The Mazda out performs the Subaru but the Mazda 3 is an absolute pig to drive...........

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[COLOR="Red"]I have the right foot of Subaru death![/COLOR]

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365hp and 515nm

New Beast to arrive April 2015 - 365hp, 450nm, 0-100 in 4.4sec. AMG Goodness!

Can't disagree when I said a stock wrx is nothing exciting

Everyone just assumes a stock WRX is going to come out and destroy all these other cars. That's not it's point. I think the advert with the German engineers is right on the money as a lot of the cheap German cars could learn a lot from the Japanese car makers.

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[COLOR="Gray"]550Nm off a 2L... Just wish it was in the dak dak...[/COLOR]

I didn't know that those Germans could drift.

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Seeking for more donation...
07 Silver STei
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Kato you are on the money there. Tell me again though Mazda 3 FWD? Yep that's a bummer.

Note: Reason #197 to Buy Subaru WRX:

If you happen to come from a place where you get lots of snow and ice storms (Northern California, Vic/NSW Snowfields) then the AWD suby shits on FWD. With AWD suby their is no need to buy studded snow tyres or god forbid having to put chains on your tyres to get over snow covered roads in the mountains and chain restrictions are a pain in the arse if you have FWD or RWD car.

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Funny looking German Subaru

I just find the new car a little underwhelming. They whole car is just a bit boring. Just always expected the wrx to be above average. Now its competitiors are golf gti, mazda 3, focus xr5, civic type r...

Just reeks of cheap.

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betty banger

yep FWD mayhem - like the holden astra but more roids.
specs/pricing at http://www.mazda.com.au/mazda3mps/
I wonder how well the gearbox will hold up bearing in mind its an east-west config (does smaller casing = thinner cogs ?)

Powered by Ford, which owns ovloV

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I am only an asshole on the internet :)

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How can you say it reeks of cheap because its competing with those cars? Look at the pricing and the specs. They're all on par with what the WRX is now and always has been. All of those cars you mention are FWD, 1 is even non-turbo. I'd say the WRX is still above average. If you want "expensive", buy an STi. If you want a well priced entry into Turbo Powahh! then the WRX is spot on.

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Honourable Member for The Darkside

MY07 Mitsubishi Ralliart Colt

Sorry, I meant cheap brakes (dont tell me you'd rather 2pots than 4), cheap manifolds, cheap cooler, mum spec wheels, generic body, steel body panels etc etc.

Cheap compared to an evo or "old" wrx.

If you want a well priced entry into Turbo Powahh! then the mazda 3 is cheaper and more powerful (and better looking).

Still there is no way I would buy a mazda.

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betty banger

1. Cheap Brakes - The new 2 pots out brake the old 4 pots. I'd prefer the ones that stop me faster regardless of how many bling pots I have.

2. Cheap Manifolds - The new plastic manifold is far superior for flow than the old one.

3. Cheap Cooler - I'm sure the engineers did their homework and sized an intercooler to suit the stock car. So what is the problem? You don't see many cars with bulk power on a WRX TMIC.

4. Mum Spec Wheels - Stock WRX wheels always look a bit bland in my opinion.

5. Generic Body - Oh noes, Subaru wants to expand their sales to the people who buy lots of cars. Heaven forbid!

6. Steel Body Panels - Can't see what the problem is there. The MY08 WRX is lighter than the outgoing model. For the few kgs you save having an aluminium panel or carbon fibre, the cost of this means the car price goes up and no one will buy it.

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[COLOR="Gray"]550Nm off a 2L... Just wish it was in the dak dak...[/COLOR]