Mazdaspeed3 vs Golf R32 test

[japfan]

Car has been out for more than a month now in Oz. starting to get a few comparisons now.
Follow link to read article.
My car is settling in fine with 2000 miles on it. No glitches or rattles so far with fuel economy getting better now.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=19672&vf=14

 

[nvmsp]

nice. It says on the highways, MS3 requires alot of steering adjustments. I think that's just because of how crisp the handling really is. You know Mazda and handling...

 

[jmv]

hey thats cool

if they say the MS3's seats don't have enough side bolstering, i wunder what they'd say about the MSP seats..... lol.

 

[ghettobubba2001]

looks like the ms3 is the winnar again.

 

[altspace]

Yea, that $18,800 price difference sure makes a huge impact on potential buyers. Seriously, comparing the MS3 to a R32?

 

[CTGrey02]

18,000 price difference in Australian dough.. Probably a 9k difference american. They dont have a newer R32 out in America yet correct?

 

[ZoomVT]

cool. thanks for the article

 

[spacemonkey]

The Dodge Caliber looks SUVish dispite being the same size and weight as teh MS3.

 

[Donas64]

The Caliber will be brutally fast, but I can't get over the styling. Not horrible but not for me. I really like the MS3. I really like the current gen R32 and the upcoming one. But for the price I'll take the MS3

 

[CTGrey02]

I doubt it's going to keep up with the SRT-4, especially at speed, but I think the Mazda will be the better all around car.

 

[jbiird317]

i will have no shame getting beat by the srt-4 if it is faster because I will go home knowing that:
A) My car is not a dodge, and
B) My car is not hideous inside and out

 

[nvmsp]

Dodge always waits till after Mazda drops a a car, so they can make theirs faster.

 

[CTGrey02]

Dodge always waits till after Mazda drops a a car, so they can make theirs faster.

Little competition isnt a bad thing. Mustangs and Camaro's have been doing it for years. Factory performance means nothing to most of the people that buy these things other than a starting point.

 

[nvmsp]

Little competition isnt a bad thing. Mustangs and Camaro's have been doing it for years. Factory performance means nothing to most of the people that buy these things other than a starting point.

No it's not a bad thing, i think it's funny though. Doesnt take much for a mazdaspeed Protege' to beat a SRT4 so it will be about the same thing happening with the MS3 and Caliber SRT4.

 

[Donas64]

No it's not a bad thing, i think it's funny though. Doesnt take much for a mazdaspeed Protege' to beat a SRT4 so it will be about the same thing happening with the MS3 and Caliber SRT4.

Whaaaaa? You're kidding right. It takes a LOT for an MSP to beat an SRT4. The SRT4 can be made to handle as good or almost as good as an MSP for a LOT less than the MSP can be made to be as fast as an SRT4 . Besides look wrong at an FS-DE block and it will detonate on yo behind! The Neon block will hold high boost no prob.

Not hating on hte MSP as I think it looks far nicer, has an interior FAR better and handles LEAGUES beyond the SRT's wildest dreams. But beat in performance? NOT EVEN CLOSE!

 

[Donas64]

No the MS3 will probably not need much tweaking to keep up with the SRT 4 Caliber.

 

[nvmsp]

Whaaaaa? You're kidding right. It takes a LOT for an MSP to beat an SRT4. The SRT4 can be made to handle as good or almost as good as an MSP for a LOT less than the MSP can be made to be as fast as an SRT4 . Besides look wrong at an FS-DE block and it will detonate on yo behind! The Neon block will hold high boost no prob.

Not hating on hte MSP as I think it looks far nicer, has an interior FAR better and handles LEAGUES beyond the SRT's wildest dreams. But beat in performance? NOT EVEN CLOSE!

Ok.

 

[Insurance Guy]

i will have no shame getting beat by the srt-4 if it is faster because I will go home knowing that:
A) My car is not a dodge, and
B) My car is not hideous inside and out

Amen, brother!

 

[seanw]

I doubt it's going to keep up with the SRT-4, especially at speed, but I think the Mazda will be the better all around car.

They still have to get the power to the ground. I'm wondering how much difference it can make to have 300 vs. 267 hp on a FWD platform. Those tires will only deliver so much power before they lose traction. I guess the big difference will be in very high speed roll-ons. There the Caliber will be impressive and put a lot of very expensive cars to shame.

The Caliber looks are so strange. At certain angles I think it's okay, at others it's just awful.

 

[Newf]

I'm going to take a wild guess, but I'm thinking that aerodynamics will not be something the new srt4 will be good at

advantage MS3