Triepsyn
Mar-31st-04, 12:05 am
<center>2004 MAZDA 3 5-DOOR</center>
DATE IN FLEET: March 3-17
AS-TESTED PRICE: $17,445
POWERTRAIN: 2.3-liter I4; fwd, five-speed manual
OUTPUT: 160 hp @ 6500 rpm, 150 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 2826 pounds
http://autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0322/0322-dl-mazda3.jpg
RAYNAL: How cool is this? I have always liked little wagons, and I loved zipping around in this thing. It's good-looking inside and out, well built, has good power (above 4000 rpm at least) and nifty handling. It's a hoot around town, composed and quiet, with excellent steering. I loved it. A way-cool car at a fair price.
Since the new Focus is coming on this platform, that is good news for Ford's small car. Until Honda comes up with a Civic Si wagon or Toyota does a Corolla S wagon, this is about the only game in town.
NEFF: This is a car I not only get a kick out of driving, but for which I find myself longing. After days behind the wheel of two-ton, self-important luxo-cruisers, all I want to do is pound my head against a wall and rail against all that's wrong in the world. "Stop clearing the rain forests! Save the whale! Equality for all! I just want to drive!" I could care less about being coddled. I don't need vents with automated covers. I want to push one button to change the radio station. And cloth seats are just fine, thank you. I can think of nothing that makes me cringe like getting behind the wheel of a car costing a buck only to find that it's an automaton, driver not required.
Driving the Mazda 3 cleanses the palate of over-garnished automotive fare. It's the ballpark hot dog to the luxury car's filet de boeuf: straight-up, honest, to the point yet tasty. It responds beautifully to aggressive steering inputs. Shifting is easy. And power is more than adequate so long as you keep the revs up-even so, the 2.3 has more low-end torque than most small-car motors of its ilk. It simply does everything I want a car to do, the way I want a car to do it. The hatchback just makes it that much more versatile.
DATE IN FLEET: March 3-17
AS-TESTED PRICE: $17,445
POWERTRAIN: 2.3-liter I4; fwd, five-speed manual
OUTPUT: 160 hp @ 6500 rpm, 150 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 2826 pounds
http://autoweek.com/weekart/2004/0322/0322-dl-mazda3.jpg
RAYNAL: How cool is this? I have always liked little wagons, and I loved zipping around in this thing. It's good-looking inside and out, well built, has good power (above 4000 rpm at least) and nifty handling. It's a hoot around town, composed and quiet, with excellent steering. I loved it. A way-cool car at a fair price.
Since the new Focus is coming on this platform, that is good news for Ford's small car. Until Honda comes up with a Civic Si wagon or Toyota does a Corolla S wagon, this is about the only game in town.
NEFF: This is a car I not only get a kick out of driving, but for which I find myself longing. After days behind the wheel of two-ton, self-important luxo-cruisers, all I want to do is pound my head against a wall and rail against all that's wrong in the world. "Stop clearing the rain forests! Save the whale! Equality for all! I just want to drive!" I could care less about being coddled. I don't need vents with automated covers. I want to push one button to change the radio station. And cloth seats are just fine, thank you. I can think of nothing that makes me cringe like getting behind the wheel of a car costing a buck only to find that it's an automaton, driver not required.
Driving the Mazda 3 cleanses the palate of over-garnished automotive fare. It's the ballpark hot dog to the luxury car's filet de boeuf: straight-up, honest, to the point yet tasty. It responds beautifully to aggressive steering inputs. Shifting is easy. And power is more than adequate so long as you keep the revs up-even so, the 2.3 has more low-end torque than most small-car motors of its ilk. It simply does everything I want a car to do, the way I want a car to do it. The hatchback just makes it that much more versatile.