2005 Mazda 3 4Speed Auto follow up
If you’re a car bore like me, you may have noticed that the Mazda 3 used in the 4Speed Auto pilot, was not the latest Mazda 3 nor was it the Mazda 3s with the larger engine. There were reasons for that of course. First of which was the size of the budget we were dealing with and our lack of connections with Mazda. This meant that we couldn’t afford to go and buy a new Mazda 3s or get one loaned to us by Mazda to test, so we phoned around to some friends and one happened to have a Mazda 3i he was willing to put in our hands to test. More importantly it wasn’t imperative to get a new 2008 Mazda 3, because pretty much any Mazda 3 in good condition would get the job done. You’ll realize why if you truly are a car bore who can spot the exterior differences between the new face lifted 3 and the older ones, since you will also know that mechanically there is absolutely no difference between the cars. In addition, since we were primarily testing handling, having the less powerful model seemed even more relevant.
If you’ve read my review on the Mazda 3s, you should know that I am a huge fan of the 3. In fact I have to admit that I had a bias towards the 3 going into the handling face off between it and the Mustang, but why wouldn’t you? The 3 has handling credentials the Mustang simply lacks: light weight, sport tuned suspension, better suspension technology, a chassis that wasn’t around before I was born… in fact the only thing going against it is the fact that it has front wheel drive.
Needless to say I couldn’t wait for my turn to drive around the mountains in the Mazda 3, especially since all the other times I drove one I was driving around the city. After I was done with my stint in the Mustang and got into the 3, everything I loved about the 3 flooded back into my mind: the near Toyota quality of the interior trim, the small diameter three spoke steering wheel, the fact that even though this is such a weak car there was still a manual mode on the automatic transmission, all of it reminded me that I was going to be in for some fun.
There was a long straight between the point where Jesse and I switched cars and the really twisty bits around Chinook pass and here I felt the only bit of disappointment I would feel from the 3i. The 3i is a slow car, there’s no positive way to look at it because it is what it is. The 3s runs around with only a handful more power, but the 2.3 liter engine in it is clearly superior in every other way as well. I never once felt a lack of power when driving a 3s and always thought it to be a quick car, but in the 3i, especially after climbing out of the relatively powerful Mustang, I completely understood why a lot of people spend the extra couple thousand dollars for the s. After only two gentle bends though, all the love that I had for the Mustang and its power shifted towards the 3 and I started driving like a fearless teenager, something I’ve never really done before.
The 3 went around tight bends with hardly any roll and just gripped hard to the road. There was never a tense moment, and never once did I complain about anything while going around a tight turn. The steering wheel fed loads of information to my fingertips and really gave me the confidence to go faster and faster through the following corners. The car always felt stable and felt like it could take on any corner. In fact there was never a time when the car gave me any indication that it couldn’t handle going a million miles an hour around any turn… and the great thing was that it could in fact go a million around any turn! What’s more, the pedal feel was excellent, and the brakes, which I admit seemed unnecessary for a lot of the turns, never faded and never once felt like they were powerless to stop the car (which happened a few times in the Mustang). It was genuinely the most fun I’ve ever had driving a car.
If you watched the pilot episode and wondered why there was a lot more rear footage of the Mustang through the twisty bits compared to the 3, it was because the Mustang simply could not keep up when it was behind the 3. I’m sure many people who wind up reading this might argue that the Mustang was never created for the purpose of high speed cornering, but we were actually running this test to prove that fact to those who think otherwise.
I loved the 3 before we got to
However, since we weren’t exactly comparing apples to apples, I’m not sure if I should be astonished by the 3’s performance or just really disappointed in the Mustang. I know the Mustang is in the “pony car” class and isn’t meant to be a canyon carver but it should be so much better than it is simply because we aren’t in the 60’s anymore. Also, since the new Dodge Challenger (the non SRT-8 ones) and the new Chevy Camaro are going on sale soon and with proper suspension, Ford is really going to have to work harder for when they release the next generation Mustang. This is especially true since the Mustang will no longer be able to sell off its looks alone because the next generation of retro styled pony cars all look gorgeous. Putting the Mustang and it’s brethren aside though, I really must stress that if you have a little under 20k to spend on a car, please, please go and at least test drive the Mazda 3!
Summary:
The Good: Just about everything
The Bad: Very slow, especially with an automatic
Verdict: If you have the extra money get the more powerful s; but if you don’t, you still are getting one heck of a car
Random Stats:
Engine: 2 liter I4, 148 hp, 135 lb-ft torque
EPA Fuel Estimates: 28/35
Observed: 34 MPG
Show link: http://www.youtube.com/user/4speedauto
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