Surprise rankings in 11/02 Car&Driver small-car comparo

**mbt** · October 15th, 2002 11:52 AM

unbelievable! the Mazda MP3 bested the BMW M3 in the subjective slalom, skidpad, confidence factor, and other things... and was just 2 points away from the M3 in the grand total :shock:

an econocar running the slalom at the same pace as a Porsche 911 turbo???

**e46boi** · October 15th, 2002 01:09 PM

My sentiments exactly, mbt! Pretty good for a front-wheel driver (limited-slip diff notwithstanding), eh!

I read somewhere that a limited edition MazdaSport MP3 is coming out with a Garett turbocharger to give the car a little more "oomph".

How exciting would that be?

**mbt** · October 15th, 2002 05:07 PM

...um, torque steer? :mrgreen:

**e46boi** · October 15th, 2002 10:04 PM

It's not exactly going to be a Viggen! The limited slip diff should help keep torque steer in check.

If you've ever driven the previous gen Nissan Sentra SE-R, I bet it'll be just like that. Wonderful car, very quick - for a front driver!

**mazdamazda** · March 29th, 2005 01:26 PM

interesting comparo!!! I wonder how the new Mazda3 fares...

**airshaq20** · March 29th, 2005 11:09 PM

US Spec cars are a bit different from say Asian released cars. First, upholstery materials are different, US spec cars have catalytic converters, abs, multiple airbags, larger engines. I would assume, they use different brand of shocks, brake pads, etc.

So - i would say, the test result is NOT universal.

**Macky** · March 30th, 2005 03:34 AM

Originally Posted by mbt

unbelievable! the Mazda MP3 bested the BMW M3 in the subjective slalom, skidpad, confidence factor, and other things... and was just 2 points away from the M3 in the grand total :shock:

an econocar running the slalom at the same pace as a Porsche 911 turbo???

Galing din kasi ng chasis ng Mazda!!!