2010 Mazdaspeed3: Functional as well as fast

KATHY RENWALD FOR THE TORONTO STAR

If you look really closely, you can faintly see the rainbow that Wheels writer Kathy Renwald tried to chase down in this Mazdaspeed3, which goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds.

Kathy Renwald

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Three years ago when I drove a Mazdaspeed3, I thought it felt as skittish as a water bug. I was comparing it to the kind of nailed down, straitjacket handling of various German speedsters on the market.

The latest Mazdaspeed3, with 263 hp and 280 lb.-ft. of torque, is still a pavement peeler, but I'm starting to understand it better.

For 2010, the direct injection turbo is the same engine offered in the previous model. But after fiddling in the lab, Mazda says torque steer has been reduced by using stiffer driveshafts. It also says putting a lid on torque peak makes the front-wheel drive rocket easier to handle.

Employing juvenile behaviour, it's still possible to spin the front wheels in first, second, even third gear. And, yes, to my mind, torque steer still tugs at the wheel, but it's refreshing and even instructive to be reminded that there are consequences for the way we drive. Use restraint, accelerate normally, and the Mazdaspeed3 performs with decorum.

Lavish horsepower, quick steering, rigid ride, a slick six-speed manual all say I'm full of beet root juice and ready to go, but for $32,995, the Mazdaspeed3 comes loaded with other amenities that equip it for practical daily duties. The only option is white pearl paint for $200, "still two hundred bucks cheaper than German white paint," a Mazda worker told me when I picked up the keys.

It's functional as well as fast. Four doors don't detract from an athletic profile, but they help when loading your chums in the back. When the freeloaders are gone, the back seats fold flat (without having to remove the head-restraints) and gear is swiftly loaded. The hatch door is light and easy to open.

Navigation, often a $2,000 to $3,000 option, is bundled with all the other trinkets. The nav screen is no bigger than an iPhone's but mounted at the base of the windshield in good line of sight – it works surprisingly well. Loading a destination is a snap, and though it looks like a toy, turn-by-turn instruction delivers us from harm. When the navigation function isn't needed, other info like fuel consumption and distance to empty is easy to read and bright even when the screen is in direct sun.

The driver is treated well in the Mazdaspeed3, supported by a quality seat with proper bolstering and thigh support and placed so that the centre console is within finger punching distance. Good thing, too, because there are more buttons in the cockpit than on a Victorian wedding dress.

I liked the steering wheel: it was good and grippy, and the geometry aided by tilt and telescoping functions was perfect for tension-free driving. There's not much room in the back; passengers will wear the hair off their knees as they brush against the front seats.

A six-speed manual transmission is the only way the Speed3 leaves the stable. Fine with me. The gears are packed in pretty tight, it seems, since sometimes it's reluctant to go into first. But the other throws are short and sure.

The 2.3 L turbo revs like crazy, and it sounds as raucous as a garage band at 4000 rpm. The unmelodic engine, thrumming exhaust note and noise from the 18-inch Dunlops are my major complaints with the Speed3, but I bet the target market kids would not share my pain.

Steering is a dream, direct and quick; it made me wish I could have driven the Mazda on a slalom course. Cornering is flat, and the stiff chassis is composed but not punishing on rough roads. On the rough, ridged pavement on sections of the QEW, the Mazdapeed3 was as serene as a mid-sized sedan.

A tight turning circle makes changing direction a party trick. Stability and traction control are standard, and good bi-xenon headlights chase away the ghosts at night.

I averaged 9.3 L/100 km (30 mpg) of premium fuel during my test week, but I was doing a bit of thrashing to get to know the car.

Style critics might find too much origami in the Speed3's exterior styling. I think it flirts with fussiness with its bi-valve front grille (a new air scoop cools the turbo), but otherwise Mazda has stitched together a pleasing package.

My last day with the Mazdaspeed3 featured one of our many torrential rainstorms. I pulled off to a parking lot and when the storm cleared, I tried to chase down a rainbow – easy to do when 0-to-100 km/h is attainable in 6.1 seconds.

Freelance auto reviewer Kathy Renwald can be reached at www.kathyrenwald.com

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