My 2014 Mazda3 Ride & Drive Pics.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

Here are a few pics from the Ride & Drive. Not my best pics, but between the rain and participating in the event here is what I have. Enjoy.

(The sideways action pics are from the pro driver)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0613_zps1237b879.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0613_zps1237b879.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0612_zps8b3d6df7.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0612_zps8b3d6df7.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0591_zpsa12e207e.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0591_zpsa12e207e.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0587_zpsaa1cdf9d.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0587_zpsaa1cdf9d.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0585_zps61818bdc.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0585_zps61818bdc.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0584_zpscc26a51c.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0584_zpscc26a51c.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0582_zps51ca7c3a.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0582_zps51ca7c3a.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0578_zps1896c7f5.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0578_zps1896c7f5.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0576_zpsa94ee91a.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0576_zpsa94ee91a.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/20131106_134735_zps15786db1.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/20131106_134735_zps15786db1.jpg.html)

[XTOTHEL]

Haha, that 3rd pic with most of the cones tipped over. Where they placed like that?

[SomeGuy]

Haha, that 3rd pic with most of the cones tipped over. Where they placed like that?


*were


And yes, that's typical for autocross coarses to direct the driver which way to go.

[Jsquared]

Great pics man! Looked like a fun day. I did the 6 ride and drive and had a great time.

How does it handle when whipping through those turns?

[Johns 08 3 GT]

It handles quite well. There are four cars to test against.

Hyundai Elantra
Honda Civic
VW Jetta Turbo
Ford Focus Platinum

The Civic was very softly sprung.
The Elantra's ride was pretty harsh over the fake pot holes.
The Jetta suffers from poor throttle input and turbo lag.

The biggest disappointment was the Focus. It did not handle as well as I expected and the Auto in it (I think the twin clutch) has no idea what gear to be in depending on throttle input.

[Nikhil Pali]

Nice pics and sure looks fun to put the car to test around those cones.

[asyed]

I'm confused.... Isnt this event tommorow? Or was there a special VIP event?


Also can't wait to try this out tommorow! Also its interesting they didn't include the new corolla in their competitors cars ( not that I want to drive a corolla)

[Johns 08 3 GT]

The public event is Saturday. This has been going on all week for Mazda employees to get a feel for the product and check it against the competition. I forgot to ask why there was no Corolla there. It did seem kind of odd.

It really is worth it to drive all the cars just to see how the new Mazda3 compares to the competition.

A few more pics.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0599_zpsc8b53fc9.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0599_zpsc8b53fc9.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0589_zps10a45246.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0589_zps10a45246.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0615_zpsc77e6cdd.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0615_zpsc77e6cdd.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/DSC_0616_zps46fb185c.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/DSC_0616_zps46fb185c.jpg.html)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/johns92jetta/2ab64a18-5e9c-4138-9654-2f99b7e819e4_zps8b9827c4.jpg (http://s6.photobucket.com/user/johns92jetta/media/2ab64a18-5e9c-4138-9654-2f99b7e819e4_zps8b9827c4.jpg.html)

And I was lucky enough to meet Takeo Moriuchi. Deputy Program Manager Mazda3.

[Scottobot]

Holy body roll.. but I suppose you were driving it pretty hard. :)

[FD22]

Holy body roll.. but I suppose you were driving it pretty hard. :)

Yea I noticed that from the pictures too. That's a shit load of flex side to side lol

[Johns 08 3 GT]

It does look like a ton of body roll, but that is a stock car for you. Despite all the roll it still felt in control. Most of these pics are of the pro drivers showing off what a stock car can do.