I had a 1st gen Speed3 for 4 years. It was the first nice car I owned. It was a lot of fun without sacrificing practicality. It earned the nickname Motor Trend gave it: The FWD Muscle Car. It was raw, it felt like it wanted you to open it up, and when you mashed the throttle, the boost threw you in your seat and the turbo made all the right noises. No Mazda 3 I've driven since then has put as big a smile on my face. I don't really care for the more upmarket direction they've gone in since my car as built. It's like everyone except Mitsubishi and Nissan is afraid to build a car that's unapologetically cheap, even though that's what we need more of. Even Honda lost their low end car when they discontinued the Fit (I proudly own a 2015 LX 6 speed, so that's not good news for me)
@@SuperFunnyguy13 They don't, as far as manuals go. These regulations are based on car class (Small car, Midsize SUV) and are put out years in advanced for development. Making it expensive for manufacturers to produce small volume cars with modified engines for the sake of car enthusiasts. (Remember it always boils back to costs) Believe it or not, automatics have outpaced manuals in terms of MPG, and it too has become unprofitable for companies.
Depends on the price and parts. Most of the problems come from oil consumption and timing chain if stock. If the car has been modded, be prepared for a headache. If stock and well maintained with a good price, consider it.
I had a 1st gen Speed3 for 4 years. It was the first nice car I owned. It was a lot of fun without sacrificing practicality. It earned the nickname Motor Trend gave it: The FWD Muscle Car. It was raw, it felt like it wanted you to open it up, and when you mashed the throttle, the boost threw you in your seat and the turbo made all the right noises. No Mazda 3 I've driven since then has put as big a smile on my face. I don't really care for the more upmarket direction they've gone in since my car as built. It's like everyone except Mitsubishi and Nissan is afraid to build a car that's unapologetically cheap, even though that's what we need more of. Even Honda lost their low end car when they discontinued the Fit (I proudly own a 2015 LX 6 speed, so that's not good news for me)
I really liked the 2nd gen mazdaspeed3. Curious why Mazda didn't use Ford's RevoKnuckle. They cheaped out on the current 3 chassis.
From what I gathered, they were beefing on the low so that hindered a lot of the enthusiasm in later models.
All they have to do is slap a manual in the turbo awd hatch and im sold and im sure a lot of people would appreciate it like me
Yeah, but EPA compliance makes it hard for car companies to make fun cars unfortunately
@@BrkDownMedia why does the EPA care weather its a manual or not, isnt their job about emissions and manuals tend to be better on gas?
@@SuperFunnyguy13 They don't, as far as manuals go. These regulations are based on car class (Small car, Midsize SUV) and are put out years in advanced for development. Making it expensive for manufacturers to produce small volume cars with modified engines for the sake of car enthusiasts. (Remember it always boils back to costs) Believe it or not, automatics have outpaced manuals in terms of MPG, and it too has become unprofitable for companies.
So I shouldn't buy this mazdaspeed3 I'm looking at rn?
Depends on the price and parts. Most of the problems come from oil consumption and timing chain if stock. If the car has been modded, be prepared for a headache. If stock and well maintained with a good price, consider it.
You wouldn't believe what I would pay for a stock 2nd gen speed3 😢
lol I would - to an extent