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Myself and a fellow co-worker recently had a lively discussion about the relative merits of performance hatchbacks, and the current leaders in the market. He claimed the VW GTI is the reigning champ, whereas I argued the merits of the Mazdaspeed 3 speak for themselves.
First of all...Let's look at the engine, the heart of any car that has any pretense of performance. The VW's 2.0-liter turbocharged engine produces 200 horsepower and 207 lb./ft. of torque. By themselves, respectable numbers.
But stack those up against the Mazda's 263 horsepower and 280 lb./ft. of torque, and it's clear who the victor is in the horsepower wars. A decisive 63 horsepower and 73 lb./ft. edge.
Okay, what about value? I will concede that the GTI is available with more bells & whistles than the Mazda. But at what price? Fully-equipped, the GTI is close to if not more than $30,000. Heck, as cool as it is, the DSG clutchless 6-speed transmission alone runs about $1,100. With every box checked, including fancy floormats and every other accessory, you'd be hard-pressed to get the Mazda to break $28,000. No fancy-pants paddle shifters here. But I'm of the mind and philosophy that if you don't know how to use a clutch pedal, you have no right to call yourself an enthusiast. Enough said.
And having been a former VW GTI owner, and a current Mazda owner, I can personally vouch for the reliability (or lack thereof) of the Volkswagen. Supposedly quality has improved, but it is coming up from such abysmal levels to begin with, that I believe overall, the Mazda will prove to be a more reliable vehicle, as it has proven in my experience.
Sure, the Euro-snobs wouldn't be caught dead in one, but I am not ashamed to proclaim the Mazdaspeed3 as the current reigning king of hot hatches in my book.  Execution is everything. You can have power and speed in spades, but it means nothing without control, stamina, and a little bit of class. Part of that is why Major League Baseball bruiser Barry Bonds will always have an asterisk by his many sporting accomplishments. Case in point is the VW GTI Mk5, a vehicle that, in my opinion, is one of the best automobiles on the market today. Available in sporty two-door or more sensible four-door, it has the space and layout to suit most day to day driving needs. With either the slicker-than-Slick Willie six speed manual or first-of-its-kind DSG dual-clutch auto transmission, the GTI never fails to satisfy when racing around on twisty two lanes or on your daily commute. Volkswagen invented the hot hatch in 1981 with the original GTI, itself based on the lowly Rabbit hatchback. A combination of price, ,performance and handling were all the ingredients needed to make a monster hit. The Mk5 GTI is the first time that Volkswagen has successfully recreated that winning recipe. But it's not perfect, not by a long-shot. One thing the new GTI doesn’t have in its favor is being able to exist in a class all by itself. Copycats have sprung up from all sorts of manufacturers, from Subaru with its WRX to MINI with the Cooper S. The most direct competitor for hot hatch supremacy, it has been claimed by some misguided individuals, is Mazda's MazdaSpeed3. As the Church Lady from SNL would say, “Well, isn’t that special?” Powerful it is, special it ain’t. One may argue that the Mazda has a significantly higher amount of horsepower and torque (263 hp and 280 lb. feet or torque) compared to the VW (197 hp and 200 lb. feet of torque.) All very true, even though independent dynometer readings showed the GTI to have something more like 240hp and 260lb. feet of actual torque. Evidence of this discrepancy can be shown in the Mazda only being about .6 seconds faster than the VW. In the power stakes, advantage Mazda. But you can always drop a HEMI in a Pinto if you just want brute power . Having driven the Mazda and the VW, let me tell you that dropping the hammer on the accelerator in the Mazda is just about as nerve racking as doing it in a mid-eighties Porsche 911. All that power through the front wheels with no limited slip creates massive torque steer, with the car seemingly intent on hurling itself through the shrubbery. I am the kind of guy who is sensitive to his surroundings, especially like the inside of the car. This is a department where the VW wipes the floor with the pedestrian-feeling Mazda. The latter's layout is all well and good but the feel of the dashboard makes me believe it was made out of ground-up crayons. And what is with the little red flashing light that moves from side to side in the middle of the dash when you turn on the radio? Someone at Mazda must have taken inspiration from the flashing light on the front of the KITT car in the television camp-fest that was Knight Rider. Another thing that really bothered me about the Mazda was the transmission, which felt like it was held together with paper clips and connected to the drivetrain with bungee cords. Long throws, and shift action that makes the one in my ancient old Alfa Romeo look like a vision of precision, don’t make me want to take the long way home. The VW on the other hand, has a wonderful manual transmission as well as the only automatic option on the market that could keep a true enthusiast entertained. The DSG transmission debuted in the United States on the GTI and can perform such fast shifts that it is in fact .2 seconds faster 0-60 than the manual. It can be shifted automatically or manually with levers behind the steering wheel, giving the driver an unparalleled sense of control. I made a vow never to buy an automatic many years ago, and am tempted to break that promise with a DSG. Having a choice is a wonderful thing, especially in the less expensive end of the enthusiast car market. I applaud Mazda for its first time effort with the MazdaSpeed3, but more work needs to be done. The VW, on the other hand, is a fully realized vision of a total performance car. It entertains you when you are alone, but is comfortable and stylish enough that your friends and family will think you bought a “grown up” car. Experience always ends up trumping youth. Any auto enthusiast who has seen some years pass under their belt should know this simple fact. So I have to say sorry to the MazdaSpeed3 because in this fight, you are the young whipper-snapper. And you lose.
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