2013 Mazdaspeed3: A Front-Wheel Drive Muscle Car? - Ignition Episode 56
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 In terms of raw power, the Mazda Speed 3
00:16 still reigns over the hot hatch market.
00:18 Its 280 pound-feet of torque, to this day,
00:21 still seems preposterous and hugely intriguing.
00:25 Is it too much?
00:26 On the face of it, the answer would seem yes.
00:28 But let's look deeper, spend some time with this hatchback,
00:31 and see if there's more to its personality.
00:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:56 Of course, with 280 pound-feet of torque,
00:59 launching the Mazda Speed 3 is difficult.
01:02 We found the best was to pretty much release
01:04 the clutch at about 2,500 RPM, and then
01:06 short shift after first gear at about 6,000 RPM,
01:10 because you can really feel the power band fall off.
01:12 Let's give it a try.
01:15 Violent launch, spins at the top of first.
01:19 You want to grab the next gear at about 6,000 RPM.
01:23 You'll hit 60 in about 5.8 seconds.
01:29 And the quarter mile at 14.3 seconds at 100 miles an hour.
01:35 You can really feel the power band fall off
01:38 at about 6,000 RPM.
01:41 And for our 60 to 0 braking test,
01:47 the Mazda took 117 feet.
01:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:54 The figure eight with the Mazda Speed 3.
01:57 This car is kind of silly.
02:02 Got a pretty high level of grip mid-corner.
02:04 Coming out of the corner, though,
02:07 it's just incredible how this thing delivers power.
02:12 It's not as lively mid-corner as I was like.
02:14 In fact, you just find yourself up
02:16 against the limits of the front tires
02:19 when you're trying to modulate the throttle.
02:21 It makes cornering, especially on our handling track,
02:24 rather difficult. Bit of understeer on turn in.
02:27 Tail actually isn't doing a lot if I drop the throttle.
02:30 Can't much to induce any sort of yaw or anything.
02:33 But it sure makes up for it between the corners.
02:37 It goes from the exit to the entry of the next corner
02:40 so quickly.
02:42 It's nuts.
02:43 In fact, driving this thing fast is
02:45 a matter of getting it to the corner,
02:47 slowing it down so you can turn it around,
02:49 and then powering out as hard as possible.
02:52 It's not a lot of finesse.
02:55 Kind of clumsy, but kind of fun, too.
02:58 There's so much torque that when you come out,
03:05 you're just spinning one tire.
03:06 And this thing has a limited slip.
03:09 We're still getting a lot of one-wheel peel.
03:12 And modulating the power, again, through a corner
03:15 is just so difficult because there's so much power you have
03:17 to modulate that the front tires just feel overburdened.
03:22 And the whole time, the steering's
03:23 going every which direction.
03:25 Like a muscle car front drive hot hatch.
03:33 Now, the Mazda Speed 3's biggest strength,
03:42 and the thing about it that's most noticeable,
03:43 is its engine.
03:44 It's just maniacal, the way it delivers power,
03:47 the way it comes on boost.
03:49 It takes a while for it to do so.
03:52 Below 3,000 RPM, there isn't a lot the engine's doing.
03:56 But once you get above that RPM, the power comes in,
04:00 and it literally pushes your head into the back of the seat.
04:04 It's pretty incredible.
04:05 But there is something endearing about that power surge.
04:13 The way it comes in, and how silly it feels.
04:17 Now, of course, there are downsides
04:18 with sending that much torque to the front tires,
04:21 and it is torque steer.
04:24 You don't notice it so much in the higher gears,
04:26 like 3 and 4 and so on.
04:28 And Mazda's actually limiting boost in first and second
04:30 to help reduce torque steer.
04:33 Now, of course, torque steer is not desirable,
04:36 but you can't fight physics.
04:38 And with this much power going to the front tires,
04:40 it's just going to happen.
04:41 You just have to accept it, much in the way
04:43 you have to accept oversteer in an FR-S or chest hair
04:46 in a Corvette.
04:47 It's part of the equation.
04:48 And if you can live with that, it's
04:53 worth living with that with this car, it feels right.
04:56 This thing feels like a properly overpowered front wheel drive
05:00 car.
05:01 But it just has these little hints
05:03 that it was somebody's baby, that it was somebody's project.
05:06 Because the engine feels so unrefined in its power
05:09 delivery, you have this kind of constant exhaust drone
05:13 that you get on the freeways.
05:16 You have this really on-off clutch.
05:18 It's so quick in its engagement.
05:21 Gives you a lot of feedback, but still super quick.
05:23 Feels like some sort of aftermarket racing clutch.
05:26 But all these things, while by themselves would be downsides,
05:30 together they make for a car that's
05:32 just kind of charming in its roughness, in its ruggedness.
05:37 This thing is enjoyable to throw around, to beat on,
05:40 to feel its rough edges.
05:42 The quality, though, of this car isn't something
05:49 I'd say I'd want to take to a racetrack, to an autocross.
05:51 It's something that I want to enjoy around town.
05:53 Sort of as a front drive muscle car.
05:57 That's the feel that this thing has.
05:58 Maybe it's what it wants to be.
06:00 Something with bonkers power, crazy delivery,
06:04 and just sort of comical driving habits,
06:08 at least relative to the hot hatch front drive segment.
06:32 Overall, the Mazda Speed 3 feels well-controlled,
06:36 and the steering is positive and true.
06:38 The chassis doesn't exhibit a lot of noticeable flex
06:41 around corners, but understeer rears its head
06:43 when you approach the limit.
06:45 The refined chassis, though, is a funny pairing
06:47 with that torquey engine, which has
06:49 this rawness to its character and hilarious power delivery.
06:53 If you love turbos and the way they surge when
06:56 you get into the boost, the Speed 3
06:57 is huge fun, if not just for the engine.
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07:23 [Music]