Mazdaspeed 3 – Review: Cheap thrills often produce moral conflict and can literally leave a bad taste in your mouth, but that’s not the case when it comes to the tasty, exciting, and inexpensive Mazdaspeed 3. What looks like an innocuous hatchback driven by some dorky computer geek with thick black-rimmed glasses and a pocket protector is actually a stealth missile, an urban assault vehicle with poise and finesse, the utter antithesis of, say, a Hummer H2 with glittering 24-inch spinners and garish chrome trim coating every possible exterior garnish. This is not a “look at me” kind of car. Rather, it is a “look at me go” kind of car. The Mazdaspeed 3 is an absolute delight to drive hard and fast, provides room for four adults when it’s your turn to be the D.D. (designated driver), and converts into a cargo-toting grocery getter with a single-handed flip of the back seats. Thrilling yet practical, the Mazdaspeed 3 is the best kind of cheap date – and you won’t want to kick it out of bed for quaffing an extra quart of oil.

What We Drove
Mazda loaned us a Sunlight Silver Mazdaspeed 3 Grand Touring wearing a window sticker of $26,400 including a $595 destination charge and a $1,750 navigation system. That may sound expensive, but you can get your jollies by spending as little as $22,935 on the standard Sport model. Every Mazdaspeed 3 comes with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a six-speed manual transmission, 18-inch wheels, automatic climate control, and bolstered sport seats covered in sturdy fabric and black leather. What makes the $24,650 Grand Touring version special is adjustable Xenon headlights, rain-sensing wipers, a 222-watt Bose audio system, and a theft deterrent system. Buying the Grand Touring also provides access to an optional navigation system. Unfortunately, a power sunroof is not offered on the Mazdaspeed 3.

Performance
Equipped with the same turbocharged, 2.3-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine as the larger and heavier Mazdaspeed 6, the Mazdaspeed 3 is detuned by seven horsepower to 263 and puts power to the pavement through the front wheels instead of all four. Despite these seeming buzz-killers, the MS3 surges forward, tires breaking loose on pavement zits, steering wheel tugging from torque steer, and rocketing to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds according to Mazda. Though it launches decently, we had more fun dropping a coupla gears and whooshing past traffic on a tide of torque than tromping on the throttle from a standstill and smoking the front rubber. As an added bonus, our car averaged 22.5 mpg despite the abuse it suffered all week. The shifter is just OK: the car is relatively easy to launch but the gearbox sometimes requires wrangling to get into fifth and sixth gear.

Handling
Drive the Mazdaspeed 3 on Malibu’s Latigo Canyon Road, and it’s easy to forgive any nits we have with the balky transmission or the suspension’s funky spring rates. On undulating pavement, the springs allow too much jounce in an effort to improve ride quality around town, and the car just ends up feeling a little too woozy from time to time. At speed, say when blasting across the bridge spanning the Los Angeles River between the 710 freeway and Long Beach’s Broadway exit at ass-puckering velocity, the Mazdaspeed 3’s tail gets nervous and disconnected just when you need it to be calm and composed. Otherwise, grip from the 215/45R18 Bridgestone Potenzas is extraordinary, the brakes are indefatigable, the steering is sharp, and the shocks are beautifully balanced for optimum contact with the road and a ride quality you can live with.

Visibility
Forward visibility is excellent thanks to thin pillars and a good view over the hood and down the road. The Mazdaspeed 3’s side mirrors are large rectangular reflectors that really help erase blind spots. Rear seat head restraints impede on visibility through the back window and the rearmost roof pillars are rather thick, but there’s a rear window wiper to clear rain and snow for a better view. Our test car’s adjustable Xenon lights did an incredible job of illuminating the road, but the high beams were dimmer halogens.

Fun to Drive
Embarking upon Mazdaspeed 3 ownership with a clean driving record is a requirement for no other reason than you’ll get to enjoy the car for the maximum amount of time it takes to lose your license or amass enough insurance points to make driving it prohibitively expensive. This car is an absolute blast shredding canyons, scorching vacant interstate, slicing through traffic, and screaming away from stoplights. Every road trip, every commute, and every errand becomes a perfect excuse to plant your right foot and hang on for the ride of your life. If having a great time behind the wheel is a big priority in your life and you need the extra space a five-door hatchback delivers, you absolutely need to take the Mazdaspeed 3 for a test drive.

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