meh, anything is better than my current road trip vehicle/DD, so it’s not a big deal.
I am liking what I am reading about the WRX
What’s wrong with wagons?
the 09 WRX is nice, but with AWD it loses by a mile to the MS3 in the roadtrip department.
ive owned and driven all, if not most of the cars you are talking about, including having gone through the Mazda warranty department for the turbo issue and i would still choose that for the money.
the speed3 is the best all around car i have owned and driven any amount of time.
i drove it to west palm beach florida from buff in 17 hours and 3 3/4 tanks of gas. at 90+mph the whole way.
—and to Mike(MPD) you drive BMWs and porshces, which i work on all day everyday. they suck. the quality is terrible and the maintenance issues they face are a fucking joke. 2000$+ for a valley pan install on an 05 X5. a 4 year old car should not have 1 part install cost $2000. not to mention door handles, angel eyes, LCAs, ball joints, coolant reservoirs and PLASTIC(hahah seriously) plastic coolant lines, etc all cost a FORTUNE to install and they are what keep the repair shop side of our business open.
i will never, never, never own a european car unless i have built it from the ground up with the parts of my choosing and disregarding some or most OEM equip.
what makes the WRX so much worse on roadtrips than the ms3?
MPG? Ride?
To me the WRX is the winner by a long shot. Reliability, performance, AWD = win
ha yeah i didnt realize this either until i picked up the current issue of car and driver at tops the other day i couldnt believe my eyes when i saw the horsepower numbers lol you should pick it up they did comparisons of all the cars your talking about they are all on the cover of the issue.
You can pick up my GTI, I’m probably going to unload it Monday at the BMW dealership.
motortrend just named the GTI the best compact
The '10 Speed3 is coming out in the middle of the year and, according to initial reports will put out +300hp, get better gas millage, and handle better. From what I’ve heard they set the bar higher than the cobalt… soo… (and the cobalt ain’t a wagon, like you want)
I’ve had a 05 3 since it was new and I still love to drive it everyday. I plan on going to a couple of Nationals and ProSolo’s this year and hopefully the finals as well. (My 3 does pretty well nationally). The Speed 3 is still competitive is DS right now. There are a couple of guys running them to the limit and having good results. The car is a lot of fun to drive hard!
Last year a Speed 3 won the MaxAttack ProRally and a regular 3 won the final in club racing (SSC I think). So they are competitive outside of Solo too.
If you get a speed3 get the ‘3M clear-bra’ thing for the front, the paint chips a little to easy on the front. The motor mount is also a known issue and is being fixed under warranty.
You can ask around on the mazda3forums too if you want more specific info. Hope this helps ya make the right decision.
I like them a lot, wish they came in the sedan version though…
why not look into the cobalt SS it has launch control and no lift to shift… that in itself makes it awesome… I havent read any horror stories about them except for the poor interior qualities from previous years, and i’m not sure if they have changed the interior.
Anyone try a new 2010 MS3?
I’m also debating between a WRX and MS3.
I like the AWD -.-
MS6 was a consideration, but it doesn’t seem to have great reviews… :\
Good lease deals on new WRX’s right now.
IMO the new MS3 is FUGLY.
Yes they are…very very fugly indeed
Go get yourself a leftover 09 if you can.
I have had my MS3 for a little over a year now and absolutely love the thing to death!!!
I haven’t come across any major issues yet. A balancer pulley got loose, but that was replaced under warranty. Most of the initial issues that have been reported were with the 07 model, typical for a first year release.
I do miss my WRX for the AWD and that is it. I like the styling of my MS3 better, the interior better, and it outperforms the WRX for a little less $$. Also the mods are far cheaper then WRX mods if you ever plan on going that route…
Yeah, I found 2 09s at transittowne.
Was going to see if they had any good deals going on, trying to move them out and such.
Figure they’re MSRP is 4k less than a WRX… sooo… I lose AWD, but meh.
Save a bit of coin.
Reveiws or not, i love my MS6. I’ve had it for two years. It’s a mix between luxury and performance, on a budget. It’s not the fastest car, but is great on and off the thruway for zipping around. It has just shy of enough power to kick the back wheels out at will, unlike the STI. Of course, they weren’t built to compete with each other. The STI is more performance than luxury… lighter with more power. The MS6 is quick enough to not be dangerous of losing control on accident. 
The MS3 is nice as well. same engine… just FWD. Seems like a decent car as well!
Meh.
Just went out to check out and talk to a salesman about a MS3.
Putting 6k down, still 400+ a month.
That’s out of the question now, ahaha.
Well, not really… because thats affordable, but… I’d rather buy a 6k car and not have to make payments for the next 5 years 
The Mazda3 wagons are hot, I want one:
.jpg)
As soon as my car is sold I’m getting a speed 3.
The MS3 dominated at the Dunville time attacks this year in the wet. Even when it was damp it ran a better time than the fastest nyspeeder… who’s tme was it? MPDs? 