Originally posted by SAV:
Originally posted by Jeb Hoge:
Option out a Mazda 3s. I think you can come in around $20K with nav & all the option packages.



Ok. Sigma, Zoom Zoom...all you Mazda guys, gather 'round. I have a story to tell:

I did it, just yesterday actually. I've been perusing the small compact car market lately, and have test drove just about everything in the segment. That includes the Kia Spectra SX, Toyota Corolla, Suzuki Reno and Forenza, Honda Civic, Scion tC, Ford Focus ST, and Dodge Neon. Of that list, I would have settled for the Spectra SX or the Corolla. All the ones I drove were 5 speeds and fairly well optioned. The Suzukis weren't very fast and I couldn't do with having manual wind up windows in the rear of the Neon. The shift action in the Focus was notchy going into third and fifth and I wasn't too sure about the tall boy styling of it either. The '05 looks like a softened version of the '04 Focus and I liked that one better. My friend picked up a tC about a month ago and has only about 90 miles on it. He hasn't even been through his first tank of gas because he's so anal about it being clean. But of course, I can't have a car that my best friend already has.

I hadn't been to the Chevy dealer for a Cobalt yet, because I wasn't too thrilled with service last time I went there. Besides, there were no 5 speeds on the lot, 2 or 4 door.

So I made a stop at Mazda yesterday with a friend to check out the 3s they had on the lot. They had a very nicely optioned white 3 s with a 5 speed and the 17s. No navi or HIDs, but that falls under the nice to have but don't really need it list. It had a moonroof and power windows/locks/mirrors and that's all I really care for as far as options.

The sales guy there was awesome. All he did was scan my license and the three of us took off and the first words out of his mouth were, "if you drive this car like you hate it, you'll love it, but if you just tool around, you won't see the true capabilities." Hm, sounds like some people on CEG, eh?

So I did that. I asked him how far we could go and he said as far as the gas tank will take you. I was ecstatic. So far the only thing bothering me was the sound system. I wasn't impressed by it. A subwoofer would cure that right up, and the buttons were on the steering wheel too.

This car flat out hauled ass. I took an on ramp at full throttle and banged through the first four gears and I was doing 90 mph before I even knew it.

It handled like it was on rails. I thought it was incredible. I wasn't nearly as impressed with the 6 as I was with the way the 3 took curves. I thought the Spectra was the best handling (besides some nasty bump vibration in the steering wheel) of the pack that I drove earlier, but there was no contest. It did everything and it did it well.

Bottom line, is that this is a freakin' awesome car.

-SAV



My brother bought a mazda 3s last year and I must say I was pretty impressed. It handled well, had decent acceleration, and the fit and finish was well above my CSVT. It's a surprising car for the money.

Vinny 2000 T-RED CSVT MODS: 18" REV model 2 ST200 struts/Roush springs CTA intake Pipe/K&N Filter Dtec Heatshield Optimized TB True Duals w/ magnaflow mufflers/resonators