2010 Mazdaspeed 3 Long-Term Road Test Wrap: All Ate Up with Torque Steer

BY TONY SWAN, MICHAEL AUSTIN, AND STEVE SPENCE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARC URBANO, JORDAN BROWN, AND PATRICK M. HOEY
June 2011

It’s no secret that performance ranks pretty high on the C/D list of  valued vehicle attributes. Hustle will cover for quite a few minor sins in our evaluations, and our 40,000-mile experience with this 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 makes an excellent case in point. Though it displayed several personality traits few would find acceptable in an ordinary compact car, its boy-racer soul won over even the most vocal of its critics. Most of  ’em, anyway.

This is the second generation of Mazda’s scrappy hot hatch, an evolutionary overhaul that entailed a modest menu of detail updates, including revised cosmetics and mechanical tweaks aimed at sharpening handling responses and reducing torque steer.

Judging by our test car’s logbook, Mazda’s Speed 3 team missed the torque-steer target. And the styling updates left us wondering what the design guys were thinking. Or smoking.

Our Celestial Blue Mica Speed 3 arrived on December 1, 2009, the threshold of a Michigan season that can make torque steer especially exciting. We specified a Speed 3 Sport (the slightly more expensive Speed 3 GT trim level disappeared with the onset of the 2010 model year). The base price was $23,945, $455 more than the ’09 gen-one Sport.

Regardless of exterior color, you get red-and-black moiré upholstery.

To that we added the $1895 Mazdaspeed Tech package: 242-watt, 10-speaker Bose audio system with a six-CD changer and MP3 compatibility; six-month satellite-radio subscription; alarm system; push-button start; and the aptly named compact navigation systemâ€"hope you brought your reading glassesâ€"for a grand total of  $25,840.

The evolution from gen one to gen two didn’t entail any change in output from the Speed 3’s turbocharged and intercooled 2.3-liter, DOHC 16-valve direct-injection four-cylinder engine. But, as we observed with the original edition, 263 horsepower and 280 pound-feet in a small front-drive car is basically just taunting the gods of torque steer.

Ask and ye shall receive. Mazda’s gen-two tweaks include slightly taller gearing and revisions to the torque-management program in first and second gears. The car also gained a bit at the scales. Our first Speed 3 tester [November 2006] weighed in at 3180 pounds, while this one scaled about 100 pounds heavier, at 3284.

All of the foregoing should add up to less wrestling with the wheel at full snort, and maybe it did. But if so, we’re talking subtle distinctions. Torque steer was the No. 1 topic among the Speed 3’s logbook essayists. Mazda’s tech presentation at the second-gen launch included a remark suggesting a certain amount of torque steer is fun, which could be construed as a tacit admission of the chassis team’s inability to banish it. Be that as it may, the word “fun” did not appear in our logbook in connection with this trait.

Styling, in particular the black-plastic grille that adorns all members of the Mazda 3 family, was another Speed 3 element that scored low. One of our jolly crew thought the individual at Mazda design responsible for the update “should be run out of the company.” Another called the exterior “half comic book/half boy-racer weird.”

Some other Speed 3 elements drew mixed reviews. Clutch takeup, for example, was abrupt. But the six-speed’s manual shifter was direct and quick. The seats received good marks for lateral support but not-so-good marks for lumbar, which was all but absent and nonadjustable. The compact nav screenâ€"2.3 inches by 3.5 inchesâ€"was okay with some, useless to others. And the absence of a coolant-temp gauge is, if not unforgivable in a turbo car, at least unfathomable.

Mixed reviews also extended to the Speed 3’s comfort quotient. Mazda targeted improved ride quality in this redesign, and the prescription included, strangely, slightly stiffer springs and revised damping. Here again, it’s hard to assess then versus now, but we can say this: Stiff springs and hard bushings make for an unhappy formula on Michigan roads.

Of more concern: In really cold weather (abundant here in the winter of 2010â€"11) the Speed 3’s suspension emitted peculiar creaks and groans. They diminished when the car had run for a while and were absent in warm weather. The techs at our local Mazda dealer were unable to identify the sourceâ€"shocking, right?â€"and the phenomenon remains a mystery.

Compared with its most natural competitor, the Volkswagen GTI, the Mazdaspeed 3 is brash and bright and not in the least bit subtle.

Aside from that, and a minor intermittent rattle somewhere in the instrument panel, the Speed 3 held up well on a driving diet that included lots of nasty local pavement. The logbook recorded only one unscheduled service visit, at 20,142 miles, when the boost gauge quit working due to a pinched wire.

Scheduled service costs were modestâ€"five routine visits, $290 in total. (One of those visitsâ€"the 30,000-mile serviceâ€"included an alignment at our request, for an extra $90.) This is a remarkably low basic-maintenance tally for 40,000 miles.

We spent more on tires, swapping back and forth from winter rubber to summer and backâ€"$510â€"plus replacing a right front for $269.

The Speed 3’s firm ride and so-so seats limited its appeal for long-distance trips. Winnipeg and West Virginia were the most distant destinations in the logbook, and most of the 40,000 miles were accumulated within Michigan’s borders. But this shouldn’t be taken to mean the car was unpopular. Torque steer notwithstanding, the Speed 3’s turbo surge was distinctly habit-forming, and its short-haul fun-to-drive rating was consistently high.

Considering this car’s appeal to boost junkies, its fuel economy over the duration of the test was remarkable. The EPA rates the Speed 3 at 18 mpg city and 25 on the highway (21 combined). We averaged 24 mpg.

We also were impressed with the Speed 3’s acceleration over the term of the test. In our initial instrumented runs, we recorded 0-to-60 mph in 6.2 seconds and the quarter-mile in 14.5 at 98 mph. With 40,109 miles on the clock, 60 came up in 6.1 seconds, the quarter in 14.5 at 99 mph.

Our 40,000-mile bottom line is about the same as our takeaways in previous Mazdaspeed 3 evaluations: Irritations and unpleasantries notwithstanding, this is one of the best performance buys available to go-fast addicts. That extends beyond the quite reasonable purchase price to the surprisingly low running costs. And the upper-arm workouts are free.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon

PRICE AS TESTED: $25,840 (base price: $23,945)

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 138 cu in, 2260 cc
Power (SAE net): 263 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 280 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 103.9 in Length: 177.6 in
Width: 67.9 in Height: 57.5 in
Curb weight: 3284 lb

PERFORMANCE: NEW
Zero to 60 mph: 6.2 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 15.2 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 32.2 sec
Street start, 5â€"60 mph: 7.2 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.5 sec @ 98 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 148 mph
Braking, 70â€"0 mph: 166 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.90 g

PERFORMANCE: 40,000 MILES
Zero to 60 mph: 6.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 14.9 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 30.9 sec
Street start, 5â€"60 mph: 7.0 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.5 sec @ 99 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 146 mph
Braking, 70â€"0 mph: 178 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.90 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 18/25 mpg
C/D observed: 24 mpg
Unscheduled oil additions: 1 qt

WARRANTY:
3 years/36,000 miles bumper to bumper;
5 years/60,000 miles powertrain;
6 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection;
3 years/36,000 miles roadside assistance

 Continued...