MAZDASPEED3 article from Mens Journal Mag.
12-21-2006, 07:23 AM
#1
MAZDASPEED3 article from Mens Journal Mag.
For Mazda, Small Is Beautiful (and Truly, Insanely Fast)
Our correspondent confirms the hype: The all-new Mazdaspeed3 does indeed deliver world-beating sports car performance for $22,000.
Independent testing has confirmed some of the claims surrounding the all-new Mazdaspeed3, the house-tuned, limited-edition version of the Mazda3 hatchback: that it will launch itself from rest to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, for instance, and that it accelerates from 50 to 80 mph faster than today's Jaguar XK. Mazda itself has boldly asserted that the car runs to an electronically limited -- electronically limited! -- top speed of 155 mph.
Let's contextualize that. A mere elder Bush presidency ago the vehicle that defined all that was sacred about performance cars was the Ferrari 328. This rear-wheel-drive rocket, powered by a midmounted V-8 engine, was the last word in everyday, livable Italian performance, which meant that it was neither. The 328 went from zero to 60 mph in...5.8 seconds; it hit a top speed of 163 mph.
Now, if the $22,000 Mazdaspeed3 were a low-slung sports car whose principal innovation was its affordability, a car made for little else than hopefully attracting but in fact repelling the opposite sex, you might chalk up its astounding abilities to the march of sports car progress. But this is a practical four-door hatchback. That it runs so quickly isn't merely impressive; it's an achievement as stunning as the landmark 1,000 hp produced by the current reigning supercar, the Bugatti Veyron.
These are awfully immodest claims for such a humble-looking machine. To make sure I was hearing Mazda right, I took them up on their offer to verify in the controlled environment of the autobahn.
Planted in the Mazdaspeed3's heavily bolstered front seat, I've just entered the A95 autobahn south of Munich, and as I accelerate hard from the banked slip road onto the highway, wringing third gear out to 6,000 rpm, the '3 is gripping tenaciously. The induction system is huffing air; the exhaust system is farting out an uncanny facsimile of Alex Van Halen's double bass-drum intro to "Hot for Teacher." Up through fourth and fifth in the short-throw 6-speed gearbox the car's power feels almost elastic, as if it were fired by a slingshot. The unceasing momentum reminds me of a story a friend once told me about his lone flight on the Concorde. He said that as you break through the sound barrier you feel a little push at your back, as though a force outside the plane were delivering you to some fringe of the physical world where most people never go. Okay, so maybe the Mazdaspeed3 isn't exactly like that. But its sensation of acceleration is glorious, prompting numerous and salty invocations of the creator.
How Mazda packed so much power into this five-person-plus-luggage package is explained by one of the miracles of modern automotive technology: Mazda's 2.3-liter DISI turbocharged inline 4-cylinder engine, the motor that also powers the Mazdaspeed6 sedan and the CX-7 crossover. DISI stands for direct injection spark ignition, which means vaporized fuel is shpritzed directly into the cylinders (as in a diesel engine), allowing for a higher compression ratio (9.5:1) than in other turbocharged engines. This results in the abolition of "turbo lag," the sensation felt in many turbocharged cars that your right foot's executive-level decisions have been sent to committee, and that after cautionary notes have been sounded and weighed, the members underhood have decided that the power you have requested will be made available shortly.
Since its power flows through the front wheels, Mazda had to make sure that torque steer, or steering fight, wouldn't revector the car under acceleration. Full power doesn't actually arrive until third gear, minimizing the chance that you'll make an unscheduled rendezvous with a mailbox.
And here's the thing about this car's chassis: Compared with the aforesaid Ferrari 328, this car is not only as quick to 60 mph, it handles better. It is more fluid, more forgiving, and, yes, more fun. Twenty years of chassis tuning have come to bear on this little car so that you will undoubtedly be faster in the Mazdaspeed3 on a track than you would have been in the Ferrari. This car is an emblem of the democratization of power, handling precision, and chassis refinement. Twenty years ago only guys with bowling-trophy wives could afford cars that drove like this. And this is why I think the car is an achievement on a par with the Veyron. Anyone can make a superfast, exclusive million-dollar car; it takes genius of another order to make a rocket ship out of two toilet paper rolls and some cherry bombs.
