(and I don't mean "bad" in a "good" way)...Had a chance to drive a Mazdaspeed3 and I was surprised at how unresponsive the motor was. On paper it seems pretty comparable to the Cobalt SS, but the torque steer is terrible, and not because of more power. (Handling was decent though). One of the things I love about our 2.0turbo DI motor is the massive torque at modest rpm, and the virtually instant throttle response. The Mazda is not torquey and it actually had very noticeable turbo lag even at higher rpm and between shifts (once boost came on it did pull very strong, but that reminds me of "old school" turbo design). How did they get it so wrong? I would think anybody that actually drove a Cobalt or HHR SS first would never buy the Mazda. Anybody else driven the Mazda?

 

I drove the MazdaSpeed3 and really appreciated how tight it felt. I did not push it too hard in a test drive context, but was even with the moderate driving level that I was doing (probably more than average), I did not appreciate the tendency of torque steer that I was experiencing. The sales person did not know if it had LSD or if it was available on the 3. (I'm not convinced that they even knew what LSD was).

I have to imagine that those who lightly test drive the 3 would be impressed with the "tight" feeling of the interior, then have to justify their purchase by downplaying the shortcomings of the driving experience, once they have had the chance to put it through its paces. But many Americans are now biased to the Asian vehicle trend, so it's easy to find some geek with a pen to do a writeup that evades these shortcomings and bolsters its virtures (i.e. JD Powers Initial Quality; Consumer Reports Intial Quality, etc.), somewhat akin to my test drive experience.

(Initial Quality; Really, WTF is that? What about a month from the time I sign on the dotted line?)

I must admit that I should have pushed the 3 harder when I had the chance, but I was somewhat more interested in the HHR SS anyway and it was an excercise in consumer affirmation for me. My test drive of the HHR SS was different. I pushed it hard and made the salesperson nervous. While I experienced some torque steer in the SS, I expected it anyway, but was surprised how manageable it was, especially when breaking the tires loose on the pavement.

I only tried an SS with LSD, which is what I bought. I'm not sure if it would have been different without LSD.

Maybe other members can comment whether or not this has a bearing on their driving experiences as it relates to torque steer.