Uh oh, watch out Mazdaspeed

[RHAGEL]

As usual, Mazda is slow to the game and it pisses me off. What the hell is there problem! This week at the Chicago Autoshow Dodge announced their 300 hp SRT4. It is ugly as hell, but still 300 hp. Honda announced their Civic Si Sedan based at $20k pretty nicely loaded and an 8000 rpm redline, and these are brand new cars. The Dodge Caliber hasn't even come out yet and they already have a performance version. Not to mention the VW GLI is already out after 1 year of Jetta prodution. Then their is the Mazdaspeed 3. Rumors say it will be here this year but I highly doubt it. Mazda won't even confirm that there is a MS 3 in production or even being developed. I want to know what the hell are they waiting for?



Thats right 300 hp and 260 lb ft of torque

 

[tsunami]

ugly as a mofo.... but man it must fly...patiently waiting on the ms3....

 

[Captain KRM P5]

sat in an SRT4 Caliber this weekend at CAS - was not really impressed. it really feels like a small truck and the seating position was well above a Mazda5's even. the flip down speakers from the back hatch felt so flimsy that i am sure they'll be breaking off the trim panel in no time. the glove box is a ridiculous contraption of folding doors and a small refridgerator compartment in the center. interior trim felt cheap as is usual with daimlerchrysler cars, the only car having worse trim being the Chevy HHR i sat in where things literally came off in my hands.

chrysler outsourced the engine design to hyundai and mitsubishi, so we'll see how that thing holds up under any load.

 

[RHAGEL]

sat in an SRT4 Caliber this weekend at CAS - was not really impressed. it really feels like a small truck and the seating position was well above a Mazda5's even. the flip down speakers from the back hatch felt so flimsy that i am sure they'll be breaking off the trim panel in no time. the glove box is a ridiculous contraption of folding doors and a small refridgerator compartment in the center. interior trim felt cheap as is usual with daimlerchrysler cars, the only car having worse trim being the Chevy HHR i sat in where things literally came off in my hands.

chrysler outsourced the engine design to hyundai and mitsubishi, so we'll see how that thing holds up under any load.

I hear you. I saw the engine selection for the Caliber and was very suprised. Everything was designed as a hatchback hauler. I think the NA 2.4 has 170 hp and 230 lbs of torque...strange. I think my frustration with Mazda is just because I am waiting to get a car and would like a MS 3 but I don't know if I want to wait for another year. I have already put it off for six months now and getting anxious. The Civic Si Sedan looks pretty good and will be a big consideration for me this fall. I have to have a 4 door, otherwise a baby seat is going to be a pain in the ass. I just don't get what their hesitation is.(bicker)

 

[HiBoost TS]

Get the Mazda 3 and add our turbo kit. With a few upgrades you can get 325 HP to the wheels. This will beat any SRT4, STI, EVO and many very expensive cars. I just did my internals, added a TEIN suspension and this car is way better than a EVO and for thousands less. This is just my opinion.(drive2)

Juan

As usual, Mazda is slow to the game and it pisses me off. What the hell is there problem! This week at the Chicago Autoshow Dodge announced their 300 hp SRT4. It is ugly as hell, but still 300 hp. Honda announced their Civic Si Sedan based at $20k pretty nicely loaded and an 8000 rpm redline, and these are brand new cars. The Dodge Caliber hasn't even come out yet and they already have a performance version. Not to mention the VW GLI is already out after 1 year of Jetta prodution. Then their is the Mazdaspeed 3. Rumors say it will be here this year but I highly doubt it. Mazda won't even confirm that there is a MS 3 in production or even being developed. I want to know what the hell are they waiting for?



Thats right 300 hp and 260 lb ft of torque

 

[Captain KRM P5]

I hear you. I saw the engine selection for the Caliber and was very suprised. Everything was designed as a hatchback hauler. I think the NA 2.4 has 170 hp and 230 lbs of torque...strange. I think my frustration with Mazda is just because I am waiting to get a car and would like a MS 3 but I don't know if I want to wait for another year. I have already put it off for six months now and getting anxious. The Civic Si Sedan looks pretty good and will be a big consideration for me this fall. I have to have a 4 door, otherwise a baby seat is going to be a pain in the ass. I just don't get what their hesitation is.(bicker)

the mazdaspeed six was almost delayed a year and it made the difference between a 15.4 and a 14.0 second quarter mile time, better suspension and better gearing. i think the hesitation on thier part for that particular car was justified

if and when the ms3 comes out, it will have been worth the wait.

