2013 Mazdaspeed3: A Front-Wheel Drive Muscle Car? - Ignition Episode 56 - video Dailymotion

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Watch 2013 Mazdaspeed3: A Front-Wheel Drive Muscle Car? - Ignition Episode 56 - MotorTrend on Dailymotion

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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:03 In terms of raw power, the Mazda Speed 3

00:16 still reigns over the hot hatch market.

00:18 Its 280 pound-feet of torque, to this day,

00:21 still seems preposterous and hugely intriguing.

00:25 Is it too much?

00:26 On the face of it, the answer would seem yes.

00:28 But let's look deeper, spend some time with this hatchback,

00:31 and see if there's more to its personality.

00:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:56 Of course, with 280 pound-feet of torque,

00:59 launching the Mazda Speed 3 is difficult.

01:02 We found the best was to pretty much release

01:04 the clutch at about 2,500 RPM, and then

01:06 short shift after first gear at about 6,000 RPM,

01:10 because you can really feel the power band fall off.

01:12 Let's give it a try.

01:15 Violent launch, spins at the top of first.

01:19 You want to grab the next gear at about 6,000 RPM.

01:23 You'll hit 60 in about 5.8 seconds.

01:29 And the quarter mile at 14.3 seconds at 100 miles an hour.

01:35 You can really feel the power band fall off

01:38 at about 6,000 RPM.

01:41 And for our 60 to 0 braking test,

01:47 the Mazda took 117 feet.

01:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]

01:54 The figure eight with the Mazda Speed 3.

01:57 This car is kind of silly.

02:02 Got a pretty high level of grip mid-corner.

02:04 Coming out of the corner, though,

02:07 it's just incredible how this thing delivers power.

02:12 It's not as lively mid-corner as I was like.

02:14 In fact, you just find yourself up

02:16 against the limits of the front tires

02:19 when you're trying to modulate the throttle.

02:21 It makes cornering, especially on our handling track,

02:24 rather difficult. Bit of understeer on turn in.

02:27 Tail actually isn't doing a lot if I drop the throttle.

02:30 Can't much to induce any sort of yaw or anything.

02:33 But it sure makes up for it between the corners.

02:37 It goes from the exit to the entry of the next corner

02:40 so quickly.

02:42 It's nuts.

02:43 In fact, driving this thing fast is

02:45 a matter of getting it to the corner,

02:47 slowing it down so you can turn it around,

02:49 and then powering out as hard as possible.

02:52 It's not a lot of finesse.

02:55 Kind of clumsy, but kind of fun, too.

02:58 There's so much torque that when you come out,

03:05 you're just spinning one tire.

03:06 And this thing has a limited slip.

03:09 We're still getting a lot of one-wheel peel.

03:12 And modulating the power, again, through a corner

03:15 is just so difficult because there's so much power you have

03:17 to modulate that the front tires just feel overburdened.

03:22 And the whole time, the steering's

03:23 going every which direction.

03:25 Like a muscle car front drive hot hatch.

03:33 Now, the Mazda Speed 3's biggest strength,

03:42 and the thing about it that's most noticeable,

03:43 is its engine.

03:44 It's just maniacal, the way it delivers power,

03:47 the way it comes on boost.

03:49 It takes a while for it to do so.

03:52 Below 3,000 RPM, there isn't a lot the engine's doing.

03:56 But once you get above that RPM, the power comes in,

04:00 and it literally pushes your head into the back of the seat.

04:04 It's pretty incredible.

04:05 But there is something endearing about that power surge.

04:13 The way it comes in, and how silly it feels.

04:17 Now, of course, there are downsides

04:18 with sending that much torque to the front tires,

04:21 and it is torque steer.

04:24 You don't notice it so much in the higher gears,

04:26 like 3 and 4 and so on.

04:28 And Mazda's actually limiting boost in first and second

04:30 to help reduce torque steer.

04:33 Now, of course, torque steer is not desirable,

04:36 but you can't fight physics.

04:38 And with this much power going to the front tires,

04:40 it's just going to happen.

04:41 You just have to accept it, much in the way

04:43 you have to accept oversteer in an FR-S or chest hair

04:46 in a Corvette.

04:47 It's part of the equation.

04:48 And if you can live with that, it's

04:53 worth living with that with this car, it feels right.

04:56 This thing feels like a properly overpowered front wheel drive

05:00 car.

05:01 But it just has these little hints

05:03 that it was somebody's baby, that it was somebody's project.

05:06 Because the engine feels so unrefined in its power

05:09 delivery, you have this kind of constant exhaust drone

05:13 that you get on the freeways.

05:16 You have this really on-off clutch.

05:18 It's so quick in its engagement.

05:21 Gives you a lot of feedback, but still super quick.

05:23 Feels like some sort of aftermarket racing clutch.

05:26 But all these things, while by themselves would be downsides,

05:30 together they make for a car that's

05:32 just kind of charming in its roughness, in its ruggedness.

05:37 This thing is enjoyable to throw around, to beat on,

05:40 to feel its rough edges.

05:42 The quality, though, of this car isn't something

05:49 I'd say I'd want to take to a racetrack, to an autocross.

05:51 It's something that I want to enjoy around town.

05:53 Sort of as a front drive muscle car.

05:57 That's the feel that this thing has.

05:58 Maybe it's what it wants to be.

06:00 Something with bonkers power, crazy delivery,

06:04 and just sort of comical driving habits,

06:08 at least relative to the hot hatch front drive segment.

06:32 Overall, the Mazda Speed 3 feels well-controlled,

06:36 and the steering is positive and true.

06:38 The chassis doesn't exhibit a lot of noticeable flex

06:41 around corners, but understeer rears its head

06:43 when you approach the limit.

06:45 The refined chassis, though, is a funny pairing

06:47 with that torquey engine, which has

06:49 this rawness to its character and hilarious power delivery.

06:53 If you love turbos and the way they surge when

06:56 you get into the boost, the Speed 3

06:57 is huge fun, if not just for the engine.

07:01 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:08 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:12 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]

07:23 [Music]

2013 Mazdaspeed3: A Front-Wheel Drive Muscle Car? - Ignition Episode 56

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