2014+ Mazda3 - No Mazdaspeed this generation

  • Thread starter CodeRedR51
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Why would you want to ruin a car like this with a rotary? What they need to do is find out how to make a rwd version of their mazdaspeed turbo engine and slap it in this car.

All economy fwd cars should at least have four doors.
 
All I really see apart from the nose:

lead5-2013-hyundai-elantra-coupe-fd.jpg


Though the Mazda's better-looking. It's a low-cost way to flesh out their lineup and have a cheap, sporty-ish offering for those in the market for such a car. But I've seen a lone Elantra coupe since it came out, so I do wonder how many people really want that sort of vehicle these days. It's not the same as the 90's, when the roads were littered with two-door Sunfires, Cavaliers, Sentras, and Neons.
 
I forgot about the obvious Civic, but otherwise, I can't think of too much like that anymore. Toyota (er, Scion) has the ancient (and ugly) tC, but none of the other Japanese makers have a two-door in the class, and neither do the American Big Three.

I wouldn't doubt it'd do well against those three (Civic, tC, Elantra), especially up here as the 3's been a perennial best-seller for a few years now, but I just wonder how small the entire market is.
 
SlipZtrEm
Though the Mazda's better-looking. It's a low-cost way to flesh out their lineup and have a cheap, sporty-ish offering for those in the market for such a car. But I've seen a lone Elantra coupe since it came out, so I do wonder how many people really want that sort of vehicle these days. It's not the same as the 90's, when the roads were littered with two-door Sunfires, Cavaliers, Sentras, and Neons.
Click to expand...
I'll go out on a limb and suggest that they'd have a better chance with a 2-door 3 convertible. This rendering is just plain sexy compared to the competition and I think you could park it next to a Miata as a more accessible, practical Miata-like sporty convertible for a market with few offerings. Not everybody wants a Mustang or Camaro just to drop the top. So far, the only decent front-drive convertible offerings are the VW Eos which is outrageously expensive and the Beetle which is much cheaper but goofy as hell. I think a 3 vert would take off, especially in more tropical regions. Housewives would buy them up by the hundreds. Start it a grand or two below the Beetle, 23 or 24k. Aww yeah.
 
SlipZtrEm
I forgot about the obvious Civic, but otherwise, I can't think of too much like that anymore. Toyota (er, Scion) has the ancient (and ugly) tC, but none of the other Japanese makers have a two-door in the class, and neither do the American Big Three.

I wouldn't doubt it'd do well against those three (Civic, tC, Elantra), especially up here as the 3's been a perennial best-seller for a few years now, but I just wonder how small the entire market is.
Click to expand...

To be fair to the tC, it actually is a halfway decent car in it's current form. There's a good bit of power, it handles fairly well, and there is a ton of room in the back seat for full-size adults. It's not just legroom that counts, it's the flat roof that adds to the headroom as well.

A two door Mazda 3 could be a substantial addition to the marketplace if they went about it in the same way that they've done with their previous efforts as of late. Priced correctly, with sportier options even on the basic 2.0L model, I could definitely see it eating into sales of the Civic Coupe... But, I doubt very much that Mazda would want to risk that kind of development and production cost right now.

I'd like to see Mazda get innovative like they did with the original 6 and offer some interesting body variants to the 3 that don't add substantial cost to the car. Problem is, no one remembers they did the 6 hatchback, or the wagon. A hatchback/liftback 3 would be interesting, to say the least, whether it had four doors or not.
 
I still see 6 hatches and wagons occasionally. Surely they didn't sell enough to make it worth the cost but they did sell a few of them.

A 3 coupey hatchy convertible probably isn't a good idea until the regular one starts selling like hotcakes. And I still think the convertible is the better idea. If Nissan can sell an SUV convertible, of which I've seen a few, Mazda can sell a sexy little one.
 
Kinda sucks that the 2.5L S model is that much. You could get a 6 for that.
 
Looking at those prices makes me want to post one of those Ron Burgundy memes saying how that escalated quickly.
Personally, I don't think I could justify the top end of that scale and it really makes me wonder what they will do with the MS3 should another be released (which I fully expect to see within a year or so of the initial release of the new generation).

Btw, I live in a fairly wealthy area of Louisiana and I've only seen one of those god-awful Nissan SUV convertibles. That was a bad idea from the start and something tells me a Mazda 3 convertible wouldn't be all that much better.
If Mazda wants to do the convertible thing I'd think they are best off sticking with the Miata. :rolleyes:
 
The pricing reminds me of the Chevy Cruze. $26,000 for a compact sedan? That's Scion FR-S money.
 
In my mind, the pricing seems pretty reasonable for the standard 2.0L model. Considering that it rides, drives, and likely handles better than a comparable Focus or Cruze, you're getting a better car for give/take the same amount of money.

The 2.5L pricing really seems to be pushing it as a "premium" model, and probably is making up a bit for the underpriced 6.
 
I'm glad they started selling the 2.5 with the manual, it sounds like a much better powertrain than the 2.0 litre engine. Not that it'll be a all relevant in Europe, since 2.5 litres is huge over here, but in the US it should boost sales. In fact, if they'd been doing this a couple of months ago my dad might have bought a Mazda instead of a Scion FR-S. Not that I'm complaining, mind.
 
The Mazda 3 - and basically all Mazdas - have been quietly garnering praise everywhere they go. Including in Europe. With diesels. Mazda's SkyActive-D 3 is better than an Audi and BMW.

 
If Mazda sold a car with a diesel engine and 6 speed manual here, I'd be driving that instead of my TDI right now.
 
I'd honestly bank on Mazda waiting until after the launch of the MX-5 and CX-3, now... And at that rate, we'd be due for another update on the 6, or be close enough to a new version where they'd probably just wait for that. Its not that I don't want the diesel, but, I do understand how short on cash that Mazda is. Is the investment entirely worth it at the moment?
 

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