Mazda 3 sport vs. Mazdaspeed3

Sarc · 09:28 AM

Been doing some sedan shopping the past few weeks and my wife and I are drawn to the Mazda 3s an alternative to a used 5 or 3 series.

We've narrowed it down to a 07 3-sport with 3,000 miles or a 07 Mazdaspeed3 with 9,000 miles.
The 3-sport is being offered at $17K, the Mazdaspeed at $20.5K. Haven't driven the Mazdaspeed yet but am drawn to it for the power. Just concerned about the long term durabilty with both of them, with my only reference of durability I have are the various mid 90's Mazdas we've owned (MX-6s/626s/Rx7s) that were relatively maintenance free and hit 200K miles with ease (Rx7 excepted).

Do these prices seem realistic?Any positive/negative words for either of these?

PS-If you can make a compelling case for a E46 (325/328)/E39 (528), which will have considerably more mileage than the Mazdas at this price point, I'm all ears.

Tishabet · 10-24-2007, 10:34 AM

Drove a Maxda 3 and a Mazdaspeed 3 back to back on Saturday (new cars at dealership). You will kick yourself if you don't get the Mazdaspeed... gives the Mini Cooper S a run for its money.

TGTIW · 10-24-2007, 12:54 PM

I agree. It will always a case of "I should have.." Regarding the prices, the 3-Sport price seems a little high, and the MazdaSpeed price seems average.

rammstein · 10-24-2007, 01:03 PM

Haven't driven a Mazdaspeed 3, but drove a 3s with stiffer springs and sport tires. One heck of a little car, with a great interior. I think the 3 is a great car.

If its any consolation, I had an RX8 for 2 years and nothing ever broke. Ran great.

1fastredsc · 10-24-2007, 01:17 PM

The mechanicals of the sport, which uses the 2.3, is based off of ford's duratec 2.3 of the focus. The difference is in the head, which incorporates mazda's single cam variable valve timing. The mazdaspeed is the same engine but now with all forged internals, and the head is modified once again to incorporate the direct injection injectors which protrude right into the combustion chamber.
As is the mazdaspeed3 is proven to be much faster than the new wrx in both cornering and straight line speed. I also read that it's a stout little auto-x car.
Once the after market like cobb finish with there tuning products, your going to see that little DI engine put out some ridiculous numbers.
Only real complaint i've heard of on these cars, is that the floor carpeting wears a little fast, and you have to watch the tire pressure closely as it tends to effect this cars fuel economy drastically in comparison to other vehicles (letting the tire pressure drop even a small amount like 5psi will kill your fuel economy).

onewhippedpuppy · 10-24-2007, 01:55 PM

Mazdaspeed, all day long. It's a sports car vs a sporty car. My in-laws have a plain-jane Mazda3 with a 2.0 and automatic, even in basic form it's a fun car. It belongs to one of their teen-age daughters (torture test), and it still looks great. No issues as of yet, I think it has around 50k on it. Very high quality interior, seems to be wearing quite well.

I would avoid any higher mileage BMW, they tend to get needy as time goes on. Expensive parts, expensive service. They drive great, but most are not as fast as the Mazdaspeed. The only E46 or E39 I would choose over a Mazdaspeed 3 would be a 330i ZHP, M3, 540, or M5

.

Tishabet · 10-24-2007, 02:07 PM

One thing I don't get is that whereas the Mazda 3 is available in hatchback and sedan bodies, the mazdaspeed 3 is only available in hatchback.
The reason for my weekend test drive is that the wife is looking for a new car.. the car to beat so far is a cooper S. If the Mazdaspeed were available as a sedan, I think it would have jumped into first place. But since there's no sedan... the cooper wins. I think we'll be buying one in a couple of months.

LeeH · 10-24-2007, 06:48 PM

I had to drive my wife's Mazda3 a few weeks ago when she needed my Mazda5 to haul her parents around town. Sometimes I forget what a great car it is. Her '04 3S 5 speed has 62K miles. The only thing that's broken is that one of the turn signals doesn't cancel. It runs, drives, and handles like a much more expensive car. It used to be unique, but afer a few years word got out and they're fairly common now.

Jims5543 · 10-25-2007, 04:42 AM

Any of you Mazda owners. Autocross your car 2 times a year in the SCCA then sign up for a Mazdaspeed membership here:

http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/MazdaSportsCatalogView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001

If you are participating in Motorsports you can get parts for your car at a heavy discount. You are limited to what you can buy, like you cannot get a new A/C compressor but you can get some suspension upgrades or exhaust components for your car at up to and over 50% off.

This is why I love my RX7, while Porsche is making harder for us to get parts for our older air cooled cars and not supporting them anymore, Mazda steps up and supports its older cars along with its new ones and even give huge discounts.

onewhippedpuppy · 10-25-2007, 05:03 AM

That's pretty cool Jim. I know Mazda advertises that there are more Mazdas racing on any given weekend than any other make, nice that they work to support those racers as well. Rare to see a company actually live by an advertising slogan (Zoom-Zoom).

ledhedsymbols · 10-25-2007, 09:54 AM

We've had my wife's Mazda 3s for about five months now. Every time I drive it, I am impressed. She didn't want a hatch so the Mazdaspeed was out of the question (I tried) but it's a great sedan for the money.
As stated it is a "sporty" car not a "sports" car. That being said with kids coming in the next couple of years, it's big enough, plenty comfortable, awesome interior. So far it has been solidly reliable.

