Mazda3 Sport 2.0 GTA
Test Drive

Mazda3 Sport 2.0 GTA

The Mazda3 GTA was one of those cars that, after a long time, was written on my skin. These two weeks have actually been my support! So in the morning I was looking forward to heading to Portorož for coffee after work or to Bled for some delicious "cream cheese". After a few days, I no longer even looked for excuses for longer trips ...

The living Mazda3 is much larger (compared to its 323F predecessor, it has grown 170mm long, 50mm wide and 55mm high) and, above all, dressed in red, it is also much more attractive than in the photos. . You even noticed how wide her hips are - like a little Kit Car racing car!

Aren't the honeycombs in the front bumper, the darkened projector headlights (with xenon!), The large rear spoiler, 17-inch aluminum wheels or just the bulging bumpers (the latter is already exaggerated!) Serious? Don't miss the taillights: you can call it the factory setting! Nice, modern, but interesting what will happen when the fashion for transparent backs passes. Will the Mazda3 GTA still be so fun?

But that childish joy that overwhelms me every time I especially want to test this or that car faded away after the first few kilometers. Yes, when I first saw the Mazda3 GTA I was disappointed. High expectations? I wouldn't say it, having learned over the years to observe the cans of cars from a safe distance, but I still expected the 150 horsepower engine to be just stiffer.

But our measurements showed that I was honestly wrong. GTA sprints from 0 to 100 km / h in just 8 seconds, which is, say, the first morning sip of coffee! I was glad to recognize the error of my feelings. Why? Because the adjective “good” deserves a car that doesn't feel “flying,” and at the same time, the dry numbers of acceleration and final speed prove how fast you can count.

This is called good packaging, a set of great chassis, brakes, drivetrain, tires, engine and all the thousands of components that make up a car. I was happy again as a child!

The Mazda3 already has the chassis of the next Focus, and at the same time shares it with the Volvo S40 / V50. Assuming the current Focus already has an extremely good sporty chassis, we can imagine the successor will keep this trump card or even update it. I confess that the legendary Grushitsa (the road between the village of Kalce and Podkraj, read between Logatc and Aydovschina), where I only go in "funny" cars, only confirmed this.

Conquered a narrow road with fast and slow turns, frequent turns and strong braking. The Mazda3 Sport GTA coped with this excellently, quickly, reliably, without the slightest hesitation.

I drove the engine to red turns, but did not suffer at all (hearing), demanded accuracy and speed when switching from the checkpoint, and did not miss the sixth gear at all, shook the sixth gear as a joke, despite the front-wheel drive almost did not notice that Mazda was in winter boots , otherwise it would have been even better!) and finally praised the brakes.

When you approach the finish line a little out of breath and you get the feeling that the car did not strain at all, despite the almost suicidal ride, all that remains is to bow to the technique. And the last test is the brakes. In test cars, they often “grind” and “wine” after several thousand kilometers, as if they were fifty thousand kilometers behind them, since usually none of the drivers spares them. In GTA, they (also) worked like new after cooling, there was no breath, which, for example, is very common in French (also sports) cars.

The stability in fast corners can also be attributed to the increased track compared to its predecessor (64 mm at the front, 61 mm at the rear) and, above all, Mazda's large wheelbase compared to competitors. The Mazda3 GTA has a wheelbase 72mm longer than the fifth-generation Golf, 32mm longer than the Peugeot 307, 94mm longer than the Alfa 147, and 15mm longer than the Mégane.

But dry numbers just can't tell how successfully we zipped through those tricky turns, right? But you can believe me that the five-speed gearbox, which controls the gears through a faster and more precise braid (at the same time, thanks to a more advanced transmission, less vibration is transmitted to the cabin), a fast four-speed. a gasoline cylinder with two camshafts in the head and a very lively and electro-hydraulic power steering turned out to be the right choice!

I've never missed the classic power steering, wet, dry or even snowy, as the steering is excellent for both “feel” and quick response. It should also be said that the equipment in this car is huge, including the DSC stabilization system, which helps keep the car on the road to an overly daring driver.

However, it is the “fast” (target customers, right?) Who often turn off this system, otherwise the speed will be dictated by the electronics during dynamic cornering. When DSC is off, the unloaded drive wheel always digs into a corner a little when it's empty, which is certainly limited by good summer tires. There is no differential lock in Mazda3 Sport GTA, the task of classic locking is supposed to be performed by DSC. However, you must turn it off if you want any "action". So we are there ...

Our Mazda3 had only one weak point - the worst build quality! In the test car, we noticed that the warning light went off a few times, that the airbag didn't deploy (and then went off shortly after, which, by the way, happened for the second time in a row in the Mazda3!), that the leather boot on the shift lever could be easily slid to the left -to the right and so that with each stronger braking, the steering column "falls" into the dashboard.

In short: good service was needed! But even that didn't bother me that much that I didn't think of the Mazda3 GTA as my next car!

Alyosha Mrak

Photo by Alyosha Pavletich.

Mazda 3 Sport 2.0 GTA

Basic data

Sales: Mazda Motor Slovenia Ltd.
Base model price: 20.413,95 €
Test model cost: 20.668,50 €
Calculate the cost of auto insurance
Power:110kW (150


KM)
Acceleration (0-100 km / h): 9,0 with
Maximum speed: 200 km / h
Mixed flow ECE: 8,2l / 100km

Technical information

engine: 4-cylinder - 4-stroke - in-line - petrol - displacement 1999 cm3 - maximum power 110 kW (150 hp) at 6000 rpm - maximum torque 187 Nm at 4500 rpm.
Energy transfer: front-wheel drive engine - 5-speed manual transmission - tires 205/50 R 17 V (Fulda Supremo).
Capacity: top speed 200 km / h - acceleration 0-100 km / h in 9,0 s - fuel consumption (ECE) 11,5 / 6,3 / 8,2 l / 100 km.
Mass: empty vehicle 1310 kg - permissible gross weight 1745 kg.
External dimensions: length 4420 mm - width 1755 mm - height 1465 mm - trunk 300-635 l - fuel tank 55 l.

Our measurements

T = -2 ° C / p = 1032 mbar / rel. vl. = 67% / Mileage condition: 6753 km
Acceleration 0-100km:8,8s
402m from the city: 16,5 years (


141 km / h)
1000m from the city: 29,7 years (


178 km / h)
Flexibility 50-90km / h: 10,2 (IV.) S
Flexibility 80-120km / h: 14,9 (W) p
Maximum speed: 200km / h


(V.)
test consumption: 13,8 l / 100km
Braking distance at 100 km / h: 44,0m
AM table: 40m

We praise and reproach

capacity

brakes

Transmission

electro-hydraulic power steering

to reach

does not have a differential lock

worst skill

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