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At the heart of the 2011 Mazdaspeed 3's appeal is its turbocharged 2.3-liter engine. That said, it's easily managed and reminds you that this potent hot hatch demands respect from your right foot. Thanks to its decent-sized rear seats and 42.8 cubic feet of maximum cargo capacity, the Speed 3 can handle just about anything life throws at you.



Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options

The 2011 Mazdaspeed 3 is a four-door hatchback available in one trim level known as Sport. Standard equipment includes 18-inch alloy wheels, high-performance summer tires, a limited-slip differential, foglights, full power accessories, cruise control, keyless entry, dual-zone automatic climate control, front sport seats, leather and cloth upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, a digital turbo-boost gauge, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, and a six-speaker stereo with CD player, auxiliary audio jack and steering wheel controls.



Safety

Standard safety equipment includes antilock disc brakes, stability and traction control, front side airbags and side curtain airbags. Though the 2011 Mazdaspeed 3 itself hasn't been crash tested, the similar Mazda 3 five-door hatchback upon which it's based has been tested. In government testing, the Mazda 3 scored five out of five stars for driver and front passenger protection in a frontal crash, five stars for front side protection and four stars for rear side protection.



Interior Design and Special Features

The Mazdaspeed variant differs from the regular Mazda 3 with its upgraded gauges and sport front seats with standard black leather upholstery with cloth inserts. The front seat offers a wide range of adjustment (though no power adjustment is available) and the tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel is a welcome feature.



Driving Impressions

Routing 280 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels is usually a recipe for annoying amounts of steering-wheel-tugging torque steer. Impressively precise, the steering provides plenty of communication and faithfully transmits road information like few front-wheel-drive cars can.

The MAZDASPEED3 features an advanced torque management system, which minimizes torque steer by adjusting torque output based on gear position and steering angle. Combined with wide, high-grip 225/40R18 Dunlop SP Sport 2050 performance tires, the MAZDASPEED3’s suspension tuning marries unflappable control with a comfortable everyday ride.

Rigid high-speed steering feel can be accomplished without suffering heavy steering at low speeds.



For 2011, the MAZDASPEED3 Technology Package is expanded with rain-sensing front wipers, auto on/off headlights, Bi-Xenon headlights with auto leveling, Adaptive Front-lighting system (AFS), and LED rear combination taillights. The MAZDASPEED3 is the third model in the 2011 MAZDA3 lineup, joining the MAZDA3 5-door, and the 4-door sedan.



Inside the MazdaSpeed3 gets the sort of boy-racer stylings the bodywork suggests, mixed with Mazda’s unusually premium-for-its-class interior. Our Velocity Red Mica test car featured black and red interior patterned material on the doors, with the same design (in plastic) running across the dash. The Nav system, a part of the $1,895 Tech Package is humorously small.



Sure it’s a functional front-drive hatchback, but the MazdaSpeed3 delivers horsepower and handling, not to mention great looks and an interior well above many of its competitors. With few reasonably priced performance vehicles on the road, the MazdaSpeed3 is, thankfully, a hard-core hot hatch that delivers.