MS3 a let down!!

[twistedMSP]

i happend to test drive a brand new MS3 today and was really dissapointed. being a mazda owner for the last 7 years, i was really hoping this thing would just be head and shoulders above its competition. well its not, with its claimed 263 hp and 280 tq it should be but mazda made this car so heavy it feels sluggish and its handling is good but not great, not like the msp. its not much faster than a stock wrx and doesnt feel anywhere near as fast as a srt4( i hate srt4's by the way). im hoping that maybe the computer needs a few miles to learn itself into "performance" but i highly doubt it will get much faster. the handling could of been made a bit better but thats just me. the looks of the car arent much different than a stock 3 and personally i think mazda should of made it in a sedan model instead of the 4 door hatch. at 23k this car is a great price and yet still i find myself looking for more out of it for my money. needless to say im stickin with my msp for a while longer till mazda finally figures out how to really make a great sport compact( i blame ford for this).

 

[orlandomsp]

I think you might have expected too much out of it, it's not supposed to be STi fast, or handle as well straight off the showroom floor. I think the car was meant to be more refined than the MSP, and I honestly think it accomplished just that.

 

[Gaboost]

It's as heavy as a wrx, with no awd. It must have a very stiff chassis, I don't know why else it would weigh that much.

 

[FSRbikr98]

also the boost limit in the first two gears makes it feel sluggish from what i've read. As soon as the mazda dealer around the block gets one i'm test driving it for sure

 

[SeanMSIII]

i happend to test drive a brand new MS3 today and was really dissapointed. being a mazda owner for the last 7 years, i was really hoping this thing would just be head and shoulders above its competition. well its not, with its claimed 263 hp and 280 tq it should be but mazda made this car so heavy it feels sluggish and its handling is good but not great, not like the msp. its not much faster than a stock wrx and doesnt feel anywhere near as fast as a srt4( i hate srt4's by the way). ....

What do you want for as little as $23.5K? It's all relative. The WRX is too small inside for my tastes and costs a fair amount more. If you're happy with the handling and power of your modded MSP given the money you've put into it, that's great. Other cars have other advantages and drawbacks that make them less/more desirable to different people.

For the money, I think Mazda did a good job making a powerful, good-handling car that's also a good daily-driver. Minor mods will add 30 hp. I'm sure you can higher if there's really any point given the limits of FWD. Do I wish the MS3 had AWD and a bigger turbo with twin-scrolls? Of course, and I probably would have paid for it. But that would have priced it out of a lot of people's reach and they're having enough trouble selling Mazdaspeed vehicle.

 

[jbiird317]

also the boost limit in the first two gears makes it feel sluggish from what i've read. As soon as the mazda dealer around the block gets one i'm test driving it for sure

taking off the DSC significantly improves this... but yes, a new ecu would make the car a lot faster off the line

as for being underwhelmed by the ms3... i have to respect ur opinion, but also I think that you may have been expecting evo or sti feel to this car when it was really supposed to be competing with the srt4 and gti. IMO, against those cars, the ms3 is head and shoulders above in almost every category (especially bringing all the extras in the GT model). If you wanted an evo for 23k, well thats just dreaming. Honestly I dont think you can get a lot more for the money (new cars anyway)

 

[Funkycoldg]

I have to totally agree with jbird on this. I really love the MS3 and especially for the money your really cant beat IMO. I didnt want to spend much more than this on a new car. I really felt you were getting a lot for the money, as did everyone I showed the car too.

~Jbird
Taking off the DSC, what would be the drawback to taking it off?

 

[jbiird317]

~Jbird
Taking off the DSC, what would be the drawback to taking it off?

well the drawback is, u dont have stability control... It really depends on how you drive. If youre out there driving like we did at the fun run every day, then leave it on for safety's sake. If youre a good driver and generally stay under control, then playing around with it off every now and then isnt a bad thing. The only time I ever see the light come on is if I'm gunning it from a stop, or really pushing the car faster than i should around turns.

 

[jeffmsp]

if they made it the 4 door sedan I think everyone would have been alot happier with the car IMO.

 

[altspace]

For the money, I think Mazda did a good job making a powerful, good-handling car that's also a good daily-driver. Minor mods will add 30 hp. I'm sure you can higher if there's really any point given the limits of FWD. Do I wish the MS3 had AWD and a bigger turbo with twin-scrolls? Of course, and I probably would have paid for it. But that would have priced it out of a lot of people's reach and they're having enough trouble selling Mazdaspeed vehicle.

Here here. (2thumbs)

 

[tsunami]

please keep this thread from going into the sedan vs hatch bs that is all over this forum... if it goes into that i will close this thread.

 

[JOHNJOHN86]

The only thing I don't like about my MS3 GT is the front suspension being too soft and the engine seems to move a lot when shifting. Other than that it's a great car for the money.

 

[seanw]

please keep this thread from going into the sedan vs hatch bs that is all over this forum... if it goes into that i will close this thread.

Okay, who needs another hatch (first) vs. sedan (sleep) thread. Personally, I wouldn't have bought the MS3 if it wasn't a hatch. It was the concept MS6 hatch that got me into this whole Mazdaspeed thing in the first place. I wish they'd made the MS6 a hatch and then I would have have kept it.

Hatches Rule!!!(enguard)

 

[BOOSTR]

Hatch? Its a station wagon. Still its a great car with a lot features. I don't think that Mazda will ever build anything that fills the need for speed IMO. At least not for less than $23K.

 

[protegeDaryl]

hatchbacks = .... good for kids and lots of room for grocerys.

 

[protegeV]

(werd) I never liked the mz3 sedan look anyway, with its stubby little trunk(lol)

 

[kingd0g]

hatchbacks = .... good for kids and lots of room for grocerys.

Exactly Correct!!! Which in most cases is a good thing and dont forget 95lb dogs that you don't want on your leather seats.

 

[txmzdspd2gen]

Although I have never test driven the speed 3, I think this is a great car. Being a guy who only drives mazda ( 1985 ford laser aka glc), 1993 blaze red 323, 1997 protege, 1998 MPV ES, and the 03.5 blue speed. I think for the money and the target that mazda has set for the car they hit the bullseye on this. For me the hatch is perfect compared to the sedan and it really fits on the mazdaspeed lineup. It was compared with the wrx and beat it. It has good reviews from a lot of car enthusiast and for the price its really worth it. Honestly, Ill trade my speed protege over it anytime.

 

[elderlycoffee]

I love mine, It's made to kill everything it's class and lower (srt-4 old and current, civic si, gti and so on) but it ended up making it's way into the lowest of the wrx/lancer category which personally i think is a pretty big deal.
It's not a perfect match but it competes.

 

[LASERBLUE135]

to the first poster, I looked at your mod list...you've got a turbo back exh, FMIC, and afc AND handling mods. If you put those all on a MS3, I would bet my life you wouldn't be disappointed! I've seen the MS3 dyno and it could use some A/F tuning for sure. This car will be a monster.