Mazda 3
very nice looking. i don't like the fact that it's a compact car with pseudo-luxury car aspirations... and for the price of a loaded one, i'd probably get an srt4.
engine tuning potential isn't as evident for the mazdas (except for rx-7s and, to a lesser extent, rx-8s) as, say, honda or nissan. but i don't know too much about the ralliarts either.
still, i do like the mazda 3s a lot ... if they had a mazdaspeed 3, i'd say go for it. as is, it's a nice compact car with a great interior, sleek styling, and decent performance. i'd probably get one over the ralliart.
engine tuning potential isn't as evident for the mazdas (except for rx-7s and, to a lesser extent, rx-8s) as, say, honda or nissan. but i don't know too much about the ralliarts either.
still, i do like the mazda 3s a lot ... if they had a mazdaspeed 3, i'd say go for it. as is, it's a nice compact car with a great interior, sleek styling, and decent performance. i'd probably get one over the ralliart.
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From: NC
Mazda 3 looks AWESOME and has decent power at 160hp. Plus the interior is incredibly sweet if you care about that type of thing.....right on par with VW interiors which are generally considered to be the best in the under $30k price range. But, as stated above a loaded Mazda 3 will be about as much as an SRT-4 so if you want some performance and don't care as much about the interior that would be where I'd go.
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: NC
Originally Posted by dugrant153
A loaded Mazda 3 comes out to 24500.
A Dodge SRT-4 comes out at 27000.
(Canadian funds, btw. We got some weirder pricing, I suppose...)
A Dodge SRT-4 comes out at 27000.
(Canadian funds, btw. We got some weirder pricing, I suppose...)
yeah, must be different pricing up there.....here the SRT's are $21k and you can actually configure a Mazda 3 to meet and even exceed that price from what they said on MotorTrend TV when they reviewed it.
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ford forkus
The Zetec based motors are really good for modifying. If the 3 has one, more power to the people who like to trick out the motors! Personally, I kinda like the 3. Better styling than the Forkus.
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jcnel.
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jcnel.
Originally Posted by ghostspeed_driv
I have a Mazda3 and I love it. I bought the 3s and the only option I got was the automatic and I paid 17825 for mine. Oh yeah, the engine is not made by Ford it is just the Duratec block.
Bluesmaster
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 549
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From: Maryland
99% sure that the 3 uses a focus engine...Maybe a retuned focus motor but still a focus motor. Of course, that isnt neccessarily a bad thing, the focus is a good car (the interior sux), but it's been on Car and Drivers 10 best for a while.
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Joined: May 2004
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From: Columbia, SC
I copied this post from http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56563 .
Ford's involvement in Mazda
- Ford owns 33.4% of Mazda's shares. Under Japanese law, anyone with over 33% gets controlling share (obviously the law is much more complicated than this, but this is the jist of it). Therefore, Ford controls Mazda.
Mazda3 platform sharing
- Mazda3's platform was a joint-development with Ford of Europe, Mazda, and Volvo. This platform is for the following cars: Mazda3, new Volvo S40/V50, Ford Focus C-Max (not avail. in N. America), and the flagship vehicle - the next-gen euro-Ford Focus (this vehicle will be introduced later this year and will not be coming to N. America anytime soon - the re-styled N. American '05 Focus stays with the old platform).
- Each company was the lead for their main strength. So Ford of Europe was the lead for driving dynamics (the current-gen euro-Focus is nothing short of awesome), Volvo the structurals and safety, and Mazda for the powertrains and exhaust systems (Japanese-reliability and technology).
- The individual brands could then add their own brand-specific stuff on top of the common platform (e.g. steels of different strengths for additional safety on the Volvo, and 3 additional tranny-area cross-members on the Mazda to further reduce body-flex)
- In the end, 42% of the Mazda3's parts are shared with its siblings. This means that 58% of the Mazda3 is all Mazda, with the other 42% being co-developed.
- None of the shared components can be seen, heard, or felt by the typical consumer
- So what are examples of things the Mazda3 gained from this platform sharing?
- control-blade rear-suspension is simply awesome (it performs better and is cheaper to manufacture than the one Mazda developed for the Mazda6)
- Mazda3's largest brakes are larger than those on the Mazda6
- Crash-protection will be excellent
Mazda3 engines
- Rule #1. Never go by the marketing names for engine families. For example, the '05 N. American Focus will have an engine called the Duratec 23. This goes along with the Duratec 35 that's currently in development, and the Duratec 30 (the one that is the basis for the Mazda6 3.0l). Aside from the marketing names, these engines have nothing in common (Note: the Duratec 30 is currently called the Duratec 3.0, the names I've used above are the names Ford will use in the upcoming 1-2 years).
- Recognizing the need to develop a strong 4-cylinder engine family to compete against the ones from Honda and others, Ford assigned Mazda to develop the engine family. Ford gave Mazda the basic block, some intellectual property (e.g. Cosworth casting process), some money, and told Mazda to come back with a state-of-the-art engine family with a streamlined manufacturing process that can be manufactured at plants around the world. These engines would be shared by Ford, Mazda, and whoever else in the Ford family with the need for it.
