To those who think that its a bummer that 1st and 2nd gear are limited:
Drive one and you'll soon realize that it would take sticky drag tires to keep this thing from lighting up the tires in 1st and 2nd, the very second you punch it. I'm not worried about what they did to my 1st and 2nd gear, and I won't be until I install some very sticky tires and see if I can launch without spinning, while at full WOT.
Now, once 1st and 2nd are up, go to third, and keep it floored. Don't let up at all and then shift to 4th. Then, if you got the road still, keep it floored and go to 5th. Use wicked fast shifts after 3rd (I can't get too fast on 1-2, and 2-3, seems like the trans doesn't like it), and if you do it right, you'll be haulin'. Since this is a drive-by-wire car, keeping it floored won't result in broken parts. Mazda assured the testers of the car, and so we should be able to use that knowledge too.
To the person who thought the car was slow:
Maybe it didn't have premium in the tank, and you lost a lot of timing and driveability. Because my MS3 is wicked, fast. Any faster, and its going to need drag slicks to avoid turning the tires into expensive smoke. I think the only thing the car needs to have, in the end, is a bit more top end. I think thats solvable with good airflow management tricks like intake, BOV work, and exhaust work. Call it "room to improve an already bitchin' motor"