 

[JOS3]

im sure the ms3 will be worth the wait especially considering that it will be the 4th mazdaspeed model to be released and they are getting progressively better with each new model.

msp -> msm -> ms6

 

[scraejtp]

Get the Mazda 3 and add our turbo kit. With a few upgrades you can get 325 HP to the wheels. This will beat any SRT4, STI, EVO and many very expensive cars. I just did my internals, added a TEIN suspension and this car is way better than a EVO and for thousands less. This is just my opinion.(drive2)

Juan

Do you think you will be making an upgrade kit for the MS6/MS3 with a larger turbo/intercooler/etc?

 

[RHAGEL]

Get the Mazda 3 and add our turbo kit. With a few upgrades you can get 325 HP to the wheels. This will beat any SRT4, STI, EVO and many very expensive cars. I just did my internals, added a TEIN suspension and this car is way better than a EVO and for thousands less. This is just my opinion.(drive2)

Juan

Not to say you don't have a good quality kit, I just cant give up my warranty. I got a baby coming and looking to buy a house so if something happened; my wife would kill me.

 

[ZoomVT]

now that the ms3 is out, i think Juan you are going to make a killing. there are just as many people that like the sedan as they like the hatch. i do not like the hatch at all and i was waiting for the ms3, now i will just wait to save the money and get your turbo kit. That is definitely the way to go.
Rhagel - i have not heard any problems with HiBoost Turbo kit. whos had problems, what kind?

 

[ZoomVT]

oh yeah, and that sedan si looks SWEET! very impressive, it actually made me look at it again as a viable option.

 

[tsunami]

it may look sweet and handle a bit better then your 3 stock but you have more tq then it does... sad

 

[ZoomVT]

true dat.
i definitely like my 3 better but if i had to get a new car tomorrow, and my options are the si sedan and the mazdaspeed3 hatch, i would actually have to go with the si. obivously i wont, i rather turbo my sedan but i think quite a few people will be in the same position and will end up getting the si.

 

[RHAGEL]

Rhagel - i have not heard any problems with HiBoost Turbo kit. whos had problems, what kind?

I'm not saying that there will be any problems but I just can't afford to have any that aren't covered by warranty. Even if it has nothing to do with the kit but a problem with installation, I could be potentialy be looking at thousands of dollars in damage. My wife would KILL me and I would be walking 48 miles everyday to work.

 

[ZoomVT]

oh isee.
i guess i misunderstood.
well that is a good point and to each its own, but if you want to play you have to pay.
so far the track record for the kit has been very good, i am yet to hear bad comments on it so it seems it is very strong and the engine can handle it pretty well. of course, theoldest turboed 3 is less than a year i think. so we'll see. I'll probably be waiting until my warranty goes, 20k miles more.

 

[jeffmsp]

HiBoost kit + 3 sedan = mint MS3 WAGON =

 

[Tito1]

I also do not get Mazda's logic for release dates of their Mazdaspeed series. These are the cars that give the more mundane models out the door.

So the MSP and MSM being released on the last year of production just seems inane, not only from the enthusiast perspective, but from a business angle as well.

Stock 3's have pretty much the same hp rating as the MSP, and ditto for the MSM. I really dig the Protege's styling, so I went with it, but logically it doesn't make much sense to buy the MSM or MSP when the new Mx-6 and 3 are just coming out.

Overall I am becoming less and less impressed with the Mazdaspeed series. Compared to dodge/chysler, subaru, mitsu Mazda is taking the more half-ass approach to these cars, looking more like Chevy's ss cars, than dodge's srt cars.

 

[Amemiya]

Both are (blarf)

 

[JOS3]

i saw the caliber srt4 at the CAS and it was U-G-L-Y. the ms3 has nothing to be worried about.