So today I finally got to sit in the drivers seat of a Mazda 3 MPS and all I have to say is false alarm - your 130i is safe! Aside from price, this thing has next to nothing over the BMW 130i.

I remember early this year when I first caught wind of it I started to worry, thinking I had just paid AU$25,000 too much for a hot hatch. On paper it had the looks, it had the performance, and it undercut BMW's prices by approx 30% however once behind the wheel I soon lost all my doubts. The only thing I gained from driving the MPS was a new found appreciation for the 130i.

I don't want to write too much else as I actually want to open this up to you guys to see if anyone else has sat behind the wheel of one. How do you feel they compare?

Bottom line for me is that if my budget was limited, the Mazda3 MPS would be a top car - not much else offers that same performance and practicality within the price range. Infact, it just won the Bang-For-Your-Bucks comp with Australia's MOTOR Magazine for its price range - however when your budget can accomodate both I think the choice is clear. In that sense it may be like comparing apples and oranges. Dollar for dollar the Mazda3 is the clear winner, hatch vs. hatch the 130i takes the crown.

False alarm? Somebody has actually thought that some MAZDA would have something in common with the ultimate driving machine? Please...

Best regards,

Jussi

What I meant is. It's FWD for God's sake. If God had wanted us to drive front wheel drive cars, he would also have us walk on our hands. FWD never has ANYTHING to do with RWD.

Best regards,

Jussi

A) There is an edit button. lol.
B) Totally true, the FWD of the Mazda3 is its biggest let down - it has nothing over the BMW 130i for enjoyment outside of bang-for-buck.

M A Z D A - five letters that I do not trust.

No wonder they always have sales and 5 million mile free warranties in the US, those shitbuckets would otherwise never sell. But I recall they have a "premium" brand like Toyota too, was it Infiniti or some other Lexus-wannabe, who are all BMW-wannabes...

Anyway, who cares. I'm off to kill some Volvo's with my 130i M Sport.

Best regards,

Jussi

False alarm? Somebody has actually thought that some MAZDA would have something in common with the ultimate driving machine? Please...

Best regards,

Jussi

You're an idiot if you're attacking the Mazda marque as a whole.

sorry, mazda 3 MPS is no match for 130i, doesnt matter how hard mazda try, its still a mazda after all : p

Mitch,

Yes I am attacking the mazda "marque" as a whole. All they do is POS FWD "cars" that deserve no attention whatsoever.

Watch your language now trailer park boy.

Best regards,

Jussi

lol. Man - talk about torching each other.
I'm sorry Jussi but the Mazda3 MPS is the best bang within its price range. In fact, while we are yet to see a lot of good comparos the ones that I have seen so far have the Mazda3 MPS lapping tracks faster than the 130i. This can be attributed to the 130i's harsh RFTs and poor rear suspension setup probably - but what I am trying to say is out of the box Mazda have dished up a decent package for the money.

Let's see Mazda 3 MPS Nordschleife time. If it beats the 130i, I'll eat a hatful of shit. ;-)

Best regards,

Jussi

By MPS you mean the Mazdaspeed3, right? It's actually not even sold over here, just checked it out. It says on the US website that it has LSD by default. What do you do with LSD on a FWD POS?

I gotta admit, BMW could be more generous with the M LSD. It should definitely be an option for the 335i E92 Coupe and the E90 335i as well. They're just too torquey, they scream for an M LSD. Drove the Z4 M Coupe recently for a day and the LSD on it was just amazing... I could easily do powerslides in traffic in the right bends.

Best regards,

Jussi

mazdas suck.
their only thing that have going is the rotary, which was designed by a
german. and the idiots at mazda cant build it to last longer than 100k miles before it pops.
if bmw would have used it, it would own. so yes, attacking mazda as a whole is a good idea.

Well said!

Best regards,

Jussi

X2


well said

Isnt the 130i below the three series?

I'm :rofl ing over here. Figures the guys with the cheapest BMW's would be the biggest snobs.

Man oh man, it was hard to get in here navigating through the field of huge e-balls. Mitch may or may not be trailer-trash, but its really completely unconnected. What a random ass blanket insult. At least make fun of him for something real.

