You would be surprised how often I get into a performance-oriented car and have trouble getting comfortable. It's not like I'm some oversized Neanderthal either. A little taller than average maybe, but otherwise normal.
The Mazdaspeed 3 is one of the those cars that feels comfortable the minute you get in. A slight slide of the seat, move the steering wheel a bit and it's perfect. And although I noted before that I'm not all that thrilled with the pedal placement, the fact that I'm otherwise positioned comfortably does a lot to make up for it.
Oh, and the driver's seat is pretty nice for a vehicle in this price range. Nothing spectacular, but enough bolstering in the right places to notice that it's a notch above your average hatchback. Overall, a well thought out cockpit that I never get tired of.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line @ 9,788 miles
sharpend says:
03:17 PM, 04/ 7/10
Yeah, but can it carry as much stuff as a Dodge Ram for all the Edmunds moving tasks?
That seems to be the Top Edmunds Testing Procedure nowadays.
mcgs999 says:
03:25 PM, 04/ 7/10
The GTI is no fun and the MS3 has a terrible clutch and comfortable seats that give me a seizure/make me want to barf... guess i am screwed.
c5z06er says:
03:46 PM, 04/ 7/10
Seems like you should be using a Venn diagram on this post, instead of Mike's.
stovt001 says:
03:48 PM, 04/ 7/10
That seat pattern looks like a seat cover you'd buy at a kiosk in the parking lot of a strip mall.
tatermctatums says:
04:53 PM, 04/ 7/10
That seat pattern reminds me of the seats in the Nissan Sentra SE-R's that had the mesh covering over them. (Not my car, just borrowed the picture)
http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/7/web/2191000-2191999/2191509_13_full.jpg
90in55 says:
09:23 PM, 04/ 7/10
I wonder if the Mazda is afflicted with squeaks and rattles yet. None of the IL staff have mentioned anything, if I'm not mistaken. I'll probably get chased off the site soon because I bring this issue up in all my posts. I just hate the thought of dropping $25K on a car and having the interior sound like a NY taxi cab.
jeepsrt says:
07:23 AM, 04/ 8/10
Those seats are horrible, if I was in the market for a fast hatch they would stop me from buying it, are they an option or standard?
wayno_san says:
07:44 AM, 04/ 8/10
@jeepsrt,
How do you know they're horrible? Did you sit in them or are you going by looks alone? I don't see how one can make a judgment call on a seat without having had spent some time in it.
If you have, then cool, if not, I'm curious how/why you made that statement.
Not attacking you, I'm genuinely interested in your observation(s) as I do not own this car, but am interested in it.
old_volvo says:
08:10 AM, 04/ 8/10
Those seats look really comfortable, almost as much as the Flex.
dougtheeng says:
08:29 AM, 04/ 8/10
fwiw, the seats are much less noticeable in real life.
jeepsrt says:
08:33 AM, 04/ 8/10
@wayno_san
Just going by looks, I should have stated that. They look like nice seats but I could not live with that design every day.
cr_driver says:
10:56 AM, 04/ 8/10
Me neither.