2007 Mazdaspeed 3

2007 Mazdaspeed 3 - Mazda is a company with a rep for taking care of asphalt jockeys. Low-carb curb weights, spry handling, and approachable sticker prices are the norm under its tent. We’ve been fired up by new Mazdas before, only to be disappointed. Two recent Mazdaspeeds only rated “medium fun” on our scale. Deficient in horsepower and refinement, a Mazdaspeed Protegé finished third of four in our May 2003 comparo “Serial Thrillers.” And a Mazdaspeed 6 dove for fourth of five in a February 2006 comparo [“Everyday Heroes”].

The Mazdaspeed 3 shows that the company has been listening. The midget Mazda 3 wagon — 26,896 sold in 2005, or 28 percent of total Mazda 3 volume, which includes the brisker-selling sedan — gets walloped with the turbocharged (to 15.6 psi) DOHC 16-valve 2.3-liter direct-injection four-cylinder engine from the Mazdaspeed 6 and Mazda CX-7. Mazda figures its wagon buyers are younger, more often male, more impetuous therefore, and more likely to have use for a 3180-pound car bristling with 263 horsepower and returning just 18 mpg when flogged.

Mazda’s engineers twisted the suspension strings tighter with the goal of reducing wallow in corners and during fast transitions without ruining the base 3’s relatively supple ride. So the front and rear anti-roll bars are thicker by 0.2 inch each. Heavier spring rates (43 percent front, 30 percent rear) and monotube shocks with stiffer compression and rebound tuning cut down the body motions. For all 2007 3s, Mazda has also relocated the front tie-rod links and rear toe-control mounts on the knuckles to wake up the steering even more in corners.

As for the torque steer, Mazda knew it would be Oscar winning. So it wrote the engine-control software with a nuance that links the engine’s output with steering-wheel angle. Boot it with the front wheels centered, and you get the whole can of Spam. If the helm is turned a few degrees left or right, the computer backs off the throttle a couple of percentage points to relax the sideways tug on the nose.

The 156-hp Mazda 3 s wagon hits 60 in 7.4 seconds. The last WRX sedan we tested ran six flat to 60 with a 14.6-second quarter-mile and all four wheels digging [“Cheap Speed, Round 23,” C/D, September 2005]. That’s a difference worth knowing. We also did more than the usual stops from 70 mph, getting 167 feet, and circled a dusty, less-than-perfect skidpad to produce a brag-worthy 0.87 g.

Departing the track, we drove the Mazdaspeed 3 over 600 miles through California hill country and down lumpy expressways. Mazda’s commitment to preserving ride quality shows. Even with 45-series tires on 18-inch wheels, hopping is muted over L.A.’s notoriously stubbled freeways. Big thwacks get eaten by the stiff skeleton and excreted as much smaller vibrations.

Steering assist is by an electrohydraulic rack. Anything “electro” usually puts a pox on steering feel. As in all Mazda 3s, however, the electric motor simply makes the hydraulic pressure instead of providing steering assist. The Mazdaspeed 3 steers smoothly, reminiscent of a BMW. The wheel’s desire to stay at center is distinct. The effort builds just so, heightening as you turn it and sweep through the corner. Jitters and pulses make their way to your hands, the feel of the front tires at work.

Compared with the Mazdaspeed 6, the 3 feels buoyant, scrappier, like the 6 but after its stomach has been stapled. And the Mazdaspeed 3 looks every bit a swashbuckler. On our scale, this one rates maximum fun.