MS3 vs MS6: What Do You Think? PART 2
- Thread starter Cloke
- Start date
I voted with my wallet for the NA Mz3, and for this poll, I voted virtually for the MS3, because, as was stated earlier, it's more my style. I have had hatches and sedans (along with a SUV and a mini-van), and hatches are just my preferred "form-factor." Were I more of a sedan-type, I would be shopping the MS6. Either way, I think Mazda delivers great value-per-dollar.
spike blue
Member
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- 2007 mazda CX-7,Kia sephia 2006 Audi A4 Sline
ms3 all the way!!!
RPI-Speed3
Member
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- 2007 Mazdaspeed 3, 2004 Mazda RX-8
I vote Speed3 (just picked mine up yesterday). I've driven the MS6 both on the street and at the track. The AWD is sort of nice but its not full time AWD on the MS6. 90% of the time you are driving its mainly driving the front wheels. FWD in the winter is with DSC/ABS is just fine. I'll be slapping on some dunlop wintersport m3s to help it out.
Honestly, you can't really go wrong with either car. I do agree that is appeals to different demographics.
Honestly, you can't really go wrong with either car. I do agree that is appeals to different demographics.
vcinsanity1523
Member
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- 03.5 MSP Blazin' Yellow
Cloke said:
I have driven both and there is a lot I like from each car honestly for me it all depends on where you are your life. The MS3 is an awesome car and is a blast and right now i would personally rather have the 3 but if i was 30+ it would be mazdaspeed 6 all day. The MS6 is sophisticated performance the MS3 is look at me im young an my car is awesome performance
Honestly it's really a tough choice. Since you can get an ms6 for a similar price as the MS3 idk? Lower insurance, plus awd. You get more for your money with the MS6 in terms of mechanical bits and obviously it's a bigger car, but the MS3 is just so appealing for some reason. There's nothing like it in its class yet...save caliber srt-4 this spring. So imo if you want the most car for the money get the MS6. If you're looking for a lighter and speedier car go for the MS3. Again, I highly doubt there will be any incentives for the MS3 even at the tail end of the 2007 model year run. Dealers around here have no problems selling 3's at msrp. They sell like hotcakes without price reductions unlike the 6 which just sits are collects rust on the rotors.
I now have about 3k miles on my 3 and my opinion is still the same. The MS3 is the wild child in terms of power, handling, and feedback, though it can function very well as a family car. The MS6 is the solid, quiet, respectible sedan with a serious turbo twist and sporty handling. When I drove my 6 into the car dealer for the last time, the contrast was really strong. You are much more isolated from the engine/tranny/road feedback. You are also higher up and have less of a view of that part of road that's right next to your wheels.
It's a matter of priorities. If you want to feel every moment of your drive (including high hp fwd quirks) and don't care what social status others will assign you to based on your car, you'll like the MS3 better. If you want the car to recede into the background until you decide to stomp on the gas and want to feel comfortable loading colleagues or clients into your car for a business lunch, you'll like the 6 better.
Purely in terms of objective performance capability, I think they're pretty equal. The 6 has an edge at the drag strip b/c of it's awd and the 3 has an edge in the corners b/c of it's lighter weight and better road feel/visibility. Personally, I'll take the lighter weight over the awd since I'm more interested in cornering fast than going straight fast. The lighter weight helps me more than the awd did.
Mods can change all of this to a degree. A CAI or aftermarket exhaust lets you hear the 6's engine alot more and I imagine better suspension/tires would give it more road feel and cornering ability. But mod for mod the 6 will never feel as sporty as the 3 IMO. And power mods to the 3 might close the gap at the drag strip despite the lack of awd, but fwd will be an absolute limit as I gather it is for the SRT-4. That's my $1.02 on the subject (inflation).
It's a matter of priorities. If you want to feel every moment of your drive (including high hp fwd quirks) and don't care what social status others will assign you to based on your car, you'll like the MS3 better. If you want the car to recede into the background until you decide to stomp on the gas and want to feel comfortable loading colleagues or clients into your car for a business lunch, you'll like the 6 better.
Purely in terms of objective performance capability, I think they're pretty equal. The 6 has an edge at the drag strip b/c of it's awd and the 3 has an edge in the corners b/c of it's lighter weight and better road feel/visibility. Personally, I'll take the lighter weight over the awd since I'm more interested in cornering fast than going straight fast. The lighter weight helps me more than the awd did.
Mods can change all of this to a degree. A CAI or aftermarket exhaust lets you hear the 6's engine alot more and I imagine better suspension/tires would give it more road feel and cornering ability. But mod for mod the 6 will never feel as sporty as the 3 IMO. And power mods to the 3 might close the gap at the drag strip despite the lack of awd, but fwd will be an absolute limit as I gather it is for the SRT-4. That's my $1.02 on the subject (inflation).
vcinsanity1523 said:
Well said. I unloaded my 04 STI for a Speed 6, and I have no regrets, but I admit there's a side of me that misses ther incredible performance the STI had to offer., and Subaru's superior AWD system. It just got too much negative attention, and I'm 34, and after over 2 years I just grew tired of the cars looks, and kind of attention the car brought. What I really wanted was an 07 STI Limited, but it was out of my price range, since I own an 06 S2000, and refused to part with it. The Speed 6 was going for the right price at the right time, so I had to jump on it.
