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Hmmmmm. Where have I seen that spoiler and hood scoop before?

i'm assuming the subie-esque scoop is for disguise purposes, but then again who knows? all i know is 280bhp on a front wheel drivetrain is mildly frightening. i wonder if mazda's going to handcuff first and second gears even more to keep the torque steer down. mazda really should offer awd on these.

tittywop of the redesign. scoop is actually functional.

not quite sure how i feel about it. i prefer the cleaner, simpler lines of the outgoing speed3. it'll probably end up growing on me though.

chicken n waffles wrote:tittywop of the redesign. scoop is actually functional.

not quite sure how i feel about it. i prefer the cleaner, simpler lines of the outgoing speed3. it'll probably end up growing on me though.

Hmm...looked better under wraps and w/ the other wheels

I could live w/ the wheels, but that front end has got to go.

Katya4me wrote:I could live w/ the wheels, but that front end has got to go.

To be honest, I'm just excited to see Mazda finally putting motors worth something in their cars... That hasn't really happened since the FD era RX-7s. They've always had great chassis (es, eses? bueller?) which has been a big part of why it's been such a letdown.

now they just need to refine that awd drivetrain and shoehorn it into this sumbitch.

Katya4me wrote:I could live w/ the wheels, but that front end has got to go.

mazdas have been "happy" cars for a while.

not that i need to tell you that.

(insert zoom zoom reference here)

chicken n waffles wrote:i'm assuming the subie-esque scoop is for disguise purposes, but then again who knows? all i know is 280bhp on a front wheel drivetrain is mildly frightening. i wonder if mazda's going to handcuff first and second gears even more to keep the torque steer down. mazda really should offer awd on these.

There's an MS3 in this household, that I frequently steal and joyride in. It currently has an unventilated intercooler under the hood, so the scoop is a natural progression, anyone can admit that. I never notice the torque steer, unless I hit a bump in the road, that drastically throws off the physics. Mazda should fix the current gearbox before working on the second axle. Horrible synchronization. I imagine that will be the first thing to go.

But good job with the turbo power band! The only place it doesn't have power is about 500rpm from redline.

As for the new design, it's a littler more Japanese, and a little less masculine, but TopGear reports that the new one (at least in diesel form) has had all the creeks worked out of it, and feels much more solid. It's also 12% quieter...

OT :
An AWD MS MX5 (the older turbo one) would be so awesome...
My friends turbo MS MX5 is fun as hell to drive, I can only imagine it with more grip...

-scheherazade

scheherazade wrote:OT :
An AWD MS MX5 (the older turbo one) would be so awesome...
My friends turbo MS MX5 is fun as hell to drive, I can only imagine it with more grip...

-scheherazade

Not only would it be heavier, and therefore slower, in general, but the weight distribution would be thrown off. It would likely handle worse.

Sucker looks a LOT like a 08 STI... Agreed though about the torque steer. With that much power, I can't imagine they are going to so anything but limit the power in the lower gears.

and the new STi looks a lot like the last generation Mazda3. don't give Subaru all the credit for coming up with a 5-door-hatchback-with-hood-scoop body style. it's been done before the new Impreza, and done better IMHO.


<--- agrees 100% with snaab on the idea of an AWD Miata.

Have you all seen the new 3 without masking tape? It looks nothing like the current Impreza design. It's less desirable, in my humble opinion.

snaab wrote:Have you all seen the new 3 without masking tape? It looks nothing like the current Impreza design. It's less desirable, in my humble opinion.

you mean like the pics i linked to in this very thread?

My god that thing looks water-headed.



I burst into laughter every time I look at it.

Maybe its just the angle, but it looks shorter than the last couple versions.

And if they do an AWD MX5 they'd make a mint... last time I looked, the cheapest AWD convertible coupe was an Audi TT (at $37k) or A4 Cabriolet (at $42k)

ElZorro wrote:Maybe its just the angle, but it looks shorter than the last couple versions.

And if they do an AWD MX5 they'd make a mint... last time I looked, the cheapest AWD convertible coupe was an Audi TT (at $37k) or A4 Cabriolet (at $42k).

Nope, no good AWD system and it would be too heavy. I'd rather pay for a convertible version of the Toyota-Subaru offspring if I wanted something along those lines.

There are plenty of small AWD systems out there - BMW had one that was Mini-bound. I agree it would certainly add weight, and that car is so well balanced it could be tough to add that to the mix.

chicken n waffles wrote:

snaab wrote:Have you all seen the new 3 without masking tape? It looks nothing like the current Impreza design. It's less desirable, in my humble opinion.

you mean like the pics i linked to in this very thread?

I missed your link. I will keep my eyeballs ---> in the future.

The non-Mazdapseed version has grown on me a lot, but in a very different way from the current one.

Take the gen2 mazdaspeed mx-5 (2200 lbs), add 150lbs for awd, and slap on a bigger turbo. You could have a better straight line dig, and pull even harder out of a corner.
Gen 3's weigh in at 2400 anyways...

-scheherazade

even if it's 150lbs, that would be 150lbs at the heavy end. the Miata only needs a little bit of horsepower to be perfect IMHO.

but I've had this conversation with a few club members who are convinced that EVERY vehicle should be AWD.

I doubt those weight figures. I've weighed my NA, and it came out to 2,3xx. I know the early NA's weigh a little bit less, but the ones after '93 are not as light as one would think. Granted, my car has leather seats with built-in speakers, wheels from the NB, and a Bilstein/Eibach combo suspension, all of which works out to a few more pounds, if that.

In my opinion, buying a quality limited slip differential would do far more for the car than adding AWD, while retaining the simplicity of the original design.

Not to mention, slapping a turbo on a GC Impreza would occomplish the majority of what you're looking for, while providing you with worlds more cargo space

Mr Kleen wrote:but I've had this conversation with a few club members who are convinced that EVERY vehicle should be AWD.

So, you wanna fight about it?