Overall, I like the styling of the car. (though I still feel the hatch is the wrong way to go) Hopefully Mazda will have a sedan too but my gut tells me they won't. As much as I'd love to continue the mazdaspeed trend, if this car isn't awd I'm simply not interested. (obviously it doesn't appear that it will be.) For the life of me, I just don't understand why. Someone mentioned that this car would be competing with the likes of the GTI, Caliber, Si, Cobalt and others.. instead of the WRX. This to me is mindless. Why compete against a half dozen or more "me too" cars when you can take on the ONE car out there that offers serious hp and awd? Seriously, why are so many car manufacturers letting Subaru control this market? Half the country benefits from awd (during the winter) and the other half certainly dig the handling characteristics. For those who want a fast, reasonably priced 4 door compact with awd, they have but one choice. With all the financial problems Mitsubishi is having... their worries would be over if they simply came out with a slightly lesser version of their EVO to compete with the base WRX. Not everyone can afford $33K+ for a car... the mid 20's represents a bit of a sweet spot for 20 somethings making decent money. The fact that mfrs aren't takin advantage of this incredibley popular segment is mind boggling. Especialy makers like Mitsu and Mazda... who already have the setup ready to go.
But what do I know? i still dig the car... and think it will sell reasonably well, despite everything I just mentioned. I guess I have abit more ambition for mazda then they do. If they did this right, they could really elevate themselves to a much higher level with a car that defines who they are. Think Subaru before and after the WRX. It's like two different companies! That car took them to a whole new level.
