I'm taking delivery of my first Mazda tomorrow. Its a 5Door Maz3, and I CAN'T WAIT! Nothin' like new toys....
I've looked all over the web, and looked at a few different forums. This board seems to have a good rapport, so thought I would join. It seems like a lot of folks (on all boards) are/ were P5 owners. While at one of the dealerships, checking out the M3's, I took a P5 5door out for a drive (jeeez, $14k with all of the incentives!). The big thing that I noticed about the P5 during a VERY short drive ( I drove it 1/4 mile to the Home Depot, turned right back around) was the noise from the engine/ front end, and a LOT of road noise. It reminded me of my wifes old Geo Storm above 75k miles. I then drove the M3 and was VERY impressed. Quiet, smooth, tighter steering (and obviously.... More Power!!). Also, another thing that I REALLY like is the auto-adjust volume control. It seems like a small thing, but my wife has it in her Avalanche, and I was incredibly happy to see that the M3 has the same feature. For that reason alone, I probably won't swap out the stereo. Besides, controls on the steering wheel are another big bonus for me. Was this just a freakish P5 that I drove? Seems like most of the posts that I read which compare the P5 to the M3 talk about what a great car the P5 is. This isn't meant to annoy anyone, just curious. I wasn't impressed at all with the P5. On the other hand, I took my sweet time on the M3 test drive, was gone about an hour. I always wondered what good the "manual shift" option on an automatic tranny was, but after trying it on this car (I'm getting an automatic) I can see that it could definitely be a lot of fun. I LOVE downshifting for corners!!!! Can't wait for someone to come out with a supercharger!!! Any tips on a freer-flowing exhaust, BUT one thats not waaay loud? A mellow tone is good, but I don't want a coffee can sticking out the back. BTW, I'm 35. Shouldn't I be driving a big, family 4-door??? Uhmmmm, NOPE!
I've looked all over the web, and looked at a few different forums. This board seems to have a good rapport, so thought I would join. It seems like a lot of folks (on all boards) are/ were P5 owners. While at one of the dealerships, checking out the M3's, I took a P5 5door out for a drive (jeeez, $14k with all of the incentives!). The big thing that I noticed about the P5 during a VERY short drive ( I drove it 1/4 mile to the Home Depot, turned right back around) was the noise from the engine/ front end, and a LOT of road noise. It reminded me of my wifes old Geo Storm above 75k miles. I then drove the M3 and was VERY impressed. Quiet, smooth, tighter steering (and obviously.... More Power!!). Also, another thing that I REALLY like is the auto-adjust volume control. It seems like a small thing, but my wife has it in her Avalanche, and I was incredibly happy to see that the M3 has the same feature. For that reason alone, I probably won't swap out the stereo. Besides, controls on the steering wheel are another big bonus for me. Was this just a freakish P5 that I drove? Seems like most of the posts that I read which compare the P5 to the M3 talk about what a great car the P5 is. This isn't meant to annoy anyone, just curious. I wasn't impressed at all with the P5. On the other hand, I took my sweet time on the M3 test drive, was gone about an hour. I always wondered what good the "manual shift" option on an automatic tranny was, but after trying it on this car (I'm getting an automatic) I can see that it could definitely be a lot of fun. I LOVE downshifting for corners!!!! Can't wait for someone to come out with a supercharger!!! Any tips on a freer-flowing exhaust, BUT one thats not waaay loud? A mellow tone is good, but I don't want a coffee can sticking out the back. BTW, I'm 35. Shouldn't I be driving a big, family 4-door??? Uhmmmm, NOPE!