Mazda's are all fwd pos? Yeah lets just ignore the miata or the rx-8 or the mazda 6 mpv (i believe they call it that there, here its the mazdaspeed 6), and lets ignore its famous cars from the past like the rx-7, then i guess you're right. You're making an ass of your self, seems sort of like you're backed in a corner, with nothing real to insult the mazda on you just start shitting on the brand or FWD.

For one an lsd makes a much larger difference in a front wheel drive vehicle than rear wheel. Controlling the power through an lsd significantly reduces oversteer which is really the only problem fwd has.

Now I'm not really deffending the 3MPS because I don't really like it and I don't really like mazda, they're owned by ford now and I definately think quality has taken a huge hit as a result. They weren't nessisarily the best cars before the takeover, but they're starting to share the same parts bin, and ford is just a shit company that cares more about quantity than quality. But as long as you're going to fire up an argument argue the right points, argue the workmanship, argue the handling of the car itself rather than using the old OOMG FWD IS LIKE SOO DUMB LOLZ! Because technilogical advances have made FWD cars a lot faster and a lot more competitive.

Now play nice and drop the snob ass attitude that gives bimmerheads a bad name. A 1 series owner should least of all be bragging. Its not like you have an M6, you've got the bottom of the range model, its still a bmw, but its not exactly mind blowing.

-Spargo

Dude, first I thought I wouldn't even bother to respond.

So I shouldn't be making comments because "A 1 series owner should least of all be bragging". Please, I almost chocked on my drink laughing.
I just dumped my 330Ci for the 130i M Sport. If you knew my history or read any of my other posts, I drive and photograph every new BMW model that comes out (for the local reseller, which is the largest in northern europe.)

I have E92 M3 on order, which will ship next summer (unless BMW makes it way too heavy like the M5/M6 are, which I've both driven for several thousands of miles, and I like cornering, and that's not fun in a heavy tank like the M5), in which case I'll probably have to order the Z4 M Coupe with the S54B32 six, even though inside rumors have it that it'll get the new E92 M3 V8 later on). Regardless, I'm still going to keep my 130i M Sport whatever comes out next summer, because I love it and love the fact that it reminds me of the good old E46 M3 in so many ways. It's way far from a "low-end BMW". As a matter of fact, it costs more and offers way more than most basic 3 or 5-series models, and more than many higher end 3er's with the options that I have on it, so I would STFU, it's an idiotic attitude to judge BMW's models by a model line instead of the individual model (basically, what's under the bonnet, and options)

The first E92 M3's will hit the shores here around March because that's when I got an invitation to go see the first demo cars.

But I'll give you this much:

Good point on the LSD helping with the oversteer, still just a bandaid for FWD though. Like you said about Ford, I see mazda as one of the quantity over quality makers as well. They couldn't even get the rotary engine on RX-8 right, which you mentioned as one of their finer models. (Yeah, great idea to develop a Wankel with todays technology, but it seems that the implementation is bad and the car itself is an ugly ricer.)

But that's it, I don't care about Mazda's nor do I wish to hear about them.

Regards,

Jussi

Look Jussi I'm not trying to shit on the 1 series, I'd love one if I owned it, its just funny to watch everyone pounce it like scared dogs. It hapens in every forum with every comparo, go on the mazda forum, bring up your car, and some know it all will tell you all about how the mazda is cheaper and can do this or that faster.

I just point out the argument and the hubub, people are getting to crazy about cars, fittering over 1 or 2 hp or a second quicker line, when really the feel of the car is all thats going to matter. Like you said you have an m3 on order but if it doesnt feel right you wont keep it, and i say good for you, you aren't falling into the numbers hype, you'll get the car that makes you feel good.

-Spargo

I drove a Mazdaspeed3 yesterday. This coming spring, I'm trading my E36 M3 for one.

*shrug*

If you enjoyed your m3 I'd recomend at least trying an si. The way power is put down is similar, very smooth NA engine. Its all really to preference though.

-Spargo

Don't feed the trolls. If you wanna talk about your mazdas, go to a Mazda forum. This is a BMW forum, we don't care or wish to hear about your Mazda.

