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.
