There's been a bit of disagreement about our Mazdaspeed 3's manual transmission. Erin first wrote how she felt that "the shifter's gates are well defined and there's solid, positive feel as you move between gates." She said she also thought the pedal placement was ideal for heel-toe downshifting.
A couple days later, though, James wrote that he disagreed, noting the he was not enamored with the shifter. He wrote: "[It] could feel more mechanical and direct." He also thought the clutch was difficult to consistently modulate smoothly.
Then a week later Ed wrote that he found the pedal spacing to be a bit off, noting: "The gas pedal is a little far away to make a simple roll of the foot work."
It's an editor dust-up! Seriously, though, I've been driving the MS3 for more than a week straight now, which makes me, if not uniquely qualified, then at least passably certified to weigh in on this subject.
Shifter: James wrote: "Frankly, it's hard to believe the Miata's and Speed3's shifters come from the same company -- they couldn't feel any [more] different." A fun hyperbole, for sure, but the MS3's shifter is still pretty good in my opinion. True, its throws are not exceptionally short, but there's still an overall solidity to it that I find pleasing. I don't need (or want) every car to have a shifter like a Miata's.
As an aside, when shifting from second to third or from third to fourth, the shifter will occasionally make a low-decibel sound (in addition to the normal gear-shift sounds) that I can only describe as "rubbery metallic." If you've ever watched the new Battlestar Galactica, there's a sound effect the show uses for when a pilot pushes the fire button for his (or her) Viper's guns. The MS3's sound is kinda like that. I don't know if the shifter is supposed to sound like this, but it's kinda cool nevertheless.
Pedal placement: I'd side side with Erin on this. I haven't had any problems here with heel-toe downshifts.
Clutch: I second James here in that I do find it tricky to modulate when starting out in first gear. The initially soft throttle response doesn't help matters.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor
throwback says:
12:11 PM, 12/10/09
Perhaps Erin has better heel-toe skills. Or quicker feet, or more shapely feet or.. I better stop there.
questionlp says:
12:48 PM, 12/10/09
mmm... foot fetishes. >.<
hondacura4 says:
12:58 PM, 12/10/09
I've driven nearly every hi-po compact car in this segment and found the Civic Si to be the benchmark in shifter feel, shift quality and pedal placement. Honda has proven to execute this very well especially in their more performance oriented cars.
bkochuk says:
01:48 PM, 12/10/09
if you had a foot fetish, wouldn't that be a feetish?
compliance says:
04:55 PM, 12/10/09
@ hondacura4
I don't think the Si counts as "hi-po" anymore :P
roadburner says:
05:02 PM, 12/10/09
I don't mind the shift action or effort in my MS3, but I believe that the shift pattern is asymmetric; that is, it feels like the distance between the 1-2 and 3-4 gates is longer than the distance between the 3-4 and 5-6 gates. Other than that, I have no complaints about the transaxle. I just have an immense dislike for the digital clutch. I wish there was an easy fix.
mozzz77788 says:
10:08 PM, 12/10/09
@compliance owch! Also, it sounds biased to hear about the Si when Honda is in your name. Then again, you did drive em
94_gsr_cpe says:
06:25 AM, 12/11/09
@roadburner
Are you saying that the MS3 has a "drive-by-wire" clutch? Sounds suspicious...
roadburner says:
11:16 AM, 12/11/09
"Are you saying that the MS3 has a "drive-by-wire" clutch? Sounds suspicious..."
The engagement point of the MS3 clutch is very abrupt- not at all progressive. It's either engaged or disengaged, hence the "digital" appellation.
94_gsr_cpe says:
05:23 PM, 12/13/09
Gotya :)