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Comments
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I'm not complaining though.
Bruno
PS: to fowler3 only, you can alternatively click here.
Yes, I still chose the smaller car. There is one more advantage of a lighter car: even if I can't avoid an accident, as the lighter car brakes and steers quicker, the impact might end up to be less severe than with the heavier car (less speed and less chance for frontal impacts: diminution of 5mph makes a *huge* difference in the crash). So even the crash test rating of the lighter car is worse, I might even have less severe injury.[unquote]
yes, that's what I meant (in reference to the 30%). Good point about the less severe impact possibilities of having the lighter, and better braking, lighter car.
And you have a very responsible attitude about vehicle safety (your comment about not wanting to cause harm by having a heavier vehicle, even though it could potentially expose you and your passengers to danger).
ok, I'm done talking about this, as it's veering too far away from main subject. Good points made by all, though.
it seems like the yahoo sever where the pictures are hosted has technical problems right now (Friday morning). I doubt it will be up again for today. Sorry for the inconvenience. :-(
Bruno
Yeah!
I'm pretty excited to finally get a good look at them in person.
Those of you who keep an eye on the N/A 2.0L-AT need to be cautious: the final drive is unusually long, compared to other versions of Mazda3.
Don't know yet for N. America, will know when the car is at the dealer. But just because the euro-specs don't have it doesn't necessarily mean N. America won't (because, if I remember correctly, RX-8's in different country's have different remotes). However, the Pro sedan didn't have it. Bottom-line, I don't know, but I'd put my money on NOT having the button.
'2. Is there a outside temperature display in the Mazda3 for N/A?'
No, ambient temperature is one of the things that are taken out of N. American-spec. So the entire right-hand portion of the time/radio display is simply blank (cause no auto-climate controls for N. American either).
Yes, the MZ3i-AT has the same problem as the MZ6i-AT. Final drive 3.683 on the MZ3i-AT (2.0L) and 4.416 on the MZ3s-AT (2.3L).
True. The popular engines for Europe will be both diesel 1.6-CD engines of 90 and 110 HP from PSA/Ford join venture.
That having said, the 2.0L won't be much better in sale than the 2.3L. There is a small European market for high performance sport cars such as Golf R32, Renault William. There is a version of Peugeot 307 2.0L with 180 HP, etc... and don't forget the Mazda RX-8 just in the show room recently! These cars are also produced in order to enhance the image of car makers.
Sorry if I confused anyone.
So it tells you the temperature outside, for what purpose? Serves to remind you that you need to bring a jacket before you go outside because it's a little nippy out?
DOH! that's right! you ARE already outside!
205/55 R 16
2602/3383 N.A. 2.0 & 2.3
2781/3616 Japan 2.3
2016/2621 Diesel
Automatic Transmission
195/65 R 15
2233/2902 N.A. 2.0
205/55 R 16
2242/2914 N.A. 2.0
So if the weak-low-end non-SV-T 2.0 can handle 81 mph cruising at 2902 rpm, then the 2.3 should be able to do it at 2621 rpm by using the diesel's manual transmission. If I got the $, I'll put in those gears. The nice thing about this transmission ratios is that the 1st & 5th are spreaded very wide apart, so that's better than just adopting the tall final drive ratio on the existing 2.3's manual transmission. A mechanic said it cost as much labor to replace the final drive as re-building the whole transmission.
Mazda3's shifting ease is great, so down shifting to 4th every time I need to accelerate or going up hill is find, & fun, too.
The only time I will miss the close-ratio 5-sp is when I autocross, which is very rare.
I can not confirm this and have no proof, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they might show up a little early. Just a hunch.
but otherwise, I'm correct.. it's a novelty!
creakid1 - disturbing news, isn't it? 3383 rpm at 81mph? wouldn't that mean it's louder at that speed than all the other engines (with the exception of the diesel 2.3)? am I missing something here?
Where's the love people!!
But we still love it.
Dinu
When something is on-the-way it's not the same as it-just-arrived and here-it-is! We are still hearing about it second hand. Love at first sight does mean seeing it.
Bruno, thanks for the special pictures for me!
That's two beers I owe you, or do you prefer wine? Which reminds me, does the optional bottle cooler in the glove box hold wine bottles?
The debate about lighter vs heavier cars in crashes has some merit, especially being able to avoid crashing. I recall one incident I managed to avoid being in a small car. A huge dump truck came barreling around a curve and swerved across the double line into my lane. I drove off the road and up an embankment just in time to avoid being a greasy spot on the pavement. If I had been in a larger car without quick steering and a longer body I wouldn't have made it.
Comparing the Mazda3 to the Mazda6, regardless of the same or different ratings, is comparing apples with oranges because of the 6's wider turning circle. The 6 isn't as nimble and tossable.
Every day I use the Protegé's quick response and tossability to avoid fender benders, and worse. After owning one of these cars a driver can not afford to drive anything LESS and still be as safe. A *miss* is as good as a mile or a kilometer.
I look at larger cars and then I think about the slow response and poor handling. More often than not, I see larger cars and SUVs in local wrecks, few if any compact cars involved.
It's amazing how few people understand kinetic energy and the force it develops as speed increases. A speed difference of as little as 10mph more can increase the force by 400%.
fowler3
Thanks for so many great pictures
Groovy:
Trust me, I'm excited, still think it'll be 2 more weeks till they reach Toronto though.
MazdaUSA:
MazdaUSA has updated their Mazda3 section. You'll notice that the regular N. American-spec sedan is identical (grille and rear bumper) to the picture Bruno put up from a few days ago (still don't understand why that came from a Czech source, cause the moment I saw it I pretty much knew it was N. American-spec).
