AFAIK this is also incorrect... The 'heat soak' was not in fact heat soak at all - it was a tune issue that mazda fixed with a reprogram at the dealer.
the MS3 has no similar issues from what i've seen from users so far.
Actually, most of the power loss issues were due to the use of 91 octane gas, and the ones built in '05 seemed to have some ECU gremlins that were flashed as you said.
Thats not really true...magazines and user reviews have not complained of wheelspin city...
But yes I would've preferred it to be RWD...or AWD but meh i can live with FWD, they did an amazing job with the LSD.
The MS6 actually outperforms the MS3 in everything but a rolling start to 70mph due to less parasitic loss in the drivetrain. As for no problems with wheel spin, that is because the limit the power output in the first two gears.
While i don't hold much stock in reviews, since most of the reviews of the MS6 used the wrong gas...the original C&D review used 87!...Top Gear didn't seem to like the MPS 3 very much.
http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12929-2522525,00.html
Most manufacturers shy away from creating front-drive cars with much more than 200 lb ft of torque. Take the VW Golf: in GTI form it has 207 lb ft of torque and front-wheel drive, but when you upgrade to the R32 model with 236 lb ft of torque, VW uprates the car to four-wheel drive, so the maximum torque each wheel needs to handle is in effect halved. The Mazda3 MPS has 280 lb ft of torque, every last bit of which has to go through the front wheels.
It?s too much. For while this is a stunningly fast car (it?s 0-62mph time of 6.1sec may sound quick but it would be at least 0.5sec quicker if it were rear or four-wheel drive), it is not a particularly fun car. And this is why: the only reason for buying a car like this is to make the most of its performance, but it won?t let you.
Put your foot down and as the acceleration builds so does the side-to-side tugging at the steering. If you persevere and if the road is at all damp (as it was during my week with the car), the front wheels will soon lose traction in first, second and occasionally even third gear, despite the fitment of a limited slip differential designed to stop precisely that. Press on further and the traction control will simply cut the power. And this is when you?re travelling in a straight line.
In an attempt to try to string a few wet corners together I turned the traction control off, but this made things worse. If you push it hard, as its styling and engine power invite, it requires more effort than a modern family hatch should to keep it pointing in the desired direction.
The shame is that I can see how tantalisingly close to being a decent car the Mazda3 comes. It looks good, steers nicely until you put your foot down and even offers reasonable accommodation.
Also, C&D had problems...
http://www.caranddriver.com/roadtests/11724/2007-mazdaspeed-3.html
The Mazdaspeed 3 is only a bit less tricky to launch than a space shuttle. Most of the runs up the drag strip vanished in excessive tire smoke. Or they deflated when the driver, trying to stanch the wheelspin, inadvertently cued the waste gate. Or grabbed the wrong gear with the spongy shifter. Calls to Mazda yielded tips: Pop the clutch at 2900 rpm, upshift at 6000 ? redline is 6700 ? and flat-shift through second and third (which means don?t lift at all ? the mechanical equivalent of dropping a Steinway on the clutch and half-shafts and violating our test procedure).
Yeah...not really. AWD on the mazda is not like awd on other cars. the MS6 is sluggish IMHO, feels heavy (it kinda is) and is just blah to drive. (drove on the street and at the mazda ZZL events)
Yeah, it's actually a better AWD IMO than most other systems. It's constantly dynamically adjusting the bias to suit the driving. Around town it's 90/10 to the front, which makes sense for lots of reasons, get into it, or push the limits of traction, and it adjusts up to 50/50. I love entering a corner at speed, feeling the power at the front, then giving it gas and feeling the bias shift and the rears push me out of the curve.
From Mazdausa themselves...
"The active torque split differential distrubutes power to the front and rear based on an analysis of yaw rate, lateral G force, steering angle and engine status. Rear distribution ranges from 0 to 50 percent, though the former (0%) only occurs during slow parking lot crawling and when the hand brake is applied so as not to bind the rear drivetrain when the rear wheels are suddenly brought to a stop."
I like both MS models, the 3 is just too small for me. However, calling the MS6 "sluggish" is insane. I'm glad you drove one, but you are the only person I've ever heard calling them anything close to "sluggish".
That "sluggishness" must have been why C & D put it in their top ten quickest cars of 2007 between $25k and $30k...
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/12244/2007-mazdaspeed-6.html
One last thing, it's been noted quite a bit that a lot of dealers are just filling them up with 87 because they don't care/are cheap, and when people drive one, they might as well be driving a 6i. I will agree it's heavy, but sluggish??
Edit:
Here's the Top Gear review of the MPS 6, which is detuned over a North American MS6...I think Mr. Clarkson found it "sluggish" as well...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JI5q41ZdyXw
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