CTC Review: 2007 Mazdaspeed3

[CD_Editor]

Picture Gallery:  2007 Mazdaspeed3

Day 1:

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Quel surprise!  My test vehicle for this week literally showed up unexpected to me today. I was originally booked in another vehicle for this week, but it was canceled and replaced with this wonderful morsel of fun.  And it could not have come at a better time.  In fact just Sunday I was admiring one these bad boys during an autocross event here in Ottawa and spoke to the owner for a bit.  More...

[Leviathan]

 

[2hondas1BMW]

 

[EV Dan]

 

[Julie]

Interesting week you'll have there Wing! That's a nice car...... 

[si]

Can an aftermarket bus type BOV be thrown on these things?

[The Mighty Duck]

I hate you.    Not really, but I am very jealous!  I am curious, though: I wonder how much it would cost to upgrade suspension and engine on the regular 3 to get the same level of performance.

[B2]

Ha, what perfect timing!  I'm looking at buying a Mazdaspeed3 and just came back from a test drive tonight.  Needless to say I was impressed.  But here's my thoughts:

There's plenty power even in fairly low RPM's.  However, I found the turbo lag more than I expected, but certainly doesn't take away from the fun of the car.

Going about 50 km/h and flooring it in 3rd gear, there's torque steer because the car wanted to pull to the side.  It's more than I expected, so you just need to hold on to the wheel.  I never got a good chance to push it hard from a standstill (1st gear), but apparently the engine power is electronically limited in 1st & 2nd.

The handling is much tighter than a regular Mazda3, and my previous Mazda3 had performance tires.  The Mazdaspeed3 feels much more planted on the road.  I don't know how to explain it better than that.

Brakes feel amazing!  I can't explain how good the brakes.

Cabin noise inside is nicely controlled: There's a nice exhaust rumble when you want it, but the car is very livable inside at speed.

Oh, and the seats are incredibly comfortable.  Can't say how they'd be on a long trip though.

My favorite aspect of this car is that even in 5th gear doing say 100 km/h, you don't even need to gear down to pass reasonably.  Just mash the pedal it goes.....  And because I do a lot of highway driving it's nice.

What I really want to know about is the fuel economy!  The sticker on the window says 37MPG highway.  Yeah right...

Now that this article has been posted, I better not go back to the dealership to buy the car right away.  Instead I'll wait for more 'test drive' reporting.

I'd really like to know how it drives in the rain.

[Snowman]

Let’s hope Mazda offers this beauty for some time so an aftermarket can develop performance enhancement parts similar to the cult following the WRX and STI have.

I was disappointed in the approach to torque steer mitigation by retarding engine performance via the ECU in the lower gears. I would have preferred the semi-AWD solution found on the MPS6 which IMHO is the better out of the two.

[chrischasescars]

I was disappointed in the approach to torque steer mitigation by retarding engine performance via the ECU in the lower gears. I would have preferred the semi-AWD solution found on the MPS6 which IMHO is the better out of the two.

I think there's only a power cut in first gear; it's really disconcerting. The car actually feels slower than you'd expect in first gear because of it, and then goes nuts in second when all the power comes on line.

I got to drive this thing across town to bring to James' place. What a nutty little car!

[Snowman]

I was disappointed in the approach to torque steer mitigation by retarding engine performance via the ECU in the lower gears. I would have preferred the semi-AWD solution found on the MPS6 which IMHO is the better out of the two.

I think there's only a power cut in first gear; it's really disconcerting. The car actually feels slower than you'd expect in first gear because of it, and then goes nuts in second when all the power comes on line.

I got to drive this thing across town to bring to James' place. What a nutty little car!

Did you do any aggressive cornering or abrupt turning in second gear?

[stodge]

Wonder if this will be an unbiased review!

[wing]

Totally, I promise.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Think you'd be hard pressed to write too much negative. Seems to be that good.

Are the seat inserts a grey or grey-blue or? Is there a choice between that and all black (appears on Mazda.ca)? I thought I would see more red inside. Seats themselves look dreamy comfy.

How's the ride quality vs a GTI? Firmer?

I'm interested in fuel economy too, but imagine it'd be skewed to the high side because you'd be tempted to floor it.

[Jameel]

I was disappointed in the approach to torque steer mitigation by retarding engine performance via the ECU in the lower gears. I would have preferred the semi-AWD solution found on the MPS6 which IMHO is the better out of the two.

I think there's only a power cut in first gear; it's really disconcerting. The car actually feels slower than you'd expect in first gear because of it, and then goes nuts in second when all the power comes on line.

I got to drive this thing across town to bring to James' place. What a nutty little car!

I've got the perfect solution, launch the car in 2nd gear. 

[Blueprint]

Looking forward to the review !  Meanwhile, a little French lesson : It's "Quelle" and not "Quel", as "surprise" is feminin.  Now, go burn some rubber !

[wing]

Stupid Masculine and Feminine, who decides these things anyways?  Haha.

[Zombie]

I like this car fast and simple. It looks good on the outside and inside.
How is it on gas? How is the torque steer?
Does it come in red?

[Judd]

I've got a mazdaspeed 3 and I can confirm that the seats are very comfortable even on long trips.  Just did a 13hr road trip, stopping only for bathroom breaks and to buy food (ate in the car), and I was 100% comfortable the entire way.  I was really surprised actually since they are firm seats and aren't designed to be cushy and comfortable.

I'm averaging 10L/100km, which is pretty good because I drive the car quite hard every day.

[initial_D]

10L/100Km, that is darn good. Are you sure you are driving it hard? 

Have to book a test drive soon.