Saki GT

Let me put it this way, I haven't bought a Honda since 2004 and I've been very happy with all my purchases.

Currently, I'm looking at the new Focus or the Mazda 3 to replace my city car some time in 2014.

s.hasan546

better question how many non hondas have you bought... for my family 2 hondas (Pilot & S2k) out of 11 car purchases in 6 years... And even the pilot was bought only bc i got it for a great price and it was cheaper than the explorer by 5k, which I wanted more.

JonBoy

Of our two current cars, one is a Honda, the other is a Chevy. Prior to that I had a Ford and another Honda.

JonBoy

Translation: Zero Fords bought in the last decade. I thought so...

brandondan1

Congrats on the purchase!

At the end of the day, I couldn't bring myself to replace the S2k for one. But then again, the S2000 has ruined a lot of cars for me lol.

For what it is though, (a souped up fiesta) it was really fun on the testdrive, wish they'd let me take it to autocross . My only superficial complaint is the front grill reminds me of a catfish, but I wonder if the aftermarket has come up with anything to fix that.

berny2435

yeah, Ford has been doing well. I wish I would have bought Ford stock the week the Market crashed. I was at work, just watching things, wondering if I should have taken my 1,500$ of stock market play money and purchased it in the $3-4 range in 2008.. . would have been a nice downpayment on a c7 vette lol. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.. .


how much does the ST weigh? 3150 - 3223 it looks. No options and full tank of gas about 3200.

Mazda's new 2.5 Hatch is 3005lbs (no 6spd yet) - When the MS3 comes out, it will add atleast 100lbs I would presume. Should be a great battle with the ST. MS3 will likely be more expensive than a ST though.
http://mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayP...ehicleCode=M3H

rob-2

I think we all have our opinions. Some are based on research and others based on real world living. Whatever the case thankfully we have choice and while I think some of us will debate Ford vs. Mazada vs. Honda let's look at it differently.

We're now talking about MULTIPLE companies building ever improving sporty compacts. It's a segment I wish to see grow; even if I don't buy the Ford product.

For me personally small cars are on the out until I become an empty nester.

SimoGver08

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the new MS3, although, I read somewhere that they were thinking of making it a non-turbo? Something about focusing on handling more. Mazda does have some good competition with the Focus ST and Fiesta ST (Mazdaspeed 2 someday?). Hopefully they'll stick with the turbo and keep it going in the hot hatch segment. I'm really glad this segment is coming more alive in the US.

berny2435

Dido. I am a man of multiple car wants. If I had it my way, I'd have a vert for weekend fun, M3 for a track car, a truck for towing and a Hot hatch for my daily commute. I need to decide if I'm going to go truck or hot hatch first and then obviously if I'll be doing gas mileage getter hatch in the low 20s or mid grade Turbo FWD hatch or 35K+ AWD hatch (Golf R, STi). Odds are, I'll get married, I'll get the fun gas getter Hatch and I'll never be able to make a full on track car that I tow with a truck. All in all, I'm happy the Hatches are doing well. 30mpg highway with these new turbo motors is awesome. Means I might swing the turbo.

whiteflash

TBH I was quite a fan of the interior as an overall package (as long as you don't go with the tacky seat patterns).

I however am not a fan of pull-up-reversing over first gear, and that spongy clutch. Everything else was a 9/10+ (Market segment considering).

Oh also, the paints that have the flakes in it... they could calm down a bit with that. Or at least make the flakes a bit more subtle; but they do look great in natural light.