"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/18/2019 at 12:34 • Filed to: None
3
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"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
11/18/2019 at 12:34 • Filed to: None | 3
| 13 |
Recently on my trip to Portland, OR I rented a 2009 Mazda Mazdaspeed3 from Turo and had a fun time driving it around and checking out a new place that I had never been. Going into this rental, I knew there would be a direct comparison apparent between the Mazda and my STi sitting at home. There are a few notable differences on paper; a solid 37 hp advantage to the Subaru, FWD vs AWD, hatch vs sedan, and 65,000 miles vs 175,000 miles.
But in real world street usage, they are pretty much on the same exact level and feel quite similar. To best compare the two I am just going to put together a list of features and indicate which car does it better.
Interior - Mazda wins here by a longshot. Just much better materials and overall better construction. While I love the blue interior of the STi and think that could make it win on color alone, I have to be objective here and realize how night and day the material quality was.
Exterior - The Subaru wins here just because of the much more aggressive lines and accents overall. The Mazda definitely fights hard here though with being a nice looking hatch and being very sleeper-ish since it looks the same as the standard Mazda3. This was nearly a tie just because of how much I like hatchbacks but again, objective.
Steering - This is a landslide victory to the Subaru, probably the most notable thing that bothered me about the Mazda. It just felt way too loose/light with its economy car feel. The Subaru feels about the same as my Miata which is what I wish the Speed3 had done as well. I havent driven an NC miata so I am unsure if Mazda went this way with all of their later racks. The FWD aspect of this car may have played a role here too though.
Handling - I think this may be a win to the Mazda. It was definitely an area where I didnt push the car hard enough but it cornered flat and felt like it had grip for days. But just in general it felt more composed than the Subaru although 100,000 fewer miles might have had something to do with it as well.
Power - In terms of just raw power, the Subaru wins. There is just more of the “pin you to the seat” with that car. Perhaps the turbo lag here helps since there is just more of a surge of power. The Mazda felt more linear which might actually make it just as fast in the real world but it doesnt make it feel faster. And for me the feel of power is more important than numbers/on paper.
Shifter/Gearing - Easily a win here for the Mazda. Of course Mazda knows how to create a quality shifter that just feels perfect. And Subaru, well they dont. I dont really have any complaints about the STi shifter (it does the job) but when you compare it to a Mazda or Honda, it makes it seem like a joke. And then gearing on the highway is just so much better in the Mazda. It definitely would achieve 30mpg on the highway if you babied it whereas I am lucky to get 24-25 with the Subie with cruise control set to about 75 for the whole tank.
Overall - There is quite a bit of equality here where one car excels in one area, the other in another area, and then they are about equal in the other areas. Here I have given interior and shifting handily to the Mazda. And I have given steering and power to the Subaru. Everything else is definitely a toss up on preferences and I could really be happy with either. I really liked the aftermarket intake and the exhaust on the Mazda, it made it sound how a turbo car should sound. But I do have concerns over reliability based on stories from other owners at autocross and track days. The torque steer was definitely also a thing and these are somewhat harder to find in decent condition. So the edge goes to the Subaru for me still just because it has proven so reliable even with all of the miles on it. But man if I ignored those concerns, I would be so damn happy with that Mazda just the same.
MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/18/2019 at 12:51 |
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Did it slam the engine against the firewall in hard driving? I’m not sure if it was worked out by this gen but I heard these did that. Interesting comparison!
thejustache
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/18/2019 at 12:53 |
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I’ve always wondered how these stack up as I’ve admired the look and idea of the speed3 for a while. That said while I see quite a few of them around here, I almost never see one that isn’t rusting out and modded nearly as bad as most WRXes. There is a clean example that parks in my work lot sometimes, and that’s pretty much it
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
11/18/2019 at 13:28 |
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I didnt drive it hard enough to run into that issue probably. Unfamiliar roads and unfamiliar car are a not a combo to really push it for me. I forgot to mention how wildly different the clutches were too, that took way too long to get used to. Engagement zone and weight were entirely opposite. So I really had trouble shifting at redline or anything like that.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> thejustache
11/18/2019 at 13:31 |
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Thats exactly my overall opinion on the car. In a vacuum, the cars are about equal and nearly interchangeable. But the subarus are just more plentiful and you can find cleaner/stocker ones out there, even with all of the subaru bros modding the shit out of them. I would definitely be happy as MS3 owner is what I learned but I definitely do have a use for AWD with my snow sports obsession. So its not something that would really work for me in reality.