Micah

rammstein · 10-25-2007, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Cesiro

Any of you Mazda owners. Autocross your car 2 times a year in the SCCA then sign up for a Mazdaspeed membership here:

http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/MazdaSportsCatalogView?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001

If you are participating in Motorsports you can get parts for your car at a heavy discount. You are limited to what you can buy, like you cannot get a new A/C compressor but you can get some suspension upgrades or exhaust components for your car at up to and over 50% off.

This is why I love my RX7, while Porsche is making harder for us to get parts for our older air cooled cars and not supporting them anymore, Mazda steps up and supports its older cars along with its new ones and even give huge discounts.

Yes- when I had the RX8, I met a lot of owners who did just that. Mazda is pretty awesome when it comes to motorsports.

mschuep · 10-25-2007, 10:35 AM

My gf drives an '06 Mazda 3 S sedan, I drive a Mazdaspeed3 GT... Hers has about 23k, mine has about 6k...no problems on either car so far

I liked her 3 until I drove the Speed3...I wasn't real crazy about the hatchback at first, but it grew on me, and have found it is handy to have the extra space. Once I hit the gas a few times in the Speed3 I was sold...quite fun. Watchout for torque steer if you haven't test driven one yet

As far as trim (S vs. GT) you don't get a whole lot with the GT...leather is limited and the S comes with a similar stereo and electric windows/locks/etc. You can get a sunroof on the 3, but not the speed3.

I would check edmunds.com for the pricing, I found they were accurate when I went to buy the car...

As far as reliability, Consumer Reports has rated both the 3 and speed3 as 'recommended', and I think they just recently did a 'sporty cars' comparison with most of the players...

speed3 vs. mini vs. scion vs. civic Si vs. vw GTI...speed3 'won'

legion · 10-25-2007, 10:36 AM

Someone has a 1990 RX7 for sale at work for $5,400 (probably a very high price--I have no idea). Man, I'd love to get into one of those. Probably cheaper to run than the 951 too.

mschuep · 10-25-2007, 10:48 AM

...Oh yeah as an addition, the speed3 comes with summer performance tires, so unless the PO has put on some all seasons or some winter tires already, you're looking at a new set if you live in detroit. Just thought of this since I am looking myself.

18" tires, or a set of 16" wheels and tires, either way I'd budget at least another 1k out of the gate with the Speed3

Sarc · 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mschuep

...Oh yeah as an addition, the speed3 comes with summer performance tires, so unless the PO has put on some all seasons or some winter tires already, you're looking at a new set if you live in detroit. Just thought of this since I am looking myself.

18" tires, or a set of 16" wheels and tires, either way I'd budget at least another 1k out of the gate with the Speed3

Thanks, guys, for all the input. We've driven the normal 3 and have come away very impressed; quite a leap in regards to the Protege we drove a few years ago before buying the Civic. Never really considered a Mazdaspeed due to the premium but this one, which is literally around the corner from us, is priced at what a new normal 3 would be. So it deserves a look. The extra set of winter tires that are included makes it more enticing.
So far it's been tough to find a used normal 3 locally that meets our criteria, but that would be the preferable route ($$$) since my wife probably wouldn't appreciate having 260hp as her daily driver. Well, in all fairness, she wouldn't appreciate it as much as I would.

Once concern is whether the hatch can hold as much cargo as the sedan when the seats are up. By cargo, I specifically mean strollers, suitcases, etc.

Needless to say, we'll be checking the mazdaspeed out Saturday.

Sarc · 10-25-2007, 11:05 AM

pookie · 10-25-2007, 11:19 AM

We got my wife an 08 Mazda 3 hatchbacka few months ago. (I thought we were getting a used car. I was wrong) August maybe? She wanted a 5 speed with room for kids (we don't have any yet) and our dog. The hatchback fit the bill. She loooooves it. I can't even pry the keys from her hands. I think ours is the touring, all power options but 5 speed and the 2.3. Great little car so far, I think we already have close to 7K miles on it. I did the first oil change real early like 1500 miles. Then did the second about 3200. First was done compliments of the dealer. Second one went with Mobile 1. I was really surprised with the 3 fun car to drive as others have said.

If you want to check it out http://www.mazda3forums.com/
Have to put up with a lot of "do these wheels fit" posts. But has some good tech stuff like how to remove the undercarriage plate covering the oil filter and its related parts.

So far a good choice for us.

onewhippedpuppy · 10-25-2007, 11:35 AM

Sarc, you'll be amazed how much stuff you can fit in a hatchback. I've had a Protege5 (wagon/hatchback), my 951, and a Saab 900SE. Both easily held far more stuff than either my 325 or 540. Far easier to load/unload as well. They are dramatically more practical than a sedan, and I prefer them hands down.

TGTIW · 10-25-2007, 12:50 PM

I have a 06 Mazda 3 hatch. Very happy with it, and I think it certainly beats any other car in it's class for performance and style. One common problem with the 3's, particularly the 2.3lt is the oil filter. It uses a cartridge and has a large plastic cap, that if over torqued will crack the filter housing and usually results in a very rapid oil loss and subsequent engine replacement. I know of a number of people that this has happened to and no report that the oil light came on. Mazda also claims they will not honor the warranty in this matter if it appears anything other than the approved Mazda oil cap wrench was used to. Not really a problem if you do your own maintenance, but watch out for the quickie oil change places.