http://www.thetorquereport.com/mazda_mps_extreme_official_image017.jpg holy same freakin car as the new sti
the interior is hideous in my opinion. maybe its because i hate that color red. overall the car looks nice though, i'm sure it performs pretty well too
All that power and torque to the front wheels... Torque steer anyone? I don't care what anyone says, FWD does not a sports car make. All the fun things that a sports car is good for, like breaking the rear end loose on a hard corner, is lost on a FWD car. Make that thing RWD or AWD and I'd take it seriously.
Yeah, it may torque steer a little bit, but Mazda's 323/Protege/Mazda3 has always been proven to be a stellar handling car. The 3rd gen protege was an excellent autox car. Mazda has always done a fine job of making their little car handle well. And a wagon is not a sports car. It is a commuter car. Just like the STi and the WRX and the Evo etc...they are standard people movers before they are anything else. They have alot of power for such a simple purpose and a lot of fancy suspension bits and such, but aside from that, they aren't "sports cars." They can be raced, sure, the same way that MS3 can be raced. But they weren't built for pure racing, they were built with performance AND everyday driving in mind.
To add to that note, this is the car I'm most closely watching. The rumored new Toyota AE86. Next gen Initial-D... I'll take one in panda white thanks. Oh, and it has a subaru rear end on its drivetrain. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/01/rumoured-new-ae86-more-details/
Yeah, I understand where you're comin from. Mazda's SC cars do handle quite well, and would likely do well on the autox. And Imprezas and Evos indeed are not much more than tricked out people movers. But they're not FWD (at least the newer ones), even the wagons aren't, so you can still get them to do things that a FWD car will never be able to do. I guess I'm just not much of a FWD guy. Driving a friend's civic hatchback and then jumping into my bro's S13 conversion or my RSTi... the difference is just huge.
No, I'm not another 'initial-d dorifto' person. But I'd prefer an AE86 or any AWD/FR/MR to a MS3 anyday of the week.
Oh, I'd agree that RWD and AWD I'd prefer, but I just don't see knocking a car that has a pedigree of good handling just because it is FWD.
Much hotter than the New STI to me. I'm loving the release of all the new "hot hatches" as my buddy calls them. I think we are slowly working our way towards the europeans in our choice of vehicles. None the sooner IMO. I'm sure Zak's go an opinion of this new mazda/fwd situation/suspension comments. I usually wait to hear what he has to say before I crack into the performance/handling stuff. If I speak now, I end up feeling inferior once the suspension gods have spoken.
I think I'm just getting too old, but I can't stand all the new fast cars being 'hot hatches'. For my "fun" car, I'll take a coupe or roadster.
Oh, and by hot hatches, I mean: BMW 1 Series Audi A3 Honda Civic Hatch STI Toyota Yaris (Not a HOT hatch, but you get the idea) The new 300BHP ford focus RS Toyota Matrix VW GTI Nissan's new concept::yumyum: Mitsu's hatch concept: Whatever you do, dont forget about the Chevy Aveo. :laugh::laugh::laugh: While hatches arent by any means "new" to the US, they ARE getting much sportier looking, better handling, and MUCH, much more power. It definately seems like a good trend.
I'm still not a huge fan of hatches... even really expensive ones :biggrin: If you're referring to a power difference, you're mistaken. It's a gsr swapped and boosted EK hatch, runs a high 13 or so with decent coilovers as well. It can definitely keep up in the straight or in the corners. But I still don't think it's as fun to toss around as the S13 or the RSti. What I'm referring to is the ability to add throttle and induce oversteer. Fun to do, but not exactly easy (or possible?) with FWD. I'm not knocking FWD cars for what they're capable of, and some are quite capable, but for me, they're just not as fun. If you like 'em, more power to you.
No problem, but the way you mentioned it, compared to how you mentioned the other cars. Made it sound like it was a stock civic.