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MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/18/2019 at 15:32 |
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Yeah that would be the polite thing to do. It’s amazing how different clutch feel can be, even between the same make and model of car. Would you recommend the Mazda in clutch feel as well assuming you had time to get used to it?
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
11/18/2019 at 16:26 |
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I cant say anything was wrong with the way clutch felt, just different. It Just bit on the complete opposite end of the pedal travel versus my subaru. I didnt stall it at any point so it was definitely just an adjustment thing. I think I prefer the Subaru clutch but again its a 100,000 mile difference since both are on original clutches. But yeah once I got used to it, it felt perfectly normal. Until I went to drive my car once I got back home and had to relearn my own car haha.
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MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/18/2019 at 18:44 |
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always so weird switching between manual cars. Makes stalling even more embarrassing
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
11/18/2019 at 19:40 |
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Yeah I used to have that problem switching between my Miata and Subaru but Ive gotten much better at the adjustment over time. Operating the shifters is still problematic but catch points I seem to have down. Occasionally I still stall the Subaru though which shakes me back to reality if I have been driving the Miata a lot. The Miata is just a lot more forgiving and basically impossible to stall without spinning on track involved lol.
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MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/18/2019 at 20:17 |
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That is very interesting as I assumed the Miata would be like my Honda’s clutches and a little more finicky with the absence of torque: pretty easy to stall. I was also under the impression Subaru’s manual transmissions are kind of truck-ish so I’m surprised it is the easier of the two.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
11/19/2019 at 10:13 |
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So with the mazdaspeed, the clutch was probably easier than my Subaru. I am just so used to compensating for it that having it just work that easily actually made it harder. Kind of like how hill assist absolutely screws me up in manual cars that have it. The Miata is possible to stall in normal driving, I have done it on speed bumps but only because I have to go zero miles per hour or else I will scrape the bottom of the car. Even at 0-1 I usually scrape on most bumps but I have to go as slow as possible to limit the damage, I HATE speed bumps. But anyways, I can get to like ~100rpm and still recover, even to the point of the engine about to die and clutch in and it comes back to life.
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MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick)
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/19/2019 at 11:39 |
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That is a lot more than I would expect from the little 1.8 in the Miata and hill assist....that’s what I have the hand brake for. Would probably throw most people off. Speed bumps raise emergency response times and end up killing people so tell anyone who will listen!
Colby_F
> Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/19/2019 at 12:12 |
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I’ve actually owned a 2006 STI, and now a 2010 MS3. Launch speeds are noticeably different, because of awd vs fwd and programming of the Mazda ... the one thing I really don't like about the MS3. Once moving, the Mazda really lays down the power well in the right gear at right rpm. The STI seems to get really bogged in the wrong gear at speed... more so than the Mazda from what I remember. Handling... stock Subarus feel top heavy and unpredictable... Mazda is easier to force through tight turns without feeling on the edge of control. When it comes to price, Mazda wins hands down. Haven't had a reliability problem with my Mazda whatsoever... 120k miles. Shifting the MS3 is much easier too... the Subarus can really buck, especially when cold.
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Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Colby_F
11/19/2019 at 12:42 |
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Definitely agree with you on the gearing. Mazda limited power in 1st and 2nd gear to limit torque steer and its really apparent. That is a clear and present downside to FWD. And in my real world usage, I only managed 18mpg so it didnt do any better than my Subaru thats for sure. But yeah third onwards the car really shined and made me feel like power was overall pretty equal. And yup you are spot on about the handling comparison. But pricing is very dependent on location. The subarus command stupid money in places like Colorado or the PNW, making the mazda a steal. But down here in Socal its much more even and I just had way more to choose from with available subarus. Either way, I absolutely loved the mazda after driving it and would gladly own one in the same condition.