize that took major cojones to begin with... i'm actually grateful, in a weird way, that they didn't. if they did... I'd probably be tempted to get one. at 24 it was somewhat "ok" to buy an orange car. at 28.... homez has to look at least somewhat respectable... I guess. but I digress. silver's about as boring as you can get. (though I like it on the wrx) but it won't work for this car... why? when I see a wrx.. I see a rally car. I see a car that you don't mind getting a little dirty... it's not supposed to be "pretty". silver can be a very utilitarian color... which I think fits well with the wrx personality. this car isn't going to be trouncing through mud on some country back road. (the lack of awd alone makes that a pretty bad idea) on the other hand, with it's good looks (that's right, I said it) who'd want to do that anyway? so... with those good looks, you want to accentuate them as much as possible with some really cool color choices.... as much as I hate yellow, with the amount of yellow P5s I see out there... it's clearly a pretty popular color choice for the target market. obvioiusly that blue I talked about before is a no-brainer along with, possibly, the titanium.... i'm pretty sure the general consensus says that's the best overall color for the msp. though I'm obviously biased towards orange, I can see the point there. bottom line... with some really great color choices to choose from, why didn't mazda take any of them? (except for black... which, again, is a no-brainer) kind've weird if you ask me... it'll only make this red that much more popular.... and my future car that much more un-original.


hmm... wonder how much it would cost to have it painted orange. now THAT would be sweet.

Hmmm, personally, I think Mazda painting another car in that orange would be a HUGE mistake. Just too much of a niche color an already a niche car.

What really irks me is the crap they pull with Canada. One friggin color. And it's red. I had 4 red cars. Obviously I like red, but I didn't really want it again

 

[CHICO2003]

orange may be a niche color... but if they're only going to produce a limited amount, it's irrelevant. I mean, let's say Mazda finds the balls they had in 03 and decides to allocate... I don't know... a mere 500 (in orange) of the X amount that will be produced. Does anyone really think those cars would be left stranded on the dealer lot? This is, I believe, what they did for the MSP. The only difference is, and its' a big differnce, that car was severely underpowered (compared to it's notable competion...srt & wrx) and THAT is why they didn't sell as well as they should have. Fast forward a few years and we now have a car that won't have to fight the same battle its older brother did. (though it may get picked on for being fugly) My point is... while it would never make any sense to mass produce any car (aside from an exotic) in an MSP orange.... since Mazda's not producing a ton of these cars (unless i'm mistaken) it's perfectly vialble to throw in a niche color for what will ultimately be a niche car.

I may be off on this.... I haven't a clue as to how many of these badboys mazda's gonna make. Maybe they're trying to compete with the big boys and the exclusivity factor is a thing of the past. If so, your point is taken.

that still doesn't change the fact that the color selection is pitiful at best. Consider yourself lucky you're at least getting (by far) the best color choice. Someone should PShop this car in TRUE MS colors and send em to Mazda. Who knows... maybe they'll wise up for '08

either way.... I'm getting red. (unless they make it in orange)

 

[CHICO2003]

Holy s***... I just noticed you got a MS6 GT.. congrats! a bit big for my tastes but a sweet ride nonetheless. (though it would clearly look better in orange.) haha j/k

 

[We Are Ninja]

That is an excellent pic of the MS3. the 3/4 front view is hot. The 3/4 rear and straight on rear are not so hot. Overall it's a sweet looking car, but the P5 is still the best looking sportwagon mazda has ever put out.

+714

The car looks good from the 3/4 front. Other angles are kind of blah, IMO. The P5 is t3h hotness aesthetically.

 

[bazooka joe]

Now if they could only take all that engineering and put it into a P5 body style . . .

that would be just awesome! on the note about buying a used one someday, i was thinking the same thing but won't most of them have been beat on??(sad1)

 

[SilverBulletES]

I just wish this would come out already so I can buy a lightly used one in 2 years. Then the Protege will be 6 years old and long paid off. And people will have figured how to get even more power out of this.

I never liked the styling of the 3 sedan. Was OK with the hatch. But I think the styling touches on this are very nice. Looks like a tasteful European hot hatch. I'll take one in black.

 

[We Are Ninja]

^That's probably the one thing I don't like about it. Where'd the European vibe come from?? I didn't even know there was a "hot hatch" segment in the States.

I'm just hoping the handling and driving experience aren't as European as the looks...

 

[CHICO2003]

If there isn't... there soon will be.

 

[cibrlx01]

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=116119#14
for just 2.41 million yen (about $21,000),

i have always found that very funny...
the japanese level of currency...


damn you mazda, why must you make such a desirable car so fast, i only bought my 99 protege 5 days ago, and already i want a m3

meh, thats me, im impulsive, last week i wanted to buy a g5

...came close too lol

 

[nondual]

I'm now a true believer. (Thanks in part to the picture below) found it on mazda's website. It immediately kicked the F430 I had as my wallpaper out. (goals are good... realistic goals are better) Needless to say... i'm lovin this car now. Hopefully it'll look this good in person. I'm not sure there's a better picture of this car out there... if so, let me know.

This is my desktop now too.

I just put down a deposit on a Mazdaspeed3 (black Sport with 6-disc and moonroof). This will be my first Mazda....and this is my first post.

 

[Donas64]

This is my desktop now too.

I just put down a deposit on a Mazdaspeed3 (black Sport with 6-disc and moonroof). This will be my first Mazda....and this is my first post.

Welcome to the family! And what a welcome it will be you lucky dog!

 

[nondual]

Welcome to the family! And what a welcome it will be you lucky dog!

Now if I can just wait the month out. The car is 'on the water' and due to be delivered the 1st month of November.

Did I mention that my birthday is in November?