I happened to be driving by one of the various Mazda dealerships in suburban Chicago this evening, and was shocked to see several 3 models parked outside. I immediately pulled in to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Indeed they weren't. They had two hatches and two sedans, both really spec'd out. Unfortunately, no manual trannies. While the northwest Chicago area is quite affluent, such is the explanation for the first shipment of cars to arrive being top of the line models ... however, most of the affluent snobs to which I just referred have an aversion to manual transmissions. :roll: They just don't sell as much.
Either way, I was fortunate enough to get acquainted with a very young and cool salesperson. We took a spin in a 3s and I gave her quite a whirl. Being that the car is nearly everything I expected, I can find little to complain about at this point, however I was unable to look at it in any close detail seeing as it was very dark, and very cold, and nobody wants to be outside in those conditions. They had no showroom models, so it was only a test drive, and I say that the car is "nearly" everything I expected because my biggest complaint was the seemingly low amount of power. I expected a lot more punch for 160hp. Perhaps it was because it was an auto 4-speed, or perhaps it was because I wasn't driving it all that hard, but I expected more. The chassis response is great, just like the Protege but with a heavier feel. Still, it does not have the obvious weight of the Mazda6. Whether or not this is a good thing I'm still not sure of. I have driven the 6, and for some reason, the 3 just doesn't feel as agile. I would have expected the 3 to be more agile. The 6 had more heft and yet seems to make lane changes quicker and turns with a bit more smoothness than the 3. The 3 is spritely but lacks the punch and zip that I expected after having driven a 6. In this respect, perhaps you could say that is the taste of Ford shining through? I know, I don't like to make the suggestion either, I wanted to believe the 3 was like a Protege-sized 6, but it's still more like the Protege. This is not to say the driving experience is lacking, however, only that the 3 and 6 still feel like very different cars.
I thought the interior lighting with the luminescent gauges was very cool, the blue is not overbearing and does not contrast heavily against the red like I thought it would. There is even a soft blue light in front of the shifter that casts some ambient blue light along the bottom console. The console display is very much like the six, with messages like "Hello!" and similar readout placement, only with an orange glow instead of red. The model I drove didn't have the xenon light + tire pressure monitor package option, so I can't comment on that, and it was too cold to screw with the moonroof, so I didn't touch that. I didn't tinker with the radio either because I'm gonna replace it anyway ... sorry non-audiophiles -- but then again, since you aren't audiophiles, I guess you don't care how it sounds anyway, right?
I can't think of much else to point out that we don't already know. I am just a bit disappointed with the power almost to the point of being inclined to wait for a Mazdaspeed3. I've driven the Mazdaspeed Protege and would like similar response and power. Personally, I can bear to wait another year or so, and would love to see how it handles with 200+hp, a 5-speed, and an even tighter suspension. I think I will hold out a year for Mazda to work out any bugs and give it the Mazdaspeed treatment. :wink:
Either way, I was fortunate enough to get acquainted with a very young and cool salesperson. We took a spin in a 3s and I gave her quite a whirl. Being that the car is nearly everything I expected, I can find little to complain about at this point, however I was unable to look at it in any close detail seeing as it was very dark, and very cold, and nobody wants to be outside in those conditions. They had no showroom models, so it was only a test drive, and I say that the car is "nearly" everything I expected because my biggest complaint was the seemingly low amount of power. I expected a lot more punch for 160hp. Perhaps it was because it was an auto 4-speed, or perhaps it was because I wasn't driving it all that hard, but I expected more. The chassis response is great, just like the Protege but with a heavier feel. Still, it does not have the obvious weight of the Mazda6. Whether or not this is a good thing I'm still not sure of. I have driven the 6, and for some reason, the 3 just doesn't feel as agile. I would have expected the 3 to be more agile. The 6 had more heft and yet seems to make lane changes quicker and turns with a bit more smoothness than the 3. The 3 is spritely but lacks the punch and zip that I expected after having driven a 6. In this respect, perhaps you could say that is the taste of Ford shining through? I know, I don't like to make the suggestion either, I wanted to believe the 3 was like a Protege-sized 6, but it's still more like the Protege. This is not to say the driving experience is lacking, however, only that the 3 and 6 still feel like very different cars.
I thought the interior lighting with the luminescent gauges was very cool, the blue is not overbearing and does not contrast heavily against the red like I thought it would. There is even a soft blue light in front of the shifter that casts some ambient blue light along the bottom console. The console display is very much like the six, with messages like "Hello!" and similar readout placement, only with an orange glow instead of red. The model I drove didn't have the xenon light + tire pressure monitor package option, so I can't comment on that, and it was too cold to screw with the moonroof, so I didn't touch that. I didn't tinker with the radio either because I'm gonna replace it anyway ... sorry non-audiophiles -- but then again, since you aren't audiophiles, I guess you don't care how it sounds anyway, right?
I can't think of much else to point out that we don't already know. I am just a bit disappointed with the power almost to the point of being inclined to wait for a Mazdaspeed3. I've driven the Mazdaspeed Protege and would like similar response and power. Personally, I can bear to wait another year or so, and would love to see how it handles with 200+hp, a 5-speed, and an even tighter suspension. I think I will hold out a year for Mazda to work out any bugs and give it the Mazdaspeed treatment. :wink:
