2007 Mazda Speed 3

[Ritchie Hui]

Test drove one on the weekend...

Power:
It is one heavy car.  Power is definately there.  With TCS on, boost is limited in 1st and 2nd gear, so if you floor it you won't spin the tires.  But it is quick to 100km/hr and even pulls above that easily.

3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th still all pulled strongly all through the rev range.  There is no signs of boost lag, but then there is no loud BOV sound either.

They switched from a FMIC to a top mount, so the hood has more of a bulge upwards, making it harder to see the nose of your car, it is a lot quieter and refined than before.

Exterior:
Styling... its still a mazda3, with small distinctions that you are getting something special.  The hood has a power bulge for air intake and plastic trim pieces that funnel air to the top mount IC.  The spoiler is bigger and more pronounced, and the 18" rims and 225 rubber fill in the wheel gap.

Handling:
The car definately was heavier than a dsm, and not as light and nimble than a Cooper S, but for a 4door, it was ok.  Powering it off a turn, the lsd really helped reduce understeer.  The chasis still had the sedan feel, but was stiffer than a regular mazda speed 3.  

Steering response felt heavier than a regular mazda3, and it maybe just the beefy 18" tires, but i felt it was lacking in road feedback. And the steering was just heavy to compensate the lack of feeling.

Braking:
Braking was impressive... the car has a stabilizer controller that distributes braking power to the rotors that needs it... end result is the car doesnt nose dive as much and is much more stabilized in extreme braking.

Interior:
Aside from the sport seats that were designed for the bigger north american that don't really hug the smaller framed guy, there isn't much more difference from a regular mazda3.

The speedo went up to 260km/hr instead of the 220km/hr.  The rev counter was the same, as well as the gas,temp, and other sensors.  There was no factory boost gauge or egt.

The center console was a little different, more digitized, some more functions for climate control, but really its the same.

Audio was bose, and was ok for stock, 6 speakers with a tiny sub.

You get an additional 2 more airbags, totally 6 airbags for safety, and they fixed the annoying security feature that allowed theives to punch yer door and unlock yer car.

Other than that, the inside trim was the same.

Conclusion:
260hp is a lot of power to put down on a FWD car, but over all I think it can be a fun daily driver if you don't care about your 0-60ft times.

Only thing is the engine bay has a lot of plastic... modding it will be very annoying, and there isn't much room to add stuff...

[Fraser Cassells]

Nice review, overall a very impressive drivetrain.. in a plain shell .. drop that motor in that 3 seater Kabura! I would buy it.

[Artem Goloubov]

I am still deciding if I want GT wagon or a SPEED wagon to carry stuff around, my wife however likes Audi 3

GT is not too bad on gas it's 9/7liters, Speed wagon however is much thirstier at 12/10 (not too good for a daily driver).

[Morten Labo]

The Mazdaspeed3 is a FUN car !

I started leasing one in December and it has just under 6000KM on it now. It is a bit of a magnet for radar guns however... and since December I've managed to rack up 2 tickets, sadly wasted because they were in town and at low speed 78 in a 50 (my first tickets since 2001).

I took it on a "loop" I like to drive and one that I highly recommend for anyone that enjoys driving.

Take hwy #1 to Hope and then head up the Fraser Canyon to Lytton and then to Lilloet and then the Duffy Lake Road to Pemberton and back to Vancouver on the Sea to Sky.

There's some really nice driving roads between Lytton and Pemberton, although one has to keep a keen eye out for wildlife between Lytton and Lilloet.

The Speed3 is fun in town but out on the winding mountain roads it really holds it's own.

I got it because it was FUN, has 4 doors, a hatchback, and seats that fold down.

I'm dissapointed that Mazda hasn't made the much anticipated cat back exhaust available yet... it won't affect the factory warranty and neither will the cold air intake which has already been released.

With the 2 mods...it'll have somewhere around 295HP and 310lbs. ft. torque...

Admitedly it could be lighter, have better seats (I'm used to the Sparco Corsa's in my rally car), better lights, and a radar cloaking device !  

[Morten Labo]

Update :

Earlier today I was returning from North Delta and going home to Vancouver. Shortly after turning from Westminster highway onto the hwy. going to Knight street...

I hear an immediate and sudden clunk. For a few seconds i thought it was a shreaded tire, but then the noise got very violent and I hit the brakes and shut it down within 1o seconds of it starting...

Guess what it was... ?

The CV joint had dislodged itself from the transmission as was hanging freely. The CV joint is intack nor busted or partially disintegrated.

I've never seen or heard of this happening before !

Has anyone else ? (on any car)

[John Hartman]

thats wierd, especially on a nearly new car.

[Artem Goloubov]

if C-clip fails then CV joint will pop-out, I had this happened on Ford Fiesta when I was in Acapulco

[Artem Goloubov]

Apparently there is a big problem with mazda Speed3 where tranny mount fails and the whole engine drops to the ground and also breaks one of the drive shafts :shock: and it's not a recall yet

[Fraser Cassells]

We all have our crosses to bear, our motors walk and theirs try to escape.  

[Ritchie Hui]

oh wow, is it covered by warranty?  I also heard of this problem plagueing other mazda speed 3 owners, damn that sucks ass.