What makes the Mazdaspeed 3 Awesome?
 

What's up guys!

So the time has come around for me to buy a new car to replace my 2001 civic. I have had my eyes on the new WRX, GTi, 2012 Si, and the MS3. The new Si is pretty much out of the picture (no more fun revving 8000rpm engine and stupid integrated header/exhaust), but the other three are still good to go. What specifically made you guys choose the MS3 over the competition? Thanks and I may be joining the MS3 ranks soon....

I chose it as it was the highest horse-power to $ I could have bought at the time in my price range.

$ and no need for AWD

if only I had discovered MSF before, then I wouldn't have even considered the others

me in it.

THIS
x2 I drove a friends GTI, its too soft, and too slow

Value and performance, There are not many cars that can perform at the level of the Ms3 for its price (for me $20,500 + tax/tag etc).

Plus being able to use the cobb ap and ATR software to self-tune it.

FY9thgen, and 8thgen HN

it goes vroom?

get the SI

Bang for the buck. And she is always smiling at me.

It's sex.:smileysex5:

That's the main reason I'm leaning towards the MS3 right now, its performance is really only matched by the wrx. I'm going to school in California so 4 wheel drive isn't necessary and wrx's don't have the best track record for reliability. What's your guys' take on the MS3's clutch, I'm sure I'd get used to it but does it get annoying in daily driving? Also anything in the interior (console controls, human driver contact points) that really bugs you guys? I feel the Gti is leaps and bounds ahead in interior quality.

I think the interior on the Ms3 is excellent quality, solid and made out of nice material. The clutch is very easy to get used to, for me take up is very smooth with no jerkyness.

you will get used to the clutch, i've put 35k miles of Houston traffic and it's no big deal now

the location of the aux input is the only thing that bugs me, but I use bluetooth so no big deal anyways

only complaint I have is the shit load of OEM rear camber wearing the fuck out of the inner rear tires

The clutch isn't too bad, just takes time getting used to...if you're going for more Luxury, softer ride, go with the GTI, but honestly, for the price, you get better options with the Speed3

Another thing that makes it awesome is driving in the rain without Traction control on :D

Don't know what all the media bitch is with the clutch. You let it out the car goes. I have no complaints yet at 4k miles. It does seem to attract kids wanting to hug the front end.......no BS. Getting little concerned about tire life cuz I cloverleaf it daily......just feels too fucking good not to.

Power to buck ratio, nobody comes close to the Speed3. It's not expensive to modify and it's a blast to drive! Stock clutch/flywheel combo sucks. Flywheel is heavy as fuck and there is a disconnect with the stock clutch. Suspension is great. Besides that, its quick, nimble and you can carry a lot of shit in it if you need to. And there is plenty of "bump bump" space in the back. :smileysex5:

DO EEEET!

The bang for the buck is strong in MS3 compare to its competition. That's it.

I was in your position 2 years ago. Drove all those cars back to back on a single day and drove away with my current Genpu. I've been loving it every second.

Oh yeah, I had a modified 2005 Acura TL for 5 years which I loved everything about, and there's not a single thing that miss from that car now.

Luxury GTi? That's if you're willing to pay $5K for the interior package. Otherwise it looks like crap. Bucket seats with squared stitching, a crappy radio, etc.

Anyway, yes bang for buck is the main reason I got it. $10k less than Evo/Sti. With $10K of mods you can make it a whole lot better.

Yeah, I mean... I knew I was going to track my car anyway, so I figured I really didn't need all those crazy stuff that come with EVO MR and STi. My MS3 puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, and that's all it matters to me. :shrug:

well yeah, if you spend the extra money, you get more luxury...kinda, i don't like the GTI, a friend of mine got one, retail was more than the speed and they have the cloth seats, no nav or premium sound, no HIDS, no automatic A/C, so i guess my statement was invalid haha

well i think it's the cheapest of the cars you mentioned. i don't think there's anything wrong with any of those cars, it just comes down to how much you want to spend. GTI is same price but down 63hp. WRX is same HP but 5g more.

i bought the ms3 because i needed to be able to carry shit. i fit a box in the car that was 6.5x2.5x1.5ft. also, my fat ass fit in it.

Same here, except my TL was an 04 with the 6 speed. I remember JS + MS3 from the Acura forum.
2k in mods and this car rips.......and this forum is the best on the net.

THIS!

bought it because of hp + handling for the $, i drove a gti and thought it was pretty quick, only until i found out it had an APR reflash and TBE and an intake, the stock gti is a joke

my only complaint is that my drivers seat rocks back and forth a bit, and i really hate the spacing from 1st to 2nd gear along with getting into 2nd gear, i love the clutch (i had a '00 integra ls with an exedy stage 1 + lightweight flywheel)

it makes your dick bigger....almost like porntube

Oh wow what was ur user name over at acurazine? Im still a regular there.

this forum makes the car win:) but seriously the sleeper aspect of the gen 1, the interior of the gen 1, the creature comforts and the overall car. wrx are nice too dont get me wrong but i see em all day (sorry dane) and the speed 3 has more then met all my needs for a reasonable price:)

This thread makes me wish I had the money to get an MS3 when i bough my FA5 back in 2009. 25K for the civic vs 30K for the MS3 here... oh well!

