RWD or AWD = only way I roll.

I’m loving both these cars, both have great performance. On the tarmac the mazda wins over the wrx, but the reason I ended up choosing the WRX over the MPS is because once you start to modify and unleash the true potential of these cars, the WRX I believe will dominate. The suspension and handling of the WRX aren’t what most people expected from the car, but throw in some stiffer suspension, some bush kits and upgrade the sway bars and gone is the body roll, gone is the soft rear end and onto some performance. Mazda did a great job, but setup the WRX with some handling mods and we’ll soon see who the king of the slalom is, 4WD vs FWD…seriously!
What happens when you decide to throw some more power into the equation as well? How are you going to get it to the ground? What about the WRX’s 2.5L engine capacity? Few mods to get the engine breathing better and the WRX I believe will eat the MPS for lunch.

So in conclusion, sure the MPS wins, but as for all round hot hatch potential, I went with the WRX.

Cheers

Look guys, I was wrx 4 life but honest to god the mps 3 is such a better car in every way. From performence to build, sure the wrx has awd, but we all no the 2.5L aussie spec wrx engine dies in the ass over 100km. Where the mps 3 just keeps going.

All this talk about torque steer is just crap. Sure it will if you rev it’s guts out then lift ur clutch up. But I dont think u’ll be dumping the clutch at 5500rpm at every set of lights.

The fact of the matter is, there are alot of jelous *hot hatch* owners out there that can’t handle the mps 3 is faster. So they pick shit out of it. * points finger at gti golf drivers*

Just take one for a test drive, When the pedal drops the bull shit stops……..

Having driven the new Subaru, I will say that I really like it. I had an 04 WRX, which I still think is the best looking one. The new one has more available torque early which really translates to the ground.

Another thing that really bothers me about all these comparisons is that they really don’t take into account the uses of the cars. The Subaru is a rally ready car, that is why the suspension is softer, it absorbs harsher terrain and the transmission is geared differently to this fact as well.

Now, the MS3 does handle better, it does get the WRX in 1/4 mile, but, you can’t drive is well on snow and ice. The WRX is a lot more fun there.

I think that they really did need to refine the WRX, so I can continue to buy them as I age and need less aggressive styling but blistering performance.

Eitherway I recently viewed a comprehensive review on youtube by a reputable organisation (forgot the name, will link in a later post to the video)… and under their testing the ONLY area the new WRX was worse then the old WRX in was the quarter mile. Acceleration was the same, g’s pulled around a loop was the same, slalem course speed actually increased and braking was better then the old rex. All this yet the car is now more user friendly with a far better ride, more interior room (they increased the wheel base) and a better interior. The ONLY issue here is the look of the vehicle, as its performs just as well even with its increased body roll. And I think as a review here stated and many others, it looks better in the metal. One feature I do like are the rear lights when lit, its a different kind of red colour, dare I say I think its ‘cool’. Also one of my mine criticisms is the front grill on the other imprezas and in the yank version they get the same grill, LUCKILY our grill looks alot better and it makes a huge difference, for the better.

It called torque steer, not power steer.

The thing handles like a Toyota.

The thing looks ugly.

The interior is bland.

I’ve had a soft spot for Mazda for many years – my mother still drives her 1985 626 Super Deluxe and it’s still a very good car to drive.

My daughter has a Bubble – the thing is built like the proverbial brick outhouse, tie rod ends are as thick as your middle finger.

It’s great to see the Ford influence is not being bestowed into the Mazda lineup, and that’s why the Mazdas just keep getting better.

However, having (rightfully) bagged the Subi’s handling, the story might be vastly different if the comparos were repeated on a surface other than high grip dry bitumen.

I agree though, the MPS3 does look sharp in that slalom vid.

p.s. For all you AWD loving people out there, if AWD does not result in higher Lateral G’s, cornering speeds, and stability though the slalom, it is nothing but extra ballast. And to think that AWD is the reason that Alborz rates the WRX over any FWD, surely puts paid to his argument. (tongue in cheek)