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108 Posts
So, I picked up my car the other day from the dealer. I finally got warranty replacement for my transmission mount 
Before taking my rental back to Enterprise, I noticed one of those light grey Mazdaspeed3 models sitting in the lot. I started to inspect the car. My co-worker was with me at the time, and started asking a few questions about the differences between that car and mine. I point out the major items as one of the salesmen comes over with the keys and starts her up "Let me show you what this thing can do..." he says. I climb in the front seat and my co-worker hops in the back (he weighs 300lbs by the way).
I notice a slightly more noticable exhaust note, a black wood grain-ish material in lieu of the carbon fiber-esque piece, Mazdaspeed embroidery, and climate controls among the other accents. As we pull out into the street, the salesman punches it in first and the car gives an expected kick. Second gear pulls you into the seat throughout the mid-range, and third pulls nicely. He pulls over to give me a try. It seems that first gear doesn't exist because you reach top speed in that gear so quickly. You'll notice the DSC light flicker as it trys to maintain attitude. Second gear picks up and pulls from the bottom with a response that I'm not accustomed to in a turbo car. After 5500 RPM, the engine seems out of steam as the torque falls sharply. Switch into third and the car lunges hard to about 6000 RPM before gasping. 4th pulls equally well, but the road we were on was so narrow that at this point, I don't even know what our velocity was or how many RPM we had reached before I backed off due to my concentration on the road. I squeeze on the brakes and notice the same yaw motion that my 3 has under extremely heavy braking. However, the speed peels off very rapidly. You can also hear the air splitting in the large rear wing quite well at speed. The extra weight of the 18's is definately noticeable although the tire/suspension feedback is excellent. It's far better than the stock 2005 3s, but about the same as mine with the Tein S-tech springs and Yokohamas. The climate control was actually a bit annoying due to the need to reference the digital display for your temp (no adjusting by feel/position like on the stock A/C). As for the shifter, it's a little more notchy, but not as much as the magazines are reporting. The reverse lockout is a nice feature, but I don't like the fact that the shift knob now has travel on the shaft stem.
Overall, I'd have to say the car feels like a regular 3 just with more power/tighter suspension. Going straight from that car back to mine I wasn't missing the power at all. My car still impresses me with its acceleration and smoothness, and the engine just sounds beautiful. Is it worth the extra 4,000-5,000 dollars? I say yes, if you don't already own a 3. Aside from the disappointing top-end (needs a slightly bigger turbo/more boost in my opinion ... but, hey I also drive a slightly beefed up MR2 ) it's got pretty much all the parts you would spend that much money on modding a regular 3 to get it to that level plus it's warranty covered. If I had the choice, I'd get the car as loaded as possible with all the features/horsepower etc, and just make the payments rather than try to save and upgrade a lower trim level step by step. However, having a very nice 2005 model in the color that I love, I would rather wait and maybe turbo this thing some time down the road.
Before taking my rental back to Enterprise, I noticed one of those light grey Mazdaspeed3 models sitting in the lot. I started to inspect the car. My co-worker was with me at the time, and started asking a few questions about the differences between that car and mine. I point out the major items as one of the salesmen comes over with the keys and starts her up "Let me show you what this thing can do..." he says. I climb in the front seat and my co-worker hops in the back (he weighs 300lbs by the way).I notice a slightly more noticable exhaust note, a black wood grain-ish material in lieu of the carbon fiber-esque piece, Mazdaspeed embroidery, and climate controls among the other accents. As we pull out into the street, the salesman punches it in first and the car gives an expected kick. Second gear pulls you into the seat throughout the mid-range, and third pulls nicely. He pulls over to give me a try. It seems that first gear doesn't exist because you reach top speed in that gear so quickly. You'll notice the DSC light flicker as it trys to maintain attitude. Second gear picks up and pulls from the bottom with a response that I'm not accustomed to in a turbo car. After 5500 RPM, the engine seems out of steam as the torque falls sharply. Switch into third and the car lunges hard to about 6000 RPM before gasping. 4th pulls equally well, but the road we were on was so narrow that at this point, I don't even know what our velocity was or how many RPM we had reached before I backed off due to my concentration on the road. I squeeze on the brakes and notice the same yaw motion that my 3 has under extremely heavy braking. However, the speed peels off very rapidly. You can also hear the air splitting in the large rear wing quite well at speed. The extra weight of the 18's is definately noticeable although the tire/suspension feedback is excellent. It's far better than the stock 2005 3s, but about the same as mine with the Tein S-tech springs and Yokohamas. The climate control was actually a bit annoying due to the need to reference the digital display for your temp (no adjusting by feel/position like on the stock A/C). As for the shifter, it's a little more notchy, but not as much as the magazines are reporting. The reverse lockout is a nice feature, but I don't like the fact that the shift knob now has travel on the shaft stem.
Overall, I'd have to say the car feels like a regular 3 just with more power/tighter suspension. Going straight from that car back to mine I wasn't missing the power at all. My car still impresses me with its acceleration and smoothness, and the engine just sounds beautiful. Is it worth the extra 4,000-5,000 dollars? I say yes, if you don't already own a 3. Aside from the disappointing top-end (needs a slightly bigger turbo/more boost in my opinion ... but, hey I also drive a slightly beefed up MR2
) it's got pretty much all the parts you would spend that much money on modding a regular 3 to get it to that level plus it's warranty covered. If I had the choice, I'd get the car as loaded as possible with all the features/horsepower etc, and just make the payments rather than try to save and upgrade a lower trim level step by step. However, having a very nice 2005 model in the color that I love, I would rather wait and maybe turbo this thing some time down the road.
