2010 3 Sport GT - New owner's first impressions
I thought I'd share for anyone thinking of getting a 2010 model.
A little bit of background. I've been driving the same 5-series BMW for the last 10 years. She was built in 1991, but I loved her nonetheless. I absolutely adored her 2.5 liter inline-6 that was as smooth as a turbine engine. No mechanical failures in all those years. But, with so many little defects, I finally retired her last night for a new 3, and I've already put on 200 km. So, keep in mind I'm always comparing the 3 with the old faithful, consciously or otherwise.
Performance - Drivetrain
Both are 2.5 liter cars, but the BMW made a lot more horsepower. However, the Mazda is much quicker off the line because of the short and close ratios on the 6-speed. The clutch is progressive, the throws are short, but 6th is a little too short. (3000 rpm at 120 km/h) In comparison, the BMW hit 80 in first and 180 km/h in 3rd. It was a 4-speed auto.
It would be "unfair" to compare the sound of an inline 6 vs an inline 4. However, the Mazda is almost silent at idle when you're inside.
Performance - Suspension
The Mazda actually rides remarkably well for a small "economy" car. It soaks up the bumps really well. I haven't pushed her all the way to the edge yet, so I don't know what she's like at the limit and how well behaved she'll be. I did feel a little oversteer around an off ramp, but I think that's the DSC pulling the car back in after a slight understeer. (It wasn't lift-off oversteer.)
Exterior
You've all seen it. Love it, hate it, whatever. I spent most of my time IN, so it doesn't really matter.
The HID headlights are fantastically bright but the cut-off is very very abrupt. The high beams don't make it any brighter, but throws the light much further. The rear window gets really dirty, really fast, and the rear wiper remains visible when not in use, which can be annoying. The wing mirrors are a little too small, mainly due to their shape.
Interior
The materials are good, soft touch plastics. The white needles on the gauges are great because you can see them in your peripheral vision. The interior lights don't just turn on and off, but fade, which is a nice touch. The ambient blue lighting in the foot wells and in the door handles are nice, but they should have been aimed better so they cast light on the window switches, which are unlit except for the driver window switch. The passenger and rear window switches on the driver side are also unlit. The sunroof switches are not backlit. Also, when the overhead light is on, it almost completely overwhelms the blue foot well lights.
The white info screen is a little off-putting compared with the rest of the red-lit interior. I just wish there was a way of turning it off quickly without going deep in to the menu. I also wish I could display the time on the red radio display when the white display is off.
There's a blue overhead light that stays on and gently illuminates the interior. It's a nice touch that is also found in the VW Rabbit in red. However, blue is more eye catching and I find myself unable to not notice the weird blue thing that keeps moving about in the middle of the cabin; the weird blue thing being my right arm as I row through the gears.
While we're on that topic, the gear stick is nicely curved towards the driver side and is placed a little further back than most cars, which is good as you don't have to reach forward. However, the handbrake is on the right and that places it against the passenger's leg. Embarrassing situations will be unavoidable on hill starts with a female passenger. (Note that I didn't say it's necessarily a bad thing...)
The center arm rest/storage cover slides forward enough to rest your elbow while holding the wheel, but it may interfere with hand-brake operation. The lid has large notches in it to allow cables to go through to the power-outlet inside when the lid is closed. The cupholder has a swing-cover rather than just have holes in plastic. All these make the interior a comfortable place to live in.
Bluetooth & Audio
Setup was simple and took less than a minute. If you've used Bluetooth devices before, this will not be a problem at all.
No training for the voice recognition is required, although a very abbreviated training is available to optimize the system. I managed to dial a number without training and it worked the very first time. I have yet to upload the address book from my phone.
What I really like is the Bluetooth music link. I streamed music from my phone to the car's audio system. No additional setup is required once the Bluetooth link is established. The audio quality is remarkably good. It's probably just a hair short of being CD quality. I'll have to do a back-to-back comparison to tell for sure. The car can change tracks via Bluetooth as well, although none of the track info is displayed on screen.
I also can't say for certain how good the audio system is as I haven't tried using a CD yet, but I was very impressed with how well it sounds as is. The bass is surprisingly deep without muting the treble. The speed sensitive volume control has 7 levels. One of them has to be right for me.
So, That's what I think after a few hours and 200 km. It has a few minor annoyances, but it's been a great car so far. If anyone has any questions, I can try to answer them. There are really just too many features to mention, such as the lighting effects on volume control and climate controls. Maybe I'll post another long update after a few hundred more km.
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Originally Posted by slam525i
