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Old 10-09-2012, 05:02 PM   #42
Bankie
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 37785
Join Date: Jun 2003
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: Ohio
Vehicle:
2016 Mazda 3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO View Post
You are not going to believe this, but there is more to a car than Just performance.
Well I mentioned performance because you stated that the ST swept the performance tests. And I really just wanted to state that those are the worst numbers ever given for a MS3 and the best numbers we've seen so far from the ST (I know we have little data on it at this point ).

Quote:
Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO View Post
The Focus ST is so far ahead of the MS3 in terms of ergos it is silly, it does not have the Draconian nannies that the MS3 has, has an infinitely better shifter, and the performance is probably about a dead heat despite the HP difference.
The only nannies I know of on the MS3 are Traction and Stability Control which can be turned off and the boost control in low gears. That's my understanding with the old one; is the current model different?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO View Post
As for the tires, get over it. If Mazda decides not to put better tires on their cars its their fault. But my MS3 had 215's on it, and it was still a little go kart. The MS3 has more HP an more torque in a heavier car with narrower tires. Sounds like a problem Mazda needs to solve. However, the wider the tire, the less feel a tire can have, so every decision must be balanced with the consequences.
I agree that it's Mazda's fault for speccing not-so-good tires but as shown it's basically neck and neck in performance with a car running better and wider rubber. R&T said that the MS3 was only 11lbs heavier. They also mentioned that the Focus had somewhat of a numb feel off center but still saw fit to give it a perfect score in the Steering category which is a 10% higher score than what they gave the MS3. They don't even mention the steering of the MS3 other than to say "torque steer".

Quote:
Originally Posted by SCRAPPYDO
Laugh all you want about the MS3 figures, but they are believable to me since if you even nudge the rev limiter it shuts you down like somebody flips a switch. Not being able to disable the nannies is crap. It is 90% of the reason I sold my speed3
Doesn't the MS3's power drop off around 1000rpm before the rev limiter? Should be plenty of time to not hit it. You shift at what? 5000RPM and it's back into the power band.

I think that your test drive findings are fine and I'd likely agree with you if I get to take one out. But between a scoring system that seems highly subjective and scores for things like exterior design being included in the total (The ST gets a 50% higher rating than the MS3 and 40% more than the GTI for looks?) I find R&Ts results to be suspect.
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Last edited by Bankie; 10-09-2012 at 05:12 PM.
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