But I digress. Back to the claim we're here to test, i.e., that 155 mph top speed. Autobahn traffic is heavy, and the A95 is bending through the Bavarian landscape south of Munich somewhat menacingly. It is foggy. The short row of shrubbery dividing the north- and southbound lanes makes looking ahead to judge the curvature of the road nearly impossible. I am not comforted by the notion that, if I put a wheel wrong, the short brick curb that hems in these shrubs will launch me skyward like a hot kernel of Jiffy Pop.
Inside the car, wind noise is mounting, and my left foot is hovering over the clutch pedal. I'm trying not to grip the wheel too tightly, but I feel myself squeezing the helm as though I were strangling two squirrels. I notch up to sixth gear and wait for top speed. With my foot buried and my mouth drying out, the car slips past 230 km/h to 240. The rock-solid straight-line stability of earlier velocities is disappearing; the car's body is moving around a bit on its chassis, but the engine feels as if it's got more. There, finally, is 250 km/h, or 155 mph, the same limit agreed upon by all Mercedeses, BMWs, and Audis.
Did I mention that this car costs only $22,000?
Our correspondent confirms the hype: The all-new Mazdaspeed3 does indeed deliver world-beating sports car performance for $22,000.
Independent testing has confirmed some of the claims surrounding the all-new Mazdaspeed3, the house-tuned, limited-edition version of the Mazda3 hatchback: that it will launch itself from rest to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, for instance, and that it accelerates from 50 to 80 mph faster than today's Jaguar XK. Mazda itself has boldly asserted that the car runs to an electronically limited -- electronically limited! -- top speed of 155 mph.
Let's contextualize that. A mere elder Bush presidency ago the vehicle that defined all that was sacred about performance cars was the Ferrari 328. This rear-wheel-drive rocket, powered by a midmounted V-8 engine, was the last word in everyday, livable Italian performance, which meant that it was neither. The 328 went from zero to 60 mph in...5.8 seconds; it hit a top speed of 163 mph.
Now, if the $22,000 Mazdaspeed3 were a low-slung sports car whose principal innovation was its affordability, a car made for little else than hopefully attracting but in fact repelling the opposite sex, you might chalk up its astounding abilities to the march of sports car progress. But this is a practical four-door hatchback. That it runs so quickly isn't merely impressive; it's an achievement as stunning as the landmark 1,000 hp produced by the current reigning supercar, the Bugatti Veyron.
These are awfully immodest claims for such a humble-looking machine. To make sure I was hearing Mazda right, I took them up on their offer to verify in the controlled environment of the autobahn.
Planted in the Mazdaspeed3's heavily bolstered front seat, I've just entered the A95 autobahn south of Munich, and as I accelerate hard from the banked slip road onto the highway, wringing third gear out to 6,000 rpm, the '3 is gripping tenaciously. The induction system is huffing air; the exhaust system is farting out an uncanny facsimile of Alex Van Halen's double bass-drum intro to "Hot for Teacher." Up through fourth and fifth in the short-throw 6-speed gearbox the car's power feels almost elastic, as if it were fired by a slingshot. The unceasing momentum reminds me of a story a friend once told me about his lone flight on the Concorde. He said that as you break through the sound barrier you feel a little push at your back, as though a force outside the plane were delivering you to some fringe of the physical world where most people never go. Okay, so maybe the Mazdaspeed3 isn't exactly like that. But its sensation of acceleration is glorious, prompting numerous and salty invocations of the creator.
How Mazda packed so much power into this five-person-plus-luggage package is explained by one of the miracles of modern automotive technology: Mazda's 2.3-liter DISI turbocharged inline 4-cylinder engine, the motor that also powers the Mazdaspeed6 sedan and the CX-7 crossover. DISI stands for direct injection spark ignition, which means vaporized fuel is shpritzed directly into the cylinders (as in a diesel engine), allowing for a higher compression ratio (9.5:1) than in other turbocharged engines. This results in the abolition of "turbo lag," the sensation felt in many turbocharged cars that your right foot's executive-level decisions have been sent to committee, and that after cautionary notes have been sounded and weighed, the members underhood have decided that the power you have requested will be made available shortly.
