15 years in the making
The Mazda3 is a fine automobile. It is very popular in Canada and especially in Quebec. It has had a small number of teething problems but the 3 is still one of the better selections one can make in the highly competitive compact car segment. That is that.
Now for the magic afforded by a turbocharger. Back in my younger years, I hungered for power and to a certain extent, I still do. I turned to Mazda in the mid-nineties and purchased a 1989 MX-6 GT. I still talk about this phenomenally fast car to this day. This was following my father's acquisition of a 1991 MX-6 GT a few years earlier. This generation of the 626 and MX-6 ended in 1992 and so did the era of turbocharged FWD Mazdas. Sure, they had been criticized for their massive torque-steer and turbo-lag but when the boost kicked in, few cars twice the price could match it for all out performance.
Fast-forward 15 years and Mazda is back in the game baby! In my eyes,
the Mazdaspeed3 is the spiritual successor to my beloved MX-6 GT. Granted it has two extra doors and a hatch but the 626 hatchback was actually available with the 2.2T between 1988 and 1992. Better yet, who can forget the late 80s 323 GTX which featured both a turbo and AWD! Mazda was really on the ball back in those days. They still are of course but you understand.
Check this out
As stealthy as the MX-6 was, the 3 screams a little louder for attention. Every MSP3 (Mazdaspeed3) produced from July and August 2006 was painted True Red. The moment people see the car, never mind hear it blast by, they know that it is trouble. Mazda wisely coupled the paint with dashing 18" alloys, a large rear spoiler, a deeper and larger front bumper and a 3" tailpipe; all the workings of a truly winning boy-racer special. When the assembly line picks up again in February 2007, Crystal White, Black Pearl and Cosmic Blue Pearl will be added to the color palette.
Aesthetically, the car is perfect. It is tight, compact, mean and ready to explode. I am very happy that Mazda selected the Sport as the base for the MSP and not the sedan. The hatchback body perfectly rivals the like of the Volkswagen GTI and the Europeans namely the Vauxhall Astra VXR, the Focus ST and the upcoming Peugeot 207 GTI.
TURBO
According to the very brilliant Wikipedia website, the turbocharger was invented by a Swiss-born engineer named Alfred Buchi in the first years of the 1900s. He had originally been working on steam turbines and was looking to increase their efficiency. What a genius! Since then, this pressurizing process has been fine-tuned and improved. One of the ways has been through direct fuel injection. With little or no effort, small displacement engines are regularly producing 100 hp / liter or more. In the case of the potent MZR DISI 2.3L, it develops 263 hp or just over 114 hp per liter and 280 lb/ft of torque. The word explosive barely manages to explain what happens when the boost is in full effect. The MSP3 flies and just about sounds like a low-flying fighter-jet; the high-flowing exhaust gases surge through the pipes with furry. Not-to-100 km/h is covered in less than 6 seconds; that is of course if traction can be maintained. Really impressive is passing other would-be sporty cars on the highway; the MSP3 pounces and takes off like no ones business. The driver has to be weary of engine speed. The power-band is sweetest between a tick under 3-grand up to 5,500 rpm.
 |
| 2007 Mazdaspeed3 (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com) |
Now for the magic afforded by a turbocharger. Back in my younger years, I hungered for power and to a certain extent, I still do. I turned to Mazda in the mid-nineties and purchased a 1989 MX-6 GT. I still talk about this phenomenally fast car to this day. This was following my father's acquisition of a 1991 MX-6 GT a few years earlier. This generation of the 626 and MX-6 ended in 1992 and so did the era of turbocharged FWD Mazdas. Sure, they had been criticized for their massive torque-steer and turbo-lag but when the boost kicked in, few cars twice the price could match it for all out performance.
Fast-forward 15 years and Mazda is back in the game baby! In my eyes,
 |
| 2007 Mazdaspeed3 (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com) |
Check this out
As stealthy as the MX-6 was, the 3 screams a little louder for attention. Every MSP3 (Mazdaspeed3) produced from July and August 2006 was painted True Red. The moment people see the car, never mind hear it blast by, they know that it is trouble. Mazda wisely coupled the paint with dashing 18" alloys, a large rear spoiler, a deeper and larger front bumper and a 3" tailpipe; all the workings of a truly winning boy-racer special. When the assembly line picks up again in February 2007, Crystal White, Black Pearl and Cosmic Blue Pearl will be added to the color palette.
Aesthetically, the car is perfect. It is tight, compact, mean and ready to explode. I am very happy that Mazda selected the Sport as the base for the MSP and not the sedan. The hatchback body perfectly rivals the like of the Volkswagen GTI and the Europeans namely the Vauxhall Astra VXR, the Focus ST and the upcoming Peugeot 207 GTI.
TURBO
 |
| 2007 Mazdaspeed3 (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com) |