The Mazda 3 Turbo AWD Understeers at the Limit

Join Miles in the 2024 Mazda 3 Sedan Turbo Premium Plus in Snowflake White Pearl Paint with all Black Leather as he shares his expert driving impressions.

[jk_reef]

I have this car, it’s no performance car, the high torque makes it a good daily driver in rush hour traffic

[jbm]

I have the 2021 version of this car (virtually the same) and can confirm understeer does kick in if you drive too briskly on a road with tight curves. That said it can still be a lot of fun if you stay within its limits. This car was never meant to be a GTI, Type R etc competitor and I knew that going in. I'm still happy with my car, but I don't expect it to be something it isn't.

[skunkop]

Such an elegant interior. Modern cards need to take a lesson

[SPLITTINIMAGE]

Eibach pro kit lowering springs, which is like a 1.5 drop front and 2.0 drop rear, plus a 18x8.5 +35 offset wheel, 245/40/18 Falken fk510s which are a 300tw, strut bar to kill the little body roll still present after the drop. It rotates just a little as you get into the throttle in a corner, and handles like an absolute dream.

[pbourdon]

I wish they made this with a manual and a suspension that would be aimed at enthusiasts. Oh well. The powertrain is fairly compelling for daily driving, and it definitely looks good.

[agustinghigliano]

I Drive The sedan 2.5 turbo premium plus polymetal gray on black. Used to drive a 2011 is350 rwd, the mazda is such a Very good car for the price. Way better than a SI, GTI, or wrx with the cvt. Just below the Golf R and Elantra N .

[AndresSalazarAutos]

I used to have a turbo hatchback, with a bit technique change, you can actually induce a bit of oversteer. Understeer can be improved with better tires.

[mikeinsiable]

Needs some coils, wheels tires and maybe a sway bar kit. Bet it'll handle like butter then.

[daigo]

You'd be surprised what a good set of tires does to this car. The touranza's that come on the car are absolute garbage.

[Yokokurama]

I wish it had a fully independent rear suspension and a tighter steering ratio.

[kuruptzZz]

Reminds me of my old mazdaspeed 3 in early 2000's. That thing had way too much power for its FWD setup, and would always understeer like crazy

[JamesGlobeLife]

Just like my old Mazdaspeed 6. That front bias AWD with the LSD was epic. Got some serious powerslides from low speed on tight turns though

[scubarubanzaii]

Yup that is a normal car with a spicy engine

[ESISTTIGER]

Limited slip will just make understeer worse when you drive it that way you need to use weight transfer to get it to turn in without understeer its a nose heavy FWD it will always want to "push" the nose when you gas it in a corner even more so when its over a small hill like this

[mdd]

The 3rd generation didn't do that because it had an independent rear.. It would just stick and rotate. That car was magical, I never should've sold it

[anatoliibatura]

Turbo? AWD?
We don't have it :(
Must be beautiful!

[TechGently]

Route 39 or Route 2, most likely 39 beyond Forks towards Mount Baldy. I plan on taking my 2025 Mazda CX50 up there. Fun ride.

[ShowMeWhatINeedToKnow]

Well, the torsion beam rear suspension certainly isn't helping.

[kareemcrockett-sivels]

That mazda 3 sounded like a ford mustang ecoboost

[evdorn]

Disappointing to see the understeer. I was hoping the AWD would mitigate that