Edit: Oops, I guess pzev beat me by 1 minute!
I can't believe I didn't even bother to drive check out last week's Anaheim Auto Show(45 minutes away) to see if the 3 would be there. It was!
When the '90 Protege clone - the '91 Escort/Tracer - were about to come out, I did bother to. It was funny, in that mid-year Anaheim show I discovered that the upcoming Escort had the most disgusting-looking power mirror switch I've ever seen. But the production version added textured surface to it so it became ok.
http://groups.msn.com/BrunoLuong/transmissionspec.msnw
80 to 90 mph cruising is quite typical around here in parts of S California. 3300 rpm at 80 mph isn’t necessarily that bad. The Acura TSX 4-cyl 6-sp is about the same. Even my ’93 Camry V6 SE auto revs pretty high on top gear. But the difference is that, compare to Mazda’s 2.3, those two engines are nearly silent even when revved pretty high. At least sound quality wise, the engine noise chart showed that Mazda3's engine(not sure which one) is honed so that, from about 3000 to 4000 rpm, the noise sounds quite pleasant.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brunoluong/vwp?.dir=/Graph&.- - dnm=engine_noise.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t
Ask Mazda why they only bothered to lower that much rpm for the N.A. 2.3 3300 rpm vs Japan's 3600 rpm & not the diesel’s 2600 rpm at 80 mph. They’ll probably tell you, “Well, our 2.3 is no Honda 2.4 ‘cause it’s kind of weak below 3000 rpm. Therefore, can't go zoom zoom when idling lazily at 2600 rpm going 80 mph.”
Are the wheels shown on the "i" model, the 15" or 16". They look sort of small to be 16". If they are 16", I will probably get the sport package, and take 5 extra minutes a day to avoid the roads with potholes
In N. American-spec, both the regular and sport bumper have reflectors on each side. However, although the 2 bumpers may look quite similar, if you look really closely you'll see that they are indeed different.
To see the difference, take a VERY close look at the sand mica sedan's rear bumper on Bruno's website and compare it to this:
http://www.canadianautoreview.com/mazda3-sedangfx-rearbumper.JPG
You'll see that the sport bumper in my link above has a much more defined line near the bottom of the bumper that the regular one doesn't have.
As for the silver & glossy black trim on the instrument panel, MazdaUSA made a mistake in the specifications document. The US-specs document is indeed reversed, as you pointed out in reference to the MazdaUSA pics.
The front bumpers are easier to recorgnize. The i-trim bumper doesn't have a nervure at all, and the shapes of the bottom side-holes where the fog-lights are normally located are different. Also the doc says that there is one centimeter more in front-overhang for the s-trim. Thus the s-bumper should be longer.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brunoluong/vwp?.dir=/Album+02&am- p;am- p;am- p;.dnm=s_vs_i.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t
They are all 16 inches.
New photos of the US i-trim seem to confirm that the US sedans look lower than the sedans seen elsewhere. I wonder if this is just an optical illusion or they have lowered the N/A sedan and cut back some suspension travel.
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brunoluong/vwp?.dir=/Interior&am- p;.dnm=BP5.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t
That about 100 rpm lower than the Protegé5 MT. I don't like the noise of the P5 FS-DE 2.0L engine, especially in the range of 3500-4000 rpm. Fortunately, since moving back to Europe, the engine is working mostly above 4000 rpm on the Hwy (90-100 mph), and it's pretty quiet up there. I can can barely hear the engine and, which admittedly dominated by hear wind-noise and road-noise.
Ask Mazda why they only bothered to lower that much rpm for the N.A. 2.3 3300 rpm vs Japan's 3600 rpm & not the diesel’s 2600 rpm at 80 mph. They’ll probably tell you, “Well, our 2.3 is no Honda 2.4 ‘cause it’s kind of weak below 3000 rpm. Therefore, can't go zoom zoom when idling lazily at 2600 rpm going 80 mph.”
I doubt it, according the torque curve, the torque of the MZR 2.3L is around 140 ft-lb above 2600 rpm, which is pretty decent (though the 1.6-CD Mazda diesel engine in Europe delivers 177 ft-lb at 1750 rpm! Torque-wise, petrol engines is *not* in the same league than diesel engines.) I rather like the gear ratio setup for the MT in N/A market (same for both 2.0 and 2.3L). IMHO, the only worthy upgrade is an 6-speed gear box, using the more or less same first five ratios and adding a sixth gear around 0.6 or less.
Bruno
- DSC electronic stability and TSC traction control
- intelligent light control system
- headlight washers
- rain-sensing intermittent wipers
- aerotwin wipers
- 5-door LED taillight
- driving information center
- ambient temperature gauge
- central rear headrest and rear armrest
- two tones BP7/BP8 upholstery
However the US spec sheet mentions the remote trunk lid release as standard for the sedan.
Any correction/addition are welcome.
Bruno
from the above list, only the lack of traction control distresses me, as it's become a pretty common feature with new cars.
I would have liked, but won't kill me to not have, DSB and headlight washers.
the rest.. *shoulder shrug*
I would have even accepted TCS. At least it's something to help you in bad weather. After having TCS last winter in my VW through the snows we had in MD, I will never have another car without it if I can help it (my PT has it too).
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/mazda3/swf/mz3_pricing.pdf
So 22K TMV would be accurate except for the fact it isn't on sale in most places yet
It says on mazdausa.com that the glovebox fits most laptops! I wonder how accurate that is.