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blee · 10-28-2004, 05:00 PM

Got my car back today. For you local guys, Springfield Auto Body does great work. My bumper looks excellent.

As for the 3, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a 5-door version, which comes with the more powerful 2.3L engine putting out 160hp, 17" wheels, and random other stuff. It's a roomy compact car with a useful hatch and enough performance to keep my entertained. The slushie REALLY killed some of that enjoyment, so I have to limit my critique somewhat in that respect.

That said, I think the Duratec engine in that car -- while a philosophical improvement over the Zetec -- is a little disappointing. I can't really comment on acceleration, except to say that it's slow with the auto. What I can comment on is that the engine runs out of breath well before redline. It seems to hit peak torque at some point, then kinda peter out. Disappointing, especially when it takes time before the engine winds up to that sweet spot from a stop. This is certainly not uncommon among I4 engines. I believe that only the VW/Audi 1.8T provides any sort of appreciable thrust down low. I would definitely want more top-end in this car.

The suspension was comfortable. It was also quite nimble, owing as much to the car's weight as its geometry. The car felt very confident in tight curves, and the manumatic feature allowed me to hold 2nd gear through some of the more interesting road snippets around here. I think that Mazda engineers decided to tune the suspension in favor of slightly more comfort, though, and it shows as a somewhat vague feel for the road and a sense of floatiness in bumpy or aggressive situations. The car comes with 205-something 17" tires, compared to the 215/45 on the Focus.

Finally, the car is very quiet inside. It's certainly way more quiet than my Focus, and probably even more quiet than our Civic. In fact, it's quite civilized itself. The stereo display reads "Hello !" when you start the car, followed by a little blinking-light show that reminds me of some of those bookshelf stereo systems before they got ridiculously tacky. The IP cluster is laid out well but illuminated very poorly IMO. It's one of those setups where everything must be illuminated from behind to be seen, which is fine at night but can be annoying in bright light. I guess it makes for a cool effect, sort of like the Vibe/Matrix gauges. The seats feel thin but rigid. They put on airs of being firm and supportive, and I guess they're about 75% right on that.

What I find interesting is that my main niggle with the 3 are "corrected" in my SVTF -- more power up high, tighter suspension, less tricky gauges. I will say that the Mazda feels more substantial and more "family friendly," to the extent that my wife vastly prefers the 3 over the SVTF. And if the SVT Focus were not available -- as is the case today -- I probably would've bought the 3. On top of that, the Duratec seems to have a lot of tuning potential and I wouldn't be surprised to see modded Duratecs putting out some impressive numbers in a few years.

Bottom line: Good, solid car for the money. Family friendly. Not the most sporting, but sporting enough to get by for most folks.

10-28-2004, 05:00 PM	#11
blee Doctor Mudgeon Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 6,433	Got my car back today. For you local guys, Springfield Auto Body does great work. My bumper looks excellent. As for the 3, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a 5-door version, which comes with the more powerful 2.3L engine putting out 160hp, 17" wheels, and random other stuff. It's a roomy compact car with a useful hatch and enough performance to keep my entertained. The slushie REALLY killed some of that enjoyment, so I have to limit my critique somewhat in that respect. That said, I think the Duratec engine in that car -- while a philosophical improvement over the Zetec -- is a little disappointing. I can't really comment on acceleration, except to say that it's slow with the auto. What I can comment on is that the engine runs out of breath well before redline. It seems to hit peak torque at some point, then kinda peter out. Disappointing, especially when it takes time before the engine winds up to that sweet spot from a stop. This is certainly not uncommon among I4 engines. I believe that only the VW/Audi 1.8T provides any sort of appreciable thrust down low. I would definitely want more top-end in this car. The suspension was comfortable. It was also quite nimble, owing as much to the car's weight as its geometry. The car felt very confident in tight curves, and the manumatic feature allowed me to hold 2nd gear through some of the more interesting road snippets around here. I think that Mazda engineers decided to tune the suspension in favor of slightly more comfort, though, and it shows as a somewhat vague feel for the road and a sense of floatiness in bumpy or aggressive situations. The car comes with 205-something 17" tires, compared to the 215/45 on the Focus. Finally, the car is very quiet inside. It's certainly way more quiet than my Focus, and probably even more quiet than our Civic. In fact, it's quite civilized itself. The stereo display reads "Hello !" when you start the car, followed by a little blinking-light show that reminds me of some of those bookshelf stereo systems before they got ridiculously tacky. The IP cluster is laid out well but illuminated very poorly IMO. It's one of those setups where everything must be illuminated from behind to be seen, which is fine at night but can be annoying in bright light. I guess it makes for a cool effect, sort of like the Vibe/Matrix gauges. The seats feel thin but rigid. They put on airs of being firm and supportive, and I guess they're about 75% right on that. What I find interesting is that my main niggle with the 3 are "corrected" in my SVTF -- more power up high, tighter suspension, less tricky gauges. I will say that the Mazda feels more substantial and more "family friendly," to the extent that my wife vastly prefers the 3 over the SVTF. And if the SVT Focus were not available -- as is the case today -- I probably would've bought the 3. On top of that, the Duratec seems to have a lot of tuning potential and I wouldn't be surprised to see modded Duratecs putting out some impressive numbers in a few years. Bottom line: Good, solid car for the money. Family friendly. Not the most sporting, but sporting enough to get by for most folks.