By Gary Chan

Introduction
I was so excited to hear that the Mazdaspeed 3 was available to test drive. I’ve always loved small agile cars and this epitomized that ideal with power to spare. The field has narrowed over the years and the Mazda is the first one in a while to bring excitement to the tarmac.

PROS

• Powerful engine
• Strong brakes
• HID headlights
• Driving ergonomics
• Suspension (perfect for performance driving)

CONS

• Somewhat notchy shifter
• No remote rear hatch release
• LCD information limited to one line and does not auto scroll
• Suspension (a bit firm for around town driving)

Driving Impressions
First impression of the Mazdaspeed3 was it’s amazing acceleration. Dang, it moves. Being only 3200 lbs with 260+ hp and 280 lb-ft of torque on tap, I expected it to move and was not disappointed. One of the first things I noticed was that first gear was sometimes hard to find after accidentally starting in 3rd gear a few times. After a few false starts I learned to just push the stick all the way to the left before engaging first gear. To minimize torque steer, Mazda’s engineers have worked their electronic magic limiting the amount of power/torque available in the first two gears. It works well, but you can still feel the tug of the wheel under hard acceleration in those gears. I wonder what it would have been without the electronic intervention? Even with a little torque steer the responsive steering complements the firm suspension. Night time driving is a joy with a set HID headlamps that are amazingly powerful and cut an even, wide swath in front of the car.

Build
With a platform shared with the Volvo C30/S40, the car feels very rigid with almost zero flex. All of the doors close easily and solidly. There were no loose parts or extraneous sounds from the body or interior during the test drive. If you open the hood, you’ll notice that everything is clearly labeled. And you even get an anodized red billet oil cap emblazoned with “Mazdaspeed”. Strangely absent is a tower strut brace. No matter as there are many manufacturers of cross braces found on the Internet. The body and paint is very good for a hopped-up compact car. Panel gaps are consistent around the car and trim pieces fit like puzzle pieces in their respective locations.

Interior Comfort and Ergonomics
This is a sports car so I wasn’t disappointed when I sat in the driver seat and found myself well bolstered in supportive seats. With a combination of leather and cloth, the seats offer plenty of grip preventing body movement in aggressive driving. The pattern on the cloth parts is like a textured carbon fiber weave with red-contrast stitching around the perimeter. The seats are not powered, but easily adjusted using two-levers on the lower left. The steering wheel telescopes and tilts like many cars these days allowing me to quickly find a custom driving position for myself. You can go down to your local Kragens Auto Part store, and pick up some aluminum pedal covers to dress up your interior, but Mazda designers have saved you the trip by supplying beautiful drilled aluminum pedals some with rubber nubs for grip. Not being a very tall person, and after all was dialed-in, I found the Mazda driving ergonomics suited my frame well.

The three-spoke steering wheel (with dimpled leather on the left and right hand positions) has audio and cruise controls which are clearly labeled. It’s just the right diameter with the leather stitching matching the same contrast stitching as the seats. Behind the steering wheel, you’ll find the speedometer (center), tach (left), and engine temp/fuel/trip info (right) in three circular gauges. All gauges are clearly legible with large numbers or letters regardless of the lighting conditions.

There’s not much to say about the center console. All of the HVAC and radio controls are clearly labeled with black-on-white abbreviations or icons. My only complaint was the small LCD screen which became evident when using the satellite radio. Most screens display the song name and artist, but on the Mazda, you had to manually toggle through to get the info; same with music genres … small issue, but the engineers could have easily made the screen taller to make information navigation easier on the user.