As far as my 130i M Sport. I am very happy with it, the N54B30 is a beautiful engine. The best straight six BMW has ever come up with. It goes to show that they've made straight sixes for over 70 years, so they are starting to get things right :lol Especially now that I finally got the new ECU software installed for it so I can rev it up to 7400rpm (BMW has stated in several articles that the second gen Valvetronic in that the engine can easily withstand over 7500rpm.) After the new ECU it was roto-dynoed on the engine at 211kW/289hp and 339Nm/250 lb-ft, with -4% tranmission loss of torque and -6% transmission loss of power, meaning that 198kW/270hp and 325Nm/240 lb-ft go to the rear wheels and onto the road directly. Haven't had a chance to re-time it yet, the official number with the factory tyres in dry conditions was 5.73s 0-100km/h (0-62mph) (true speed 100km/h, not meter speed), but it's fall here now and constantly raining with snow coming soon, so I don't have the chance to get a new time in dry conditions any more (unless there still is a dry day or two, been waiting for one...) But I can definitely feel the change and the additional torque, especially when I rev up, it reminds me so much of E46 M3, the car is just as nervous and really wants to GO and the engine revs almost as hungrily all the way to real 7400 rpm (checked on the digital RPM in debug mode, of course.) Haven't tried the top speed either, because of the weather, but the top speed governor is history as well.

As this car is a keeper, whatever will happen to my E92 M3 order or whatever new I happen to order for next summer if they spoil the E92 M3 with too much weight, I'm going to tune it up more. Next spring, I'll add a second pair of exhaust pipes straight from the engine to improve the breathing, (one italian guy had done this to his 130i and got a total of over 295hp and 360Nm.), and Hamann side lists, and a new speed-o-meter panel and cruise control with the brake function, if it'll be available for the 1-series at that point, if not, I'll just add active cruise control as an aftermarket option.

Best regards,

Jussi

Sounds like a riot. I've never really 'dug' the styling but the numbers are impressive. I've always liked the bmw feel thats why I'm getting the civic si, I know it doesn't sound like it makes sence off the bat, but if you compare a dyno of the si, and a dyno of say the m3 you can really see the comparison. The si certainly doesn't have the power numbers, but the lines have very similar shape. Then whip out a dyno of the ms3 and you can see where its not so fun.

In a world where you can't go racetrack fast everywhere, real numbers matter much less than feel.

-Spargo

A civic is a fwd family shopping car, a BMW is an RWD Ultimate Driving Machine. There are absolutely no comparisons. Are you trolling?

Best regards,

Jussi

Hi JK 130iM Sport, i really interest on your ECU upgrade, kindly provide the detail of your tuner if you are willing to share. Also will be awaiting for your post for the new 0-100km time as well.

Thank you

The software is from DMS. I do not think I'll have a chance to test the new 0-100 time because it just keeps raining here every day now, and next month it's probably gonna turn to snow (at the latest, in December, it will anyway.)

Best regards,

Jussi

A civic is a fwd family shopping car, a BMW is an RWD Ultimate Driving Machine. There are absolutely no comparisons. Are you trolling?

Best regards,

Jussi
:lol Thank you for your expert automotive insight.

JK 130iM sport:



You really suck. Don't come in here waving your "I'm a douchebag" flag after like 30 posts.

That was very intelligent. I guess over 400 posts makes you more intelligent. Care to elaborate?

Regards,

Jussi

Aah, I checked back and I see now, it's old lusers defending other old lusers who are feeling bad because of something a newbie said. Okay, I'll be quiet now. But again, I don't care about Mazda's or Civics.

Best regards,

Jussi

Hi JK 130iM Sport, can you tell us more on your ECU upgrade, especailly on your feeling on more HP and TQ.

Thank you

Puaray:

Join me at www.babybmw.net forum which is more geared towards international 1-series owners. I'll answer you there.

Best regards,

Jussi

That civic in my avatar was my first car, and frankly I don't care for Mazdas, Civics, or FWD either, but to completely write off front wheel drive cars is an uninformed decision. Have you ever watched a touge battle? Most of those cars are FWD, and they perform just as well as AWD and RWD competitors.

Did you really have to come to a board as a new guy and call a member of the forum "white trash" with little to no provocation? I'm not trying to turn the thread into a lecture on manners, I just thought you were being a jerk.

