I just had the privelage of driving my new 2010 Mazdaspeed3 from San Diego to the central valley and back. I put about 650 miles on the car in the last 2 days. It's not our primary family hauler, the Mazda5 serves that purpose, but I figured it would be fun to get more familiar with the car and we weren't bringing the dog so it was ok. The kids fit fine. They didn't have as much legroom as they do in the 5, and I was feeling the kicks of my 3 year old every now and again, but they seemed fine. Our luggage fit great, though it was only a 2 day trip so I'd hope it would.
The wife and I were very comfy. Not riding on a couch comfy, but never squirmy. The seats hold you in really really well. My shoulder blades had to get a little used to the confinement, but after 100 miles or so they had adjusted to it. The dual zone climate control worked beautifully. We even adjusted our sides a tad differently and felt as though it was precise in doing so. The stereo sounded good enough...not awesome. But I didn't opt for the Bose so maybe that one would. Bluetooth music synch works great, quality is decent. Sometimes the compression is noticeable though. If you are looking for the best possible sound quality, that is not the way to go. MP3 CDs sounded excellent, and I liked the info screen. Aux sounded better than bluetooth, but only by a small amount. Bluetooth phone calls were easy to make, sounded fine, etc.
As for the driving experience. Wow. What an engine. So smooth and torquey just where you need it. Cruising at 80 is quiet and seemless. When you slow down to 70 because of traffic, then give it some gas, the torque just hits rockets the car to 80, 90, 100...like nothing. All in 6th gear. If you happen to slow down to 55 then need to speed up, the pull is still good...but a downshift to 5th helps build boost quicker.
The steering is very BMW...only it's better than any BMW I've ever owned. The car stays very flat and changes lanes confidently. The brakes pull you from speed smoothly and quickly, with very little dive. The suspension is fairly compliant. On most roads it felt like I was in a BMW...stiff but not too stiff. Comfy but not too comfy. Very eager. It soaks up small imperfections nicely. Just enough feedback is transmitted to the steering wheel, but not much of the annoying stuff. It's not perfect though. Some sharp bumps or dips feel pretty harsh. Almost like bottoming out a strut at times. And concrete roads felt pretty awful, and sounded much louder that I like. Each rut on those roads felt hard. I've never had a car that likes those roads much, but the mazda5 does them much better.
The shifter feels SOLID. I know it's cable operated but it doesn't feel detatched. It feels great. The gears are a tad close though. And sometimes a little hard to differentiate between 1st and 3rd, and 4th and 6th. But the weight of the shifter was nice and the clutch was also weighted well. Clutch is a little vague though.
Sounds...the exhaust has a bit of a throaty rumble to it. At startup you hear it, decelerating you hear it. Cruising you don't hear it. WOT you hear some whooshing and sucking, but the exhaust isn't noticeable at all. I'd prefer a little more volume. For a stock car I give it pretty high marks though.
I kept very close watch on gas mileage. My speeds were pretty high, and I played around going faster than I probably should have, when I felt like it. I stayed out of boost when I was cruising, but let it spool and boost enough to keep a smile on my face. My first all-freeway stretch showed an indicated 29.2MPG on the computer. But only 26MPG at the pump once I did the math. Another tank had mostly highway but lots of city and super fun racing around with my brother, dad, etc...that one said 25MPG on the computer but ended up being 22. My last tank is showing 30MPG on the computer, so I'm going to prematurely guess I pulled of 27MPG.
Overall this is a great car. For the price it's an AWESOME car. The interior feels much more upscale. I especially like the little blue-lights scattered around the interior, adding a bit of atmosphere. It's not likely to get much police attention on the road, compared to say an Evo or STi. But it's every bit as fast after 60MPH, and is just so much nicer inside.
Oh and here's that silly, happy front end/
size comparison to the Mazda5
and that rear quarter...
The wife and I were very comfy. Not riding on a couch comfy, but never squirmy. The seats hold you in really really well. My shoulder blades had to get a little used to the confinement, but after 100 miles or so they had adjusted to it. The dual zone climate control worked beautifully. We even adjusted our sides a tad differently and felt as though it was precise in doing so. The stereo sounded good enough...not awesome. But I didn't opt for the Bose so maybe that one would. Bluetooth music synch works great, quality is decent. Sometimes the compression is noticeable though. If you are looking for the best possible sound quality, that is not the way to go. MP3 CDs sounded excellent, and I liked the info screen. Aux sounded better than bluetooth, but only by a small amount. Bluetooth phone calls were easy to make, sounded fine, etc.
As for the driving experience. Wow. What an engine. So smooth and torquey just where you need it. Cruising at 80 is quiet and seemless. When you slow down to 70 because of traffic, then give it some gas, the torque just hits rockets the car to 80, 90, 100...like nothing. All in 6th gear. If you happen to slow down to 55 then need to speed up, the pull is still good...but a downshift to 5th helps build boost quicker.
The steering is very BMW...only it's better than any BMW I've ever owned. The car stays very flat and changes lanes confidently. The brakes pull you from speed smoothly and quickly, with very little dive. The suspension is fairly compliant. On most roads it felt like I was in a BMW...stiff but not too stiff. Comfy but not too comfy. Very eager. It soaks up small imperfections nicely. Just enough feedback is transmitted to the steering wheel, but not much of the annoying stuff. It's not perfect though. Some sharp bumps or dips feel pretty harsh. Almost like bottoming out a strut at times. And concrete roads felt pretty awful, and sounded much louder that I like. Each rut on those roads felt hard. I've never had a car that likes those roads much, but the mazda5 does them much better.
The shifter feels SOLID. I know it's cable operated but it doesn't feel detatched. It feels great. The gears are a tad close though. And sometimes a little hard to differentiate between 1st and 3rd, and 4th and 6th. But the weight of the shifter was nice and the clutch was also weighted well. Clutch is a little vague though.
Sounds...the exhaust has a bit of a throaty rumble to it. At startup you hear it, decelerating you hear it. Cruising you don't hear it. WOT you hear some whooshing and sucking, but the exhaust isn't noticeable at all. I'd prefer a little more volume. For a stock car I give it pretty high marks though.
I kept very close watch on gas mileage. My speeds were pretty high, and I played around going faster than I probably should have, when I felt like it. I stayed out of boost when I was cruising, but let it spool and boost enough to keep a smile on my face. My first all-freeway stretch showed an indicated 29.2MPG on the computer. But only 26MPG at the pump once I did the math. Another tank had mostly highway but lots of city and super fun racing around with my brother, dad, etc...that one said 25MPG on the computer but ended up being 22. My last tank is showing 30MPG on the computer, so I'm going to prematurely guess I pulled of 27MPG.
Overall this is a great car. For the price it's an AWESOME car. The interior feels much more upscale. I especially like the little blue-lights scattered around the interior, adding a bit of atmosphere. It's not likely to get much police attention on the road, compared to say an Evo or STi. But it's every bit as fast after 60MPH, and is just so much nicer inside.
Oh and here's that silly, happy front end/
size comparison to the Mazda5
and that rear quarter...
). I do have a minor complaint about the shifter's somewhat finicky nature and it is closely spaced, but overall the gear changes are pretty smooth. I have to take my car in for a warranty item though - my driver's side seat is squeaking like crazy if I move around...a bit of an annoyance when I shift and the seat squeaks accordingly. Now thats minor in the grand scheme of things...this car is a phenomenal value for your $$ and doesnt make me miss my G35 at all (well maybe in the looks department