- Mazda did this and developed a 4-cylinder engine family in the following displacements: 1.8, 2.0, 2.3. Even though the Mazda3 1.6l is often referred to as a MZR, it's actually part of a smaller engine family (remember my rule #1).
- Similar to the platform sharing above, the 4-cylinder engine family that Mazda gave is the basic family - it is then up to the brand to add stuff to it (e.g. PZEV for the 2.3l N. American Focus, SVT for Mazda's 1.8 and 2.3). To further re-inforce my point, notice that Mazda doesn't have a PZEV 2.3l.
- This engine family is currently being manufactured at:
- Chihuahua, Mexico (for N. American Focus, N. American Mazda6 2.3l, Ford Ranger)
- Hiroshima, Japan (for Mazda3, Japanese-assembled Mazda6)
- Valencia, Spain (honestly, I don't think Valencia is making this engine family at the moment, but I'm not sure, and I do know for sure that this plant can build this engine family)
- here's a technical press release about the 4-cylinder engine family (if the link doesn't originally work, try refreshing):
http://www.carseverything.com/conte...article/1346.3/
Hopefully this clears up a lot of misconceptions of the Mazda3.
Ford's involvement in Mazda
- Ford owns 33.4% of Mazda's shares. Under Japanese law, anyone with over 33% gets controlling share (obviously the law is much more complicated than this, but this is the jist of it). Therefore, Ford controls Mazda.
Mazda3 platform sharing
- Mazda3's platform was a joint-development with Ford of Europe, Mazda, and Volvo. This platform is for the following cars: Mazda3, new Volvo S40/V50, Ford Focus C-Max (not avail. in N. America), and the flagship vehicle - the next-gen euro-Ford Focus (this vehicle will be introduced later this year and will not be coming to N. America anytime soon - the re-styled N. American '05 Focus stays with the old platform).
- Each company was the lead for their main strength. So Ford of Europe was the lead for driving dynamics (the current-gen euro-Focus is nothing short of awesome), Volvo the structurals and safety, and Mazda for the powertrains and exhaust systems (Japanese-reliability and technology).
- The individual brands could then add their own brand-specific stuff on top of the common platform (e.g. steels of different strengths for additional safety on the Volvo, and 3 additional tranny-area cross-members on the Mazda to further reduce body-flex)
- In the end, 42% of the Mazda3's parts are shared with its siblings. This means that 58% of the Mazda3 is all Mazda, with the other 42% being co-developed.
- None of the shared components can be seen, heard, or felt by the typical consumer
- So what are examples of things the Mazda3 gained from this platform sharing?
- control-blade rear-suspension is simply awesome (it performs better and is cheaper to manufacture than the one Mazda developed for the Mazda6)
- Mazda3's largest brakes are larger than those on the Mazda6
- Crash-protection will be excellent
Mazda3 engines
- Rule #1. Never go by the marketing names for engine families. For example, the '05 N. American Focus will have an engine called the Duratec 23. This goes along with the Duratec 35 that's currently in development, and the Duratec 30 (the one that is the basis for the Mazda6 3.0l). Aside from the marketing names, these engines have nothing in common (Note: the Duratec 30 is currently called the Duratec 3.0, the names I've used above are the names Ford will use in the upcoming 1-2 years).
- Recognizing the need to develop a strong 4-cylinder engine family to compete against the ones from Honda and others, Ford assigned Mazda to develop the engine family. Ford gave Mazda the basic block, some intellectual property (e.g. Cosworth casting process), some money, and told Mazda to come back with a state-of-the-art engine family with a streamlined manufacturing process that can be manufactured at plants around the world. These engines would be shared by Ford, Mazda, and whoever else in the Ford family with the need for it.
- Mazda did this and developed a 4-cylinder engine family in the following displacements: 1.8, 2.0, 2.3. Even though the Mazda3 1.6l is often referred to as a MZR, it's actually part of a smaller engine family (remember my rule #1).
- Similar to the platform sharing above, the 4-cylinder engine family that Mazda gave is the basic family - it is then up to the brand to add stuff to it (e.g. PZEV for the 2.3l N. American Focus, SVT for Mazda's 1.8 and 2.3). To further re-inforce my point, notice that Mazda doesn't have a PZEV 2.3l.
- This engine family is currently being manufactured at:
- Chihuahua, Mexico (for N. American Focus, N. American Mazda6 2.3l, Ford Ranger)
- Hiroshima, Japan (for Mazda3, Japanese-assembled Mazda6)
- Valencia, Spain (honestly, I don't think Valencia is making this engine family at the moment, but I'm not sure, and I do know for sure that this plant can build this engine family)
- here's a technical press release about the 4-cylinder engine family (if the link doesn't originally work, try refreshing):
http://www.carseverything.com/conte...article/1346.3/
Hopefully this clears up a lot of misconceptions of the Mazda3.