Also, having 414 posts and 2.5 years here vs. 52 over a short period does not make me better or worse, I'm just noting that you're probably the kind of guy that says somthing aloud about the guy in front of him in line at the movies and gets punched.

yeah I've been here more than a year more than you I'm a total troll. If anything you sounds like a troll, stuck in the same mindset that you established years ago that RWD is THE way THE ONLY way. And regardless of technilogical advances that make your opinion stink more and more you'll cower under your little familiar bridge and poke fun at passers by.

-Spargo

Whatever. Just that if somebody were to try to punch me, he'd have a pretty embarassing moment, as I've done Krav Maga for over 4 years and I'm at the fourth level.

I'm off to more intelligent and more international forums with people who actually understand something about the 1-series (and BMWs). Too bad you didn't get my wealth of information here, for you that is.

Bye bye,

Jussi
:lol Au revoir

OH SNAP! WE EBALLIN NOW! I'm scared you're going to reach through the internet and kick my butt! Oh wait you're in Finland, you can't do shit with your training from there! All the car knowledge in the world can't stop you from beinga douche bag.

-Spargo

Aren't you smart. And a great example why cousins shouldn't marry. BTW, it's spelled "being a douchebag", hope this helps.

Jussi

tanks fo engrish resson! >_< Go ruck yourself!

-Spargo

Both of you guys are out of line. I have to agree that this thread is full of snooby 1 series owners.

Different strokes for different folks. I am sure on the race track the mazdaspeed 3 would hang right with the I130. It has incredible handling and power output. Would it give you the "warm and fuzzy" of owning the ultimate driving machine hype B.S. ? No.

Moving on... How in the world can an E36 M3 feel like a civic si. I didnt drive the new si, and ive heard its pretty quick. Its a 2.0 high reving 4 cylinder. I can't believe it has the power delivery similar to the 3.0/3.2 Inline 6.

The 99 M3 i test drove was amazing. Gobs of low end torque and high reving eagerness....and so silky smooth. I love I6's

The e46 m3 and the civic si are similar in the shapes of their power bands. The power is obviously not equal, it'd be an ignorant statement to make, so much so I find it suprising when everyone is taken aback. But the two engines have a lot of similarites, both pushing about 100 naturally aspirated hp/liter, with a fat smooth torque curve (torque all the way through) and a smooth gradually increasing hp line (smooth because of the linear torque) In that same way you get the "feel" of the m3 engine, I mean 0-60 is going to take longer, you wont be able to power your back end out etc, but they both stick to the road eagerly, and the power comes out similarly. They both also have similar redlines.

Check the dyno and you should see what i mean.

Its not an insult on the m3, most people take it taht way, thinking I'm saying an si feels exactly the same as an m3, but it does feel like a "poor man's m3" which its been called in numerous articles.

Its much the same way the new m5 engine is sort of the next step in line.

si:
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/0610_c+2007_honda_civic_si+dyno_chart.jpg
m3:
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/image/tms_chips/tmschips_dyno_s54m3.jpg
m5:
http://www.dragtimes.com/images_dyno/9239-2006-BMW-M5-Dyno.jpg

-Spargo

Mitch,

Yes I am attacking the mazda "marque" as a whole. All they do is POS FWD "cars" that deserve no attention whatsoever.

Watch your language now trailer park boy.

Best regards,

Jussi

Jussi,

So you call the first gen Cosmo, three generations of RX-7, RX-8, and three generations of MX-5(Miata) "POS FWD 'cars' that deserve no attention whatsoever," yes? That is what you are doing? Just checking. BTW, when I said the Mazda marque as a whole, I was including Mazda's motorsport participation. Please don't forget that they won the 1991 24hrs of Le Mans with their wankel-powered 787B. They were so dominant in that race that the FIA outlawed the use of wankel style engines in future races.

And let me ask, where the hell do you get off with that trailer park comment? You don't know me and you don't know my finances. I would use a stereotype on you, but nobody really cares enough about Finland to make stereotypes.

-Mitch

Hopefully they'll release the 1 series here soon. Im looking forward to driving one!

I think you and the 1 series-driving jrk-off should just bounce.

when you're putting the 50th post on a thread you should really be more specific than "you". But I'll give you bonus points for calling that guy a jrk-off :D

-Spargo

Good point. You know, looking back I really don't know who I was talking to.
Oh well.

Jussi takes Krav Maga. Me too. It doesn't make you invincible.

ohhhh. People keep deleting their posts. Wtf. That's why nothing I say makes any sense.