If the Speed 3 was AWD, I think I'd have swung that way, because this my daily commuter car that will be seeing lots of bad weather, much like my STI did. I admit though, my eyes are still on Subaru, as I'm craving for that tamer looking, yet dominant AWD performer.
Either way, they are both great cars, both similiar yet very different, and it all depends on what you want. Mazda offers a great variety right now, with some incredible prices if you prefer the Speed 6.
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We Are Ninja
Member
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- 2006 Mazdaspeed 6 GT; 2004 Mazda 6 Wagon
I'd go for the MS3, the MS6 is too big and refined for my tastes...
PaulVincent
Member
In October of 2006, Chicagoland Mazda Dealers had a $6,000 discount on the MS6 (plus anybody who attended a Zoom Zoom event could get an additional $250 discount coupon).
Aren't we more or less choosing what we decided to buy? The MS3 will always appeal more to an overall mass because it's a compact hatch, and based on MSRP it's simply a more affordable car, in a more affordable price class. I guess from what I've read, the insane deals on the leftover 06 Speed 6s weren't around in every part of the country. That's too bad, because based on the huge incentives Mazda had going on the Speed 6 in most parts of the USA, the Speed 3, as nice as it is cannot compare to the Speed 6 in value. Many including myself paid less for the Speed 6 then most paid for their Speed 3.
If Speed 3s were selling for even invoice, it would be a better bargain, but unless someone really doesn't want luxury, refinement, and AWD, and doesn't want a sedan, the Speed 3 is the way to go even at MSRP, because it definitely has to be more thrilling to drive because of it's lighter weight, and rawness over the more refined and friendlier driving 6.
It's all a sacrifice and personal preference. As much as I love the Speed 3, I'd never pay anywhere near MSRP for ANY car (not worth it IMO), and I got nearly $5500 off MSRP on my Speed 6, so no regrets here, and I'll take my heavy AWD sedan as a daily commuter any day over a Speed 3. It's just a nice smooth ride, but still has enough of a performance personality to cure me on my daily commute to work. I admit, if I didn't have my S2000, The Speed 6 wouldn't cut it as a combination fun car daily commuter. Then again, the Speed 3 wouldn't cut it either. I'd probably have gotten an STI Limited if I could only afford one car.
If Speed 3s were selling for even invoice, it would be a better bargain, but unless someone really doesn't want luxury, refinement, and AWD, and doesn't want a sedan, the Speed 3 is the way to go even at MSRP, because it definitely has to be more thrilling to drive because of it's lighter weight, and rawness over the more refined and friendlier driving 6.
It's all a sacrifice and personal preference. As much as I love the Speed 3, I'd never pay anywhere near MSRP for ANY car (not worth it IMO), and I got nearly $5500 off MSRP on my Speed 6, so no regrets here, and I'll take my heavy AWD sedan as a daily commuter any day over a Speed 3. It's just a nice smooth ride, but still has enough of a performance personality to cure me on my daily commute to work. I admit, if I didn't have my S2000, The Speed 6 wouldn't cut it as a combination fun car daily commuter. Then again, the Speed 3 wouldn't cut it either. I'd probably have gotten an STI Limited if I could only afford one car.
Dmxn500 said:
I could have bought an MS6 for $300 less than my MS3 GT with the incentives in place last december.
Which would I choose after having driven both? The MS3. My first few cars were sporty hatchbacks (rabbit GTI, golf GTI (3 of them) sciroccos (2 of them))
I wanted another sporty hatchback. I prefer those cars. I liked the MS6 but didn't like the clutch feel. I felt like I was either going to stall it, or take off very unsmoothly. I am sure I could have eventually gotten the hang of it, but it turned me off from the start. it's also a pretty big car. 19 city and 25 highway was also a mild turn off. (I score about 26mpg in my MS3 with mixed driving)
If I didn't already have a 4dr salooon I might have thought more about the MS6. Frankly, I already had one. I wanted something different with the hatch. almost 10,000 miles later I haven't regretted it once. That's odd for me. I've always second guessed my car purchase.
SwampAss said:
Well luckily for us Speed 6 owners there is a TSB that will make the Speed 6 shift like the Speed 3, so that problem will be gone. I'm used to it, but I'm still gonna get it taken care of. As for MPG, I get about 24-25mpg with mixed driving, so it's not very far off. The mpg rating is not accurate in my experience. I get over 25mpg on highway on a regular basis. I too probably would have chosen what you did, because deep down I'm a hatch guy. However, there's one problem. I simply got too used to having AWD, and having a Fwd car with that much power is not something I could ever want. Once you get bitten by the AWD bug, it's hard to go back.
Glad you don't regret your purchase. You must really love the car to have been willing to pay close to or at MSRP for it, so more power to ya, and not regretting is a sure sign you made the right decision.
