Mazda 3 SP23 vs Sportivo

[KT_haha]

I was just reading the Mazda 3 forum, and there's a thread that's comparing the the Mazda 3's performance agains the Sportivo's. They seem pretty biased towards the Mazda 3.

Have a look, perhaps we should have a say?

http://www.ozmazdaclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2733

[GGG]

My wife has a SP23 sedan. If we get a chance on the weekend, I'll see if we can have a little test..... The mazda has much more torque. Pretty sure that the Mazda will lead off the launch but I think the stivo will take the lead probably after hitting lift in 2nd.

[Blade Hunter]

I have run about three of them (Hah mazda 3, I have run 3, thats funny :)). I have not been beaten by one. they do (as someone suggested) jump you off the mark, once you hit lift you real them in, change to second and slip that clutch out to hold lift by the time you change to 3rd you are in the lead and can not be caught.

[MR22ZZ]

HaHaHaHa...

read through their thread... very funny stuff, some of them have absolutely no idea, like comparing kW values to hp values instead of torque (Nm people, or Pound feet if you want to go all American, and if you do I'll pound my feet into your behind <_< <_< :P ) The article is also the one from the initial release in 2003, just check out the wrongness of the release date and the RRP.

One of the guys there sounds like the workmate of Blackrolla too... The story sounded very familiar... but at least he was honest and tryed to put them in their place... ie

No, it is definitely 141KW (but the SP23 has more HP). A co-worker has a Sportivo as well and that is 141kw as well and I can assure you, its quick!

It's alot cheaper as well. Dealers will negotiate a much lower price as they do not have the supply issues so prevalent with the Mazda3.

For what it's worth though, the co-worker has had no end of trouble with his Sportivo, not limited to sticky gear changes(particularly at high speeds), grinding when braking, starter issues and it is at the Toyota dealers so much that he has missed his only 2 chances of going on a cruise.

He told me that it wasn't just his car and the Toyota forums united to send a letter of complaint to Toyota. I hear that most of these issues were fixed in the current model, but i'll be happy with my 3 (when I get it!

Their biggest complaint was about the max torque band being so high in the rev range, sounds more like they need to learn to drive more and not cruise

[MotoMan]

My brother has the SP23..

he doesnt want to drag the sportivo anymore :)

The SP23 does have a nice power delivery..

but the Stivo is still quicker..

and the specs for the Stivo 0-100 in 8.4?

is that with grandma driving?

p.s. The stivo kicks the **** throught he sp23 in twisties as well

Its all about how you use the power.. not how much you have

gotta love sitting in the 5-6000 rpm rev range and flooring it :)

[KT_haha]

I agree with you completely, it's all about the excitement that you get from a Sportivo. So much more fun!!!

:D :D :D :D

My brother has the SP23..

he doesnt want to drag the sportivo anymore :)

The SP23 does have a nice power delivery.. 

but the Stivo is still quicker..

and the specs for the Stivo 0-100 in 8.4?

is that with grandma driving?

p.s. The stivo kicks the **** throught he sp23 in twisties as well

Its all about how you use the power.. not how much you have

gotta love sitting in the 5-6000 rpm rev range and flooring it :)

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[Ilivfor6]

Not a chance in hell. Period.

Anyone wants to argue then they are foolish. I owned both at the same time. Could drive them back to back and did. Even did back to back speed runs using signs on the side of the road as markers. Every sigle time my sportivo was at a much higher speed come the end marker (road sign)

Am I biased... Not anymore. Traded the sportivo on a Mazda RX8 and kept the SP23. I luv Mazda's and always have, so I in no way am out to prove Toyota is king. I still believe the SP23 is a better car than the sportivo. The build quality is far superior, the ride better/less noisy and the around town driving characteristics better. But give me a winding country road and I'll take the sportivo every time over the SP23

The problem with the SP23 is that once you get to around 5000rpm it just runs out of breath and doesn't pull like 3000-5000. When you drive it hard on gear change the revs stay around that 5000rpm zone. You get continued acceleration but it's not ball tearing acceleration. The Stivo after each gear change the bl@@dy little thing explodes with acceleration as you all know! And if you launch with 3000-4000rpm on the clock you have just negated most of the advantage the SP23 had.

Remember theses are mostly younger people excited about their car and their choice. Everybody wants to feel their car is great and to justify it to others. This in many cases overides reason. Heck a lot of us on this forum have done the same.

I wished my sportivo could hang onto Astra Turbo's and stock WRX's but that didn't happen until I lavished my sportivo with mod after mod then finally I could and beat some of them to boot, but until then I was beat every time unless the other driver screwed up.

On every car forum in every part of the world there is the same posturing 'My D!CK is bigger than your D!CK' and there always will be. To hell with reason that's why they are so much fun! :D :D

[shaohaok]

Not a chance in hell. Period.

Anyone wants to argue then they are foolish. I owned both at the same time. Could drive them back to back and did. Even did back to back speed runs using signs on the side of the road as markers. Every sigle time my sportivo was at a much higher speed come the end marker (road sign)

Am I biased... Not anymore. Traded the sportivo on a Mazda RX8 and kept the SP23. I luv Mazda's and always have, so I in no way am out to prove Toyota is king. I still believe the SP23 is a better car than the sportivo. The build quality is far superior, the ride better/less noisy and the around town driving characteristics better. But give me a winding country road and I'll take the sportivo every time over the SP23

The problem with the SP23 is that once you get to around 5000rpm it just runs out of breath and doesn't pull like 3000-5000. When you drive it hard on gear change the revs stay around that 5000rpm zone. You get continued acceleration but it's not ball tearing acceleration. The Stivo after each gear change the bl@@dy little thing explodes with acceleration as you all know! And if you launch with 3000-4000rpm on the clock you have just negated most of the advantage the SP23 had.

