First Drive Review
For three years, the Mazdaspeed 3 has been the unbeaten champ of the overheated-hatch segment, prevailing in three of our comparison tests and also winning a place on our 10Best Cars list. It’s a little rascal of a car—gleefully defiant, tailback nimble, electric-shock quick, hatchback practical—and as it marches toward middle age, there’s just one question: What does it do for an encore?
The truth is, it didn’t need much, but ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it doesn’t work in the car biz, where the winds of change blow at gale force. So for 2010 there are some civilizing updates.
The Good and the Bad
Generally speaking, the Speed 3 shares sheetmetal with the new Mazda 3 five-door, including its unhandsome black plastic grille. The biggest Speed 3 visual update is the addition of a hood scoop, to funnel fresh air into the turbocharged four-cylinder’s top-mounted intercooler. The wing extending from the rear of the roof is bigger, and there are new 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels and Dunlop SP Sport 2050 tires with bigger footprints—225/40s, versus 215/45 Bridgestone Potenza RE050As on the previous edition.
Inside, the updated Speed 3 is distinguished by Mazdaspeed fabric trim—red-speckled black on the door panels and deep seat bolsters, plus red stitching. It’s a look that could be perceived as carnival décor, but of course you’ll make up your own mind about that. There’s also a new vertical LED boost gauge, tucked in between the tach and speedo, and aluminum-clad foot pedals.
Same Power with More Control
Output of Mazda’s 2.3-liter turbocharged and intercooled four is unchanged—263 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque, driving the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential. Even though the figures remain unchanged, Mazda was able to get more out of the 2.3’s all-in-the-middle powerband with revised gearing. In light of those changes, keeping horsepower at 263 wasn’t a bad idea, especially since big power in a small front-drive car is just asking for torque steer, an area in which the original Speed 3 excelled. Mazda’s engineers have further addressed this in the 2010 version by re-profiling the car’s torque-management system, which electronically dials back output in the first two gears. There’s still some steering-wheel tug at wide-open throttle—the official line is that a little torque steer adds to the fun—but it’s not the wrestling match of 2007–09 models.
Mazda has also revised the suspension tuning with a small increase in spring rates, and a bigger increase in damping. This, plus a new electro-hydraulic steering system and larger contact patches with the road, adds up to a little less understeer in hard cornering, a little more willingness to change directions quickly, and better ride quality.
Still a Winner, On Paper
The base price for 2010 is $23,945, an increase of less than $500. There’s only one major option group—the $1895 Tech Package, which includes a Bose audio system with an MP3 player, Bluetooth phone connectivity, and a nav system with a miniature screen. And it still adds up to one of the best performance buys going.