Thanks for all the input guys! I guess my next question is how you guys feel about the tech package, I've seen several threads regarding whether the bose speakers are any good and it seems that ppl are happy with both. I'm going to be adding a 12" sub from my civic so if the bose speakers just add more bass to the stock ones then I don't really see the point in spending an extra 2 grand if that's the only incentive. For the people with navi how do you like it? Is the screen really too small like a lot reviewers complain about? and are the bi-xenons worth it too? Thanks.

gti owners are a bunch of dicklicking faggots, worse than the typical honda owners in my opinion.

anyhow the only real question is wrx vs ms3. If u need awd then go with the wrx, n pray to god u don't run into a ms3 on the highway.

I personally got the tech package because of the Bi-xenons, the keyless entry/go, and the LED taillights, and kinda for the BOSE. I rarely use a Nav, but i keep the nav screen while i'm driving...the keyless go really is nice, as well as the xenons. the headlights turn with the car, which is really nice at night in areas with a lot of animals...

I have the tech package. I gotta admit the speakers ain't the best, but they fit my needs. I'm more concerned about the sound of my engine than my sound system. I like the HIDs and their turning with the steering wheel. Smart key and push to start is a great option too, which saves me a whole lot of time. The navigation screen is just fine for me, but some people do say it is too small. Although the maps are pretty outdated, and you have to pay for updates. But I got the tech package for 23.5 before fees and taxes, so it wasn't actually 2 grand more.

Fuck tech pkg and save that money towards mods.

Originally my wife and I went to honduh to buy my wife a new car - She didn't like any of them.

We went to mazda after. Once we got there, I saw the black mica genpu.....I had never seen one before. I was like to the salesman " WTF is that?". I test drove it, loved every bit of it, and ended up leaving with 2 bought vehicles - 1 black mica genpu and 1 2007 CX-7 GT for my wife. We love our cars.

I drove all those cars, except the 2012 Si obviously.

New WRX looks much better than the previous model on the outside. The interior isn't cheap by any means, but you can see and feel the cost cutting. That wasn't the deal breaker for me... I can look past the interior if the rest of the car made up with more awesomeness. It didn't. 5 speed M/T on a turbo hot hatch FTMFL in 2011, and all I hear is how the WRX trannies like to blow up whenever it feels like it. Research on the 'net and quietly lurking in various subie forums confirms it. Sorry, I don't buy a car so I can live in fear of it grenading one day.

2012 Si is a half-assed answer by Honda when it came time to step their game up in the world of cheap speed. I mean... 201hp is about 4hp more than my old '97 prelude... bought 14 years ago. Honda could have made a nice little turbo 2.0L putting out 240 - 250hp and torque... but they chose not to. Which is not surprising since Honda is trying so hard to become another Toyota. Don't waste your money on this piece of shit.

GTI is a solid contender, but is slightly different because it has less hp and more of a luxury ride. The amount of hp it has is just good enough for the city, but it's still too weak for me. I have heard of chips that will unlock hidden hp and such, but I never looked that far into it. The interior is better than the MS3's, but I would not say by leaps and bounds... the GTI simply exudes more of the luxurious german feel, while the MS3 has a very definite Japanese flair to it - which is more apparent at night when the ambient lighting really comes to life. In the end, I decided against the GTI for 3 things - pricing, power, and possible electrical gremlins. Yes I know it's made in Germany and not Mexico. No, I don't care, which says a lot about the GTI as a car as it actually made me consider it while knowing that it was still a VW.

That left the MS3. This ultimately won because I did my research and came to the conclusion that it (first gen and 2nd gen) had the least amount of reported major problems, still made a good amount of power, got great reviews from individuals and review mags/sites (especially from Inside Line's long term blog), handled good, had decent fuel economy and was still a hatchback so I can lug crap around in it if I wanted to. Pricing and incentives/financing were also in my favor. I went in to take a look and a test drive, and it really made the best impression on me out of the others (excluding the 9th gen Si, obviously, but I did test drive an 8th gen Si).

Ultimately... it's your money, and it's up to you to make your own conclusions. I'm sure WRX, GTI and Si fans all have something good to say about their car and something bad to say about the MS3. Just do your due research and go from there. All cars in this segment are a compromise - the trick is knowing what you're willing to compromise.

also FWIW i have a buddy that used to own car dealerships, pontiac cadillac mazda mercedes etc. and when i told him i was getting a mazda he told me that they had the least amount of problems compared to the other brands he was selling

Reliability!

..try saying that with a straight face..

Back on Top
its cheaper, faster and has better interior/amenities than all your cars listed

Checking out consumer reports, year after year the 3 and 6 are on the list as best new/used cars to buy. Needless to say we don't have the same engine and therefore mechanical problems as the NA models, but when reviewers have nothing but good things to say about interior fit and finish, comfort, etc. and THAT part is atleast the same, not to mention the hatchback aspect is very nice, it was an easy choice for me when I was back looking in 2008... GTI was a contender but no close VW dealership, WRX was close contender but in 2008 the WRX was 228hp shitty suspension shitty 5spd shitty looking econobox... and worse gas mileage, the fact that MY speed3 sat in the mall out of the sun and then sat in the dealership till i bought it made me feel a whole lot better too, plus the way it sounded when they started it up in the showroom to pull it outside for me made me fall in love with it... its since gotten much louder, but that was when i knew this was MY car.

i'd expect to see this thread in 2007, not today.
not a single groan for the op...wow

Same name over there. Haven't been there in a while.