  2013 Mazdaspeed3. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Justin Mastine-Frost
Since production began back in 2007 the Mazdaspeed3 has rapidly become the weird half-cousin of the hot-hatch segment. While it offers more power than the rest of its FWD classmates and looks a bit more wagon than hatch to my eyes, it still lines up as a head-to-head competitor with the likes of the Volkswagen GTI or Ford Focus ST hot hatches.
With these other two hot hatches coming up shortly in head-to-head competition, this seemed like the perfect time to get behind the wheel of the redundantly named wonder to see how different from the pack it really is.
Many names have come to describe the big gaping grille that adorns the front end of the Speed3 recently and I have to say I’ve had a hard go of picking a favourite. It’s a bad anime character for sure, and regardless of what mental image you associate it with, there’s no denying it looks pretty goofy. When taking both visuals and personality into consideration this thing is the automotive equivalent of a high-strung golden lab puppy.
At one point I did contemplate making a fake tongue to hang off the grille, but after the criticisms from the peanut gallery about me calling the Juke Nismo names, I decided against it. Thankfully, the addition of a functional hood scoop, side skirts, and tailgate-mounted spoiler do assist in toughening up an otherwise cutesy exterior.
My tester came with Mazda’s optional black wheels, which pair up with the black grille and interior perfectly. I’ve heard a number of people griping about the Speed3’s exterior starting to look dated and I’ll admit it’s starting to show its age. But after seeing the first few images of the new Mazda3 and how they’ve incorporated their current Kodo design theme I’d be happy to stick with the current model for the time being.
    2013 Mazdaspeed3. Click image to enlarge |
Once in the passenger cabin it’s all too easy to understand the cries for a redesign. The cheesy leather and cloth seats look terribly dated, and offer little in the way of support for enthusiastic driving. The control setup for Mazda’s multimedia isn’t half bad, and although it took some getting used to, the high-mounted display for fuel consumption and other pertinent info suits the dashboard layout, however we can only hope this information display gets integrated into the instrument cluster with the newer model. Unfortunately the audio system had a really bad habit of losing its memory when the car was shut off causing playlists to restart with every key cycle, but other than that everything ran reasonably smoothly.
The longer I sit behind the wheel the more and more I’m irked by the use of cheap plastics in the interior. I get that we are dealing with a car with a sub-$30K MSRP, but with so many other manufacturers offering better interior finishes this is another category where the Speed3 falls flat. I probably wouldn’t be harping so bad on it if it weren’t for the two bits of plastic trim on the back of the steering wheel at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions. I know I’m going to take some heat over picking on a minor detail like this, but it’s just such an illogical use of materials that I can’t wrap my brain around it. Who was sitting in the engineering office and thinking, “Gee, let’s put our cheapest possible material right where a driver will have his fingers every time he drives!”
Now that I’m done harping, we can move on to the good stuff; how this thing drives. Much as it can be assumed from its giant grinning grille, this thing will put a smile on your face in no time. Once you get the hang of the Speed3’s seriously light clutch and get your foot to the floor, this thing breaks into a sprint like nobody’s business.
  2013 Mazdaspeed3. Click image to enlarge |
With a whopping 280 lb-ft of torque on tap the front wheels claw down on every bit of pavement they can, leading to a level of torque steer I haven’t felt since the last time Mitsubishi sold the Eclipse GT V6 on our shores. This isn’t the kind of car you can just drive hard with one hand at the top of the wheel if you expect to maintain any kind of control.
When you lean into it and you reach that sweet spot just over 3,000 rpm, power comes on like someone just flipped a switch, which clearly explains its relatively quick 0–100 km/h sprint in 6.1 seconds. Although the 2.3L turbo redlines at 7,400 rpm, be prepared to swap cogs frequently, as torque drops clean off the map somewhere just over 6,000 rpm. That massive hit of torque in the midrange is both good and bad, as it allows you to keep the mad dog under control around town, but it makes driving fast and smooth a bit more challenging. That sudden punch isn’t much of a concern in a straight line, but it can be a bit unnerving when navigating a string of high-speed corners.
When it comes to navigating the twisty bits, the Speed3 does a reasonable job of it all, but it’s still not quite up to speed with the competition. Push the car hard into the corners and you’re left fighting against some serious understeer, which is surprising knowing that the base chassis shares origins with the much more neutral Ford Focus ST. Once you make it around the bend and get back on the throttle, Mazda has stuck with a proper low-tech Torsen LSD to keep the power down, which is far more appealing than the electronic torque vectoring techniques being used by other manufacturers. As much as manufacturers think they can get away with using traction control to brake the inner wheel and shift power output, you can’t really compete with an LSD.
Braking feel from the Speed3 is another category that could use a little improvement, but again it is still perfectly acceptable given its other strong points. All told this thing really is a riot to drive quickly, and if owners decide to get more serious with their track/autocross use, there will always be plenty of aftermarket options to take care of the car’s few shortcomings. On paper the Speed3’s fuel economy numbers don’t seem half bad, coming in at an EPA-estimated 13.0 L/100 km city, 9.4 highway and 11.2 combined (18/25/21 mpg).
As far as happy-go-lucky hooligan cars on a budget go, I have to hand it to Mazda for pulling this one together. The Miata has been their poster child for years, and the Speed3 is right up there as far as performance value, but at the other end of the spectrum with raw power the priority over preternatural handling. Sure, the interior isn’t quite as well finished as I would like, but much like my relationship with the Mitsubishi Evo X, once I got into the drive those minor details faded to the background and I was compelled to just keep driving (sometimes like a bit of a fool if I’m honest). If passenger and cargo space is at all a concern, the Mazdaspeed3 definitely has the advantage over any of the “true” hot hatches out there.
Pricing: 2013 Mazdaspeed3
Base Price: $29,995
Options: $2,640 (Technology package, includes Blind Spot Monitoring, intelligent key system, 8-way adjustable driver’s seat, SIRIUS satellite radio, Colour MID & Navigation, AFS adaptive front lighting with auto leveling)
Freight & PDI: $1,795
A/C Tax: $100
Price as tested: $34,530
Competitors:
Ford Focus ST
Mini Cooper S
Subaru WRX Wagon
Volkswagen GTI
Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