Remember theses are mostly younger people excited about their car and their choice. Everybody wants to feel their car is great and to justify it to others. This in many cases overides reason. Heck a lot of us on this forum have done the same.

I wished my sportivo could hang onto Astra Turbo's and stock WRX's but that didn't happen until I lavished my sportivo with mod after mod then finally I could and beat some of them to boot, but until then I was beat every time unless the other driver screwed up.

On every car forum in every part of the world there is the same posturing 'My D!CK is bigger than your D!CK' and there always will be. To hell with reason that's why they are so much fun! :D  :D

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that's true, but there seems to be a disproprotional amount going on in that mazda forum. they seem to think wat they have is faster than anything else out there. heck i think some even say that the astra turbo is slower than the SP23...

hot4s just got a little older and moved over to ozmazda

[lucio_libre]

Oh Stewart, do you always have to talk about d!cks!!!! :P :P cant you get enough :D :P :)

[MR22ZZ]

All I can say is....

... Blade, you're a star!!!! :) :D

[hicam]

I have not posted for a while however forgive me as i no longer own a sportivo anyway look, i agree with Stuart on this one in regards to the superior build quality, ride comfort/quality, styling and interior of the SP23. My mate has one that i reg drive and are a passenger of and they do have a lot of low end pick up however they do run out of legs when the revs hit 5000-5500 - dam shame. It will out handle the stock sportivo anyday period. I am biased and i love the sportivo for the pure smile value when driving it out on some country road, early in the morning on a cool autum day, the roar of the intake as the revs build up and then screaming all the way to the redline as cows and sheep freak out and run for cover from the approaching beast...oohh i am getting flashbacks.

Mike.

[Blade Hunter]

that's true, but there seems to be a disproprotional amount going on in that mazda forum. they seem to think wat they have is faster than anything else out there. heck i think some even say that the astra turbo is slower than the SP23...

hot4s just got a little older and moved over to ozmazda

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Hehehehe do you not remember the discussion on the Focus forum or the Skyline forums?? (or even the OCAU one for that matter ;)) I reckon the Mazda bloke (and chicks if there is any on there) are a pretty well behaved bunch, we all like to talk it up now and then, I have found that this particular forum tends to be easier going and subjective but lets not judge other forums by our standards, the only reason we don't have a handful of idiots in here is because we generally ignore them when they come in and they leave soon after. Having read a few threads on that Mazda forum, they seem to be a nice enough bunch :).

[Blade Hunter]

All I can say is....

... Blade, you're a star!!!! :) :D

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Hehehe thanks mate ;)

[Danthuyer]

HAving a read and it seems mr hunter hear is doing his bit on the madaz forums for us ;)

all i can say is more publicity :D :D :D :D

[KT_haha]

Yeah.... GOGOGO MR HUNTER

:D :D :D :D :D

HAving a read and it seems mr hunter hear is doing his bit on the madaz forums for us ;)

all i can say is more publicity :D :D :D :D

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[qkslvr]

hehehe. I wish i could get the message accross that figures on paper mean squat. all these peak HP and Peak torque figures are just indicative of a cars performance. the car is not always pumping out peak HP and Peak torque the whole time you are driving it.

if you want an idea of the acceleration, look at the torque curve

In track racing or any form of motor sport for that matter, gear ratios play a bigger part than specific Power and torque figures. You may have bigger peak torque but if you exit a corner at a specific speed, in a specific gear at a specific torque and HP output, it only matters how the car behaves from that point.

I still think on the straight, the stivo will blow the sp23 away, but on the twisties, the sp23 may beat the stivo. there's plenty of variables such as suspension performance, car weight distribution and many other things, but assuming all are similar, if the sp23 hits the turn-in point at the same or higher speed, i think the sp23 will come out victorious.

at the end of the day, these are all daily-driver cars so i don't see what the big deal is about. adding to what stuart said, it's not size that counts, it's how you use it...with that said...I'm still bigger!

[SILVABULLIT]

With the amount of money that I've spent on the bullit plus the price that I paid for it I'm still under what you would pay for a SP23. i've driven both and while the torque is nice in the Mazda you can feel that it's not a sports orientated engine. But just an easy way for Mazda to make a sporty car; Take the 2.3 out of the Mazda 6 and put it in a lighter car. Of course it would go better(lighter etc) but it doesn't lend itself to have the feeling of "rev the ring out of me baby!" cause it just gets really harsh with vibration.

Don't get me wrong I think the Mazda has some points that I do like and wish Toyota would include in the Stivo but when it comes to the driving sensation then the Stivo wins hands down. With the substantially cheaper price tag then the mods that some of us have made are economically viable.

[mtbrider]

Did you see all the Mazda stuff in the Sunday paper. Apparently the Mazda 2 & 3 is marketed to chicks specifically and they are sponsoring some womens things to support this.

So if you want to drive a girrly car go for it.

PS I do like the Mazda 3 however and could even see my self with one (after the operation). Ha Ha