First Impressions
As for the way it drives; I'm still collecting my thoughts. First impression was that it had nicely controlled movements and didn't seem as reticent to absorb little side-to-side pavement bobbles compared to my 2007 Sport GT 5Spd MT. Maybe some more suspension travel, but definitely still has the nice edgy sharpness and eagerness of turn-in that I very much enjoy with my own 2007. Doesn't seem to have lost its get-up-and-go....lots of low-end grunt, probably because of that new 2.5 litre. First gear seems a bit lower, too.
It's a little bigger in side. Definitely a lot of zoom-zoom happening in the dash area. Nice, form-fitting Recaro-ish seats. Don't know if this is just with the leather, but definitely more side bolstering and thigh support than my cloth buckets.
That is to say that I found the clutch to be quite linear with a very easy to find point of engagement (about 1/3 of the way to the floor) and easy to modulate. The shifter, I found to be a bit rubbery (certainly when compared to any Honda that I've owned) but accurate enough and relatively short throws. I suspect it's a cable shifter by its feel.
/Eric
With the transverse FWD layout it's virtually certain to have a cable linkage.
I test drove an 07 Mazda3 and found it very nice and refined. And granted, that was between scraping my 15 year old Nissan 240sx and buying my dozen year old miata but I found the Mazda3's ride to be isolating yet it was very willing to do whatever the driver says (an odd, yet increasingly common, dichotomy, part of a trend that I find rather disconcerting.
) The 3's shifter didn't have much feel of a real connection to the drivetrain but the gates were nice and precise.
Your comment re: suspension travel is interesting considering that Mazda made very similar suspension changes to the second generation Miata, an example of another Mazda redesign that kept the same basic platform as its predecessor.
Any other driving impressions?
(I'd love to have a Mazda3 as a winter beater.
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BTW how does the front licence plate look on the new mouth?
I'm hoping that the front plate actually improves the looks of the 3's idiotic smile.