Performance
“ZOOM-ZOOM” read the placard where the rear license plate should have been. Boy does this car zoom. Mash the throttle, get the revs over 3500 rpm, and you’re in the power band. Keep it above 3500 and you’ll be grinning from ear-to-ear. Maneuvering through mountain highways in 3rd or 4th allowed me to effortlessly motor past slower traffic or maneuver quickly into small openings. The direct injection engine throttle response is excellent with an associated crackle from the single-tipped, oversized exhaust. Roll the windows down at a stop light, tap the accelerator pedal, and enjoy the symphony. Braking is very good, but not stellar (as compared to the brakes on the Volvo S80). The 4-wheel disc brakes confidently scrub off speed, but I expected a little better for a car this light. Heavy braking produced only minimal dive and never any brake fade.

Handling
Having a fun car for the weekend warranted a Saturday morning to visit our favorite coffee shop in Capitola, which is only a short 45 mile drive from home. To those of you unfamiliar with the SF Bay Area, you must traverse the Santa Cruz mountains on twisty and narrow Highway 17. Effortlessly accelerating up the steeper sections to pass cars, I found myself driving faster than I ever have (in any car). The car tracks well through turns and remains flat. Some of the bumps (in turns) unsettled the firm suspension, but the tires quickly regained composure and we proceeded without incident. Feedback from the steering wheel is very good with little lash. An endorsement of the cars handling and suspension came from my girlfriend: “I feel safe in this car.” Translated, it meant she was confident the car was not going off the road during the twisty sections of Hwy 17. I concur, and even when I pushed the car on off ramps or sharp turns, the MS3 remained composed. However, everyday driving of the stiff suspension may draw complaints as even small bumps are transmitted to the occupants.

There are a few body styles that I’ve appreciated over the years: Porsche’s 944 and 928S4, Lexus’ late 90’s GS300, and now the Mazda 3. The shoulders that start at the hood and flow over the front quarter panels are beautifully extended to the rear quarter panels. Although not the most aerodynamically shaped vehicle, it nonetheless looks like it could easily pierce the air with ease with the rather wide yet well-integrated roof spoiler taking care of air at the rear.

The honeycomb grill cover and the floating fog lights differentiate the Speed version from the standard 3, and make the car look more performance oriented. One thing I did appreciate was the “give me a ticket now” Mazda True Red color … luscious! On an inexpensive mass produced car, the paint job is excellent with a red depth that usually requires several coats of Zymol. Very impressive Mazda!

Value
The MS3 is a good blend of performance, usability and cost. Its a solid 5-door hatch with an awesome motor and a price tag less than $25k. The trunk area can be expanded by folding down the 60/40 split seats and cargo can be cinched down to the various factory installed tie down rings. The expanded space gives it added functionality compared to a 4-door sedan. You never know when you may have to transport a small dresser from Ikea. Compared to other cars that can reach 0-60 in just under 6 seconds, the Mazdaspeed3 doesn’t have many extras. It has the basic comfort features that you would need but the emphasis was towards performance while keeping the overall cost low. What you get is a car that will give you 18/26 city/highway mileage in a package that will outrun or out dance cars costing $5-10k more. Not a bad deal.

Conclusion
“EVERY FAMILY HAS ONE… THE WILD CHILD” … that’s the tag line on the Mazda USA homepage for the 2008 Mazdaspeed 3. I’m not sure if it is really a wild child as all of the various aspects of the car are well refined and integrated producing a car that’s easy to drive and easy to own. Overall, I loved driving the car under all conditions and all of the cockpit controls were easily adjusted from the driver’s seat. The firm suspension may get a little old after a while, but you could remedy that after the warranty is over by getting adjustable Koni’s, Tokico’s, etc.

Would I buy this car? … it would definitely be at the top of the list of cars to consider. The Subaru WRX starts at $25K, the VW GTI 6-speed around $23k, and the Honda Civic Si at $21.3k. All of the competition is disadvantaged when it comes to power, and the Subie and VW would quickly zoom past $25k with additional packages. That leaves the Honda and Mazda. For a few extra thousand dollar, I’d lean toward the Mazda with a more functional design and better looking body.

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>> Check out the Specs

www.mazda.com - Official website of the Mazda Motor Corporation