Since its power flows through the front wheels, Mazda had to make sure that torque steer, or steering fight, wouldn't revector the car under acceleration. Full power doesn't actually arrive until third gear, minimizing the chance that you'll make an unscheduled rendezvous with a mailbox.
And here's the thing about this car's chassis: Compared with the aforesaid Ferrari 328, this car is not only as quick to 60 mph, it handles better. It is more fluid, more forgiving, and, yes, more fun. Twenty years of chassis tuning have come to bear on this little car so that you will undoubtedly be faster in the Mazdaspeed3 on a track than you would have been in the Ferrari. This car is an emblem of the democratization of power, handling precision, and chassis refinement. Twenty years ago only guys with bowling-trophy wives could afford cars that drove like this. And this is why I think the car is an achievement on a par with the Veyron. Anyone can make a superfast, exclusive million-dollar car; it takes genius of another order to make a rocket ship out of two toilet paper rolls and some cherry bombs.
But I digress. Back to the claim we're here to test, i.e., that 155 mph top speed. Autobahn traffic is heavy, and the A95 is bending through the Bavarian landscape south of Munich somewhat menacingly. It is foggy. The short row of shrubbery dividing the north- and southbound lanes makes looking ahead to judge the curvature of the road nearly impossible. I am not comforted by the notion that, if I put a wheel wrong, the short brick curb that hems in these shrubs will launch me skyward like a hot kernel of Jiffy Pop.
Inside the car, wind noise is mounting, and my left foot is hovering over the clutch pedal. I'm trying not to grip the wheel too tightly, but I feel myself squeezing the helm as though I were strangling two squirrels. I notch up to sixth gear and wait for top speed. With my foot buried and my mouth drying out, the car slips past 230 km/h to 240. The rock-solid straight-line stability of earlier velocities is disappearing; the car's body is moving around a bit on its chassis, but the engine feels as if it's got more. There, finally, is 250 km/h, or 155 mph, the same limit agreed upon by all Mercedeses, BMWs, and Audis.
Did I mention that this car costs only $22,000?
Last edited by Easy_E1; 12-21-2006 at 07:25 AM.
12-21-2006, 07:58 AM
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I have to admit I got to drive one....and though it may be blasphemous.... if the interior was just a tad bit nicer I would of traded my 8 in for it that same day... everything the MS6 wasn't and more 
12-21-2006, 01:38 PM
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That's about the most sensationalized car review I've ever read.
"That it runs so quickly isn't merely impressive; it's an achievement as stunning as the landmark 1,000 hp produced by the current reigning supercar, the Bugatti Veyron"
Give me a break!
"That it runs so quickly isn't merely impressive; it's an achievement as stunning as the landmark 1,000 hp produced by the current reigning supercar, the Bugatti Veyron"
Give me a break!
12-21-2006, 03:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Ike
That's about the most sensationalized car review I've ever read.
"That it runs so quickly isn't merely impressive; it's an achievement as stunning as the landmark 1,000 hp produced by the current reigning supercar, the Bugatti Veyron"
Give me a break!
"That it runs so quickly isn't merely impressive; it's an achievement as stunning as the landmark 1,000 hp produced by the current reigning supercar, the Bugatti Veyron"
Give me a break!
yeah, cheers to that. im all for liking the car, but embellishing to that degree is a bit obnoxious. im not gonna lie, the car sounds like fun, but ill take the 8...poor gas mileage lack of torque and all. 9,000 rpms in a car that feels the way the 8 does, i'm pretty happy. wouldn't mind driving one though...
