After a lifetime of German engineering, I just bought new 2015 Mazda 3 S Grand Touring.
I started with a 1989 VW GTI that I built into an Autocross race car.
I then bought a 1996 VW Jetta to be my daily driver after I over-did the GTI. Then I sold both, and bought a 2002 Audi A4. 1.8T motor, 5-speed manual, quattro.
Looking forward to tweaking the car to make it 'mine', and posting about it along the way.
I put a fair amount of time and money into the A4 right away to personalize it. Coilovers and monster sway bars. Stage 1+ tuning with bigger fuel injectors (good for about 225 HP and 275 TQ), slightly bigger brakes, BBS Wheels with wide sticky summer tires, window tint...
I've had the A4 for 9 years now and it's beginning to nickel and dime me to death, so I began car shopping a few months ago.
Really long story short:
I required a manual transmission and a fun-to-drive car, doesn't really need to be fast, but it needs to be an enjoyabe drive.
The 'wanted' list:
Hatchback or wagon
Leather
Bluetooth
All Wheel Drive
Cars I looked at and test drove, and their leading reason I kept looking;
2012 Audi S4 (too pricey)
2013 Audi A4 (too similar to what I've had for 9 years)
2012 VW Golf R (This was my #1 choice for a long time, but the more I researched, the more fearful I became of some common issues)
2015 VW GTI (too pricey with leather)
2015 VW Golf TDI (too pricey with leather)
2015 Mazda 6 Touring (Liked the Mazda3 grand touring package/price more)
2015 Elantra Sport (0-60 in 12 minutes)
2013 Subaru WRX STI (too pricey, and lacking in features)
I couldn't find a newer Subaru WRX hatchback with the features I wanted, but it was on my list.
In any case, I abandoned the all wheel drive, and found the Mazda 3 hatchback. The features of the S Grand Touring blew me away, and the pricing was coming in less than the 2012-2013 VW's I was first looking at. Needless to say, it was hard to justify anything else. A new and comparable VW (Golf/GTI) was coming in every bit of 6 grand more expensive. I do wish it was all wheel drive (and perhaps a bit faster) but it's a solid compromise, and I'm very happy with it. I know there are rumors of a new MazdaSpeed 3 that could be all wheel drive, but... well... how long have there been rumors about a diesel? I'm ready to move now.
So then came the battle of finding an S, Hatch, Grand Touring, Manual. The first one I test drove ended up selling to someone else 2 hours before I showed up to buy it. 2 weeks later I finally sourced another one.
I picked it up today.
Meteor grey with black leather.
I will personalize it similar to the Audi. Window tint soon, and some fun parts in the spring. I plan to install road magnet springs, and perhaps sway bars while I'm in there. I want to increase throttle response, so if an intake or crank pulley will do that, I may go that route. I'll most likely start by swapping the 27 pound wheels out for some closer to 17 pounds. Dropping 40 pounds of rotating weight should have a huge impact. I'm most likely going with 18" Enkei RPF1's.
By spring, I hope to have it looking like this:
And a version with the wheels I'm looking at:
I started with a 1989 VW GTI that I built into an Autocross race car.
I then bought a 1996 VW Jetta to be my daily driver after I over-did the GTI. Then I sold both, and bought a 2002 Audi A4. 1.8T motor, 5-speed manual, quattro.
Looking forward to tweaking the car to make it 'mine', and posting about it along the way.
I put a fair amount of time and money into the A4 right away to personalize it. Coilovers and monster sway bars. Stage 1+ tuning with bigger fuel injectors (good for about 225 HP and 275 TQ), slightly bigger brakes, BBS Wheels with wide sticky summer tires, window tint...
I've had the A4 for 9 years now and it's beginning to nickel and dime me to death, so I began car shopping a few months ago.
Really long story short:
I required a manual transmission and a fun-to-drive car, doesn't really need to be fast, but it needs to be an enjoyabe drive.
The 'wanted' list:
Hatchback or wagon
Leather
Bluetooth
All Wheel Drive
Cars I looked at and test drove, and their leading reason I kept looking;
2012 Audi S4 (too pricey)
2013 Audi A4 (too similar to what I've had for 9 years)
2012 VW Golf R (This was my #1 choice for a long time, but the more I researched, the more fearful I became of some common issues)
2015 VW GTI (too pricey with leather)
2015 VW Golf TDI (too pricey with leather)
2015 Mazda 6 Touring (Liked the Mazda3 grand touring package/price more)
2015 Elantra Sport (0-60 in 12 minutes)
2013 Subaru WRX STI (too pricey, and lacking in features)
I couldn't find a newer Subaru WRX hatchback with the features I wanted, but it was on my list.
In any case, I abandoned the all wheel drive, and found the Mazda 3 hatchback. The features of the S Grand Touring blew me away, and the pricing was coming in less than the 2012-2013 VW's I was first looking at. Needless to say, it was hard to justify anything else. A new and comparable VW (Golf/GTI) was coming in every bit of 6 grand more expensive. I do wish it was all wheel drive (and perhaps a bit faster) but it's a solid compromise, and I'm very happy with it. I know there are rumors of a new MazdaSpeed 3 that could be all wheel drive, but... well... how long have there been rumors about a diesel? I'm ready to move now.
So then came the battle of finding an S, Hatch, Grand Touring, Manual. The first one I test drove ended up selling to someone else 2 hours before I showed up to buy it. 2 weeks later I finally sourced another one.
I picked it up today.
Meteor grey with black leather.
I will personalize it similar to the Audi. Window tint soon, and some fun parts in the spring. I plan to install road magnet springs, and perhaps sway bars while I'm in there. I want to increase throttle response, so if an intake or crank pulley will do that, I may go that route. I'll most likely start by swapping the 27 pound wheels out for some closer to 17 pounds. Dropping 40 pounds of rotating weight should have a huge impact. I'm most likely going with 18" Enkei RPF1's.
By spring, I hope to have it looking like this:
And a version with the wheels I'm looking at:
