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• #2010
  #Mazdaspeed
  #Mazdaspeed3
  

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Aftermarket \ Posted on May 17, 2010, 10:20am

Last summer, our man Damon Lavrinc drove the then-brand-new 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 around California's legendary Laguna Seca Raceway and then Caramel Valley's world-class back roads. And he loved it. I mention this because we're sure that under similar, near-ideal conditions, I would have been nearly as smitten. But reality has a funny way of tossing monkey wrenches at even the most lovely picnics. To wit: I had the Speed3 in Los Angeles during the recent torrential downpour/tornado warnings, then drove to Phoenix through a monsoon the same day/night that Russo and Steele got their tents blown across the freeway. Ideal? Hardly. Informative? Keep reading and decide for yourself.

We'll start with looks, because the new Mazda3 might be the single most polarizing mass-market vehicle design since the Bangled 2002 BMW 7 Series. After spending seven days with the car, my take is that the Speed3 is so deformed it's kinda cute. How can you not love that homely side view? It's mutated, it's bizarre, it's got muscular fenders leading to soft organic lines that finish in hardboiled creases all capped off by a handsome, purposeful wing. Then there are the taillights that actually extend a few inches off the body. The world hasn't seen lines like that since the fins of the 1950s. And of course, there's the mouth – and it's not nearly as smiley as the standard Mazda 3. In Mazdaspeed guise, the grin is filled with scalloped gray teeth. Even if you hate what you're seeing up front, you must admit that the forged wheels are trés sexy. Summarizing, the Speed3 is so... unique that I can't help but like how it looks, especially painted Celestial Blue. Also, like the last generation Speed3, Mazda only sells it as a five-door, which is snappier looking than the sedan.

Source: autoblog.com