12-21-2006, 03:26 PM
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Full power doesn't actually arrive until third gear, minimizing the chance that you'll make an unscheduled rendezvous with a mailbox.
funny but sad .. the best thing they could to cut down on torque steer was limit power .. imagine how much faster this baby would be if it had rear wheel drive
funny but sad .. the best thing they could to cut down on torque steer was limit power .. imagine how much faster this baby would be if it had rear wheel drive
12-22-2006, 03:05 AM
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I almost bought a regular Mazda3 5 door back in 2004, and this past summer, but I needed power in a daily driver. This car definitely has my attention for a daily driver/winter beater replacement when trade in time comes for the Speed 6 in 2008. I'm calling it my "I can't afford an STI as my daily" replacement, if I end up buying a house. 
I imagine 400lbs of weight off my Speed 6, and just think WOW. That thing must really get up and go from a roll. Heck, even my big and heavy Speed 6 is no slouch in itself. That big old luxury machine moves pretty nicely. You also can't beat the price for a car like this. I think that's what creates these praising car reviews. For the money, it's far more of a car overall then the SRT-4 was. It deserves this praise, if for no other reason then the price it's selling for, and the fact that the Mazda 3 is one of the nicer economy compacts in the market.
I imagine 400lbs of weight off my Speed 6, and just think WOW. That thing must really get up and go from a roll. Heck, even my big and heavy Speed 6 is no slouch in itself. That big old luxury machine moves pretty nicely. You also can't beat the price for a car like this. I think that's what creates these praising car reviews. For the money, it's far more of a car overall then the SRT-4 was. It deserves this praise, if for no other reason then the price it's selling for, and the fact that the Mazda 3 is one of the nicer economy compacts in the market.
12-22-2006, 08:54 AM
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I did the 8 for Speed 3 trade in, this article is a little sensationalized but the bang for the buck factor is defintely there for a new car. 1st & 2nd gear are very hard to get used too in this car. You either end up smoking the wheels or just have a bad launch, but you can make soime major ground up in third. Unfortuntley I have been driving in traffic since I got it but I plan on taking a nice little drive this weekend. Its hard to compare handling with a stock 8 since I had the full RB suspension. One thing I have noticed is this car does not sound or feel as good at redline as 8, but fortuately you usually don't need to go there.
12-22-2006, 09:34 AM
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When are they making the MAZDA SPEED RX8? There are now 3 Mazda made cars that make more power than the 8; one of which is an SUV! This does not make any sense.
I know the 8 is a better handler, I know the 8 is way sexier, but there is something to be said for acceleration! A factory made 8 with 50 extra ponies, and some more torque down low would knock your socks off.
That being said, I love the 3's power, hate the fact that it's a wagon.
I know the 8 is a better handler, I know the 8 is way sexier, but there is something to be said for acceleration! A factory made 8 with 50 extra ponies, and some more torque down low would knock your socks off.
That being said, I love the 3's power, hate the fact that it's a wagon.
12-22-2006, 10:35 AM
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i can't help but wonder what it would be like to put the dsi engine in the 8, or even in the miata for that matter. being about 150-200 pounds lighter than a 350z, id imagine an 8's 0-60 would be somewhere around 5.3-5.5. Here's to the hope of a n/a 3 rotor or FI 2 rotor motor in the next few years. fuel economy aside, i really feel a competitively priced MS8 or rx7 replacement with the power to match its rivals would find a proper market share. bah. can't help but being hopeful.
12-25-2006, 02:30 AM
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Originally Posted by velociti
i can't help but wonder what it would be like to put the dsi engine in the 8, or even in the miata for that matter. being about 150-200 pounds lighter than a 350z, id imagine an 8's 0-60 would be somewhere around 5.3-5.5. Here's to the hope of a n/a 3 rotor or FI 2 rotor motor in the next few years. fuel economy aside, i really feel a competitively priced MS8 or rx7 replacement with the power to match its rivals would find a proper market share. bah. can't help but being hopeful.
On that note. I'm gonna dream about a retractable hardtop Mazdaspeed Miata with the 2.3 turbo and tuned at 270hp stock. Goodbye to my S2000 if that happens anytime soon, and goodbye to a lot of other enthusiast cars as well.
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