[3.0L]

Originally Posted by nachob

Yes, I take it as a negative. I like driving around and when I see a nice desolate, safe corner that I can take a little harder, I want my horse ready for it, I don't want to be switching to sport suspension, sport steering, sport shifting when I am paying for a sports car. I want to dive into it at the last second because it's those small moments!

That is so easy to deal with. Simply leave the driving mode in Sport. One push of the mode selector at boot up. I do it everyday, and it works. The car is always ready.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

That is so easy to deal with. Simply leave the driving mode in Sport. One push of the mode selector at boot up. I do it everyday, and it works. The car is always ready.

You have the best Avatar ever! Love it!

I wish the made a coffee machine that made blah coffee but they gave you a button that said "Good Coffee." You are right we could just push the good coffee button every day. Can't argue with Logic!

: )

[ssstraub]

Originally Posted by nachob

no key slot

I get your overall "cars were more direct in the old days / get off my lawn" bit you have going here, but how in the world is Comfort Access a negative in any way? It has zero effect on how the car drives and simply removes needing to insert and turn the key when starting.

That's a bit like complaining there's no crank handle sticking out of the grill to start the car each day, as if that's a negative.

[danimal]

Originally Posted by nachob

The M235i is a great machine when compared to the other cars coming in around it. It is still the best but with the electric steering and forced iDrive, no key slot, slightly softer demeanor it can seem like a small step back from slightly harder edged cars.

Originally Posted by ssstraub

I get your overall "cars were more direct in the old days / get off my lawn" bit you have going here, but how in the world is Comfort Access a negative in any way? It has zero effect on how the car drives and simply removes needing to insert and turn the key when starting.

In the U.S. at least, keyless start is actually standard. Comfort Access adds the ability to lock/unlock the car without the key fob, and close the windows/moonroof from outside the car (at least without hacking into your car's computer).

I agree that keyless start doesn't detract from the driving experience, but I did see a thread here a week or three ago about someone who accidentally left their car in start/stop mode rather than full off, causing the engine to turn on several times during the night (presumably in a closed garage). It's easy to understand how this could happen. Your engine is off. Something distracts you as your getting out of the car. You walk into the house and forget all about pushing the Start button that one extra time.

This doesn't mean keyless start is "bad" (I actually think it's a nice convenience), but this kind of thing would not happen if the key or fob actually had to be in the dash for the engine to run. So, the feature removes the need to insert/eject the key fob every time you enter/exit the car, but it removes a bit of certainty as you walk away that your car is really off.

There are lots of examples of this on modern cars. Think about the way the turn signal stalk works on a BMW. It's much slicker and quieter in operation than the mechanical type on most cars, but you can't tell by it's position whether you've engaged it or not. You can listen for the click-clack sound if your radio is not up too loud, and you can look at the flashing arrows in the gauge cluster, but something that used to be very tactile now relies more on other senses. Similarly, I don't have an automatic, but if you are using the paddles, the only reminder you get of your current gear is through a number on the gauge cluster. With a manual, or even an old-school automatic transmission lever, the position alone tells you something about what gear you're in. Given that your eyes are busy when you're driving, freeing them from other responsibilities is a good thing.

With these examples (and many others), you might think the new, high-tech way of doing things is a pure win, but there's often something subtle that is lost or made more complex than it used to be. Some of these disadvantages can be overcome by good design/engineering, and others aren't worth worrying about, but I could definitely see driving a car without all the modern gadgetry and thinking its simplicity is refreshing.

[nachob]

Originally Posted by ssstraub

I get your overall "cars were more direct in the old days / get off my lawn" bit you have going here, but how in the world is Comfort Access a negative in any way? It has zero effect on how the car drives and simply removes needing to insert and turn the key when starting.

That's a bit like complaining there's no crank handle sticking out of the grill to start the car each day, as if that's a negative.

Its a negative when they drop the key slot but then don't give you the full functionality of the car without charging extra for it. If it's an option, then leave it the way it was or if you drop the old method, then make it all standard. I like knowing where the key is at all times and when I pull it out of the slot, the car is disabled. Without the full comfort access features at an extra cost, you still have to pull the fob out of your pocket to unlock for passengers which I carry every day. I have walked out of rental cars too with the key in my pocket still and my mechanic friend has had a few instances where he drops off an owner at work only to realize that he also just ran away with the key. So that is how I see it as a negative.

If comfort access was standard and you got full functionality, there would be less to gripe about but the way the current system is, it stinks. Additionally, for those of us that like more focused cars and are buying sports coupes, the comfort access comes bundled with other stuff we don't want. I have to pay $2150 to get full functionality now and get stuff that I don't want in the car because it is bundled with the premium packages. I don't want leather, don't want auto dimming mirror, etc.

[ABPReader]

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[pazzo]

Originally Posted by mczoomer

I'm looking for impressions of the M235i from someone who is familiar with the Mazdaspeed3 (2012), my current ride.

In particular, my suspicion is that the M235i has similar or greater sportiness, but offers a far more comfortable ride -- more supportive seats, better suspension, and a less intrusive, more pleasing, engine growl. Can someone confirm? (I've only been on one test drive of the M235i, I liked it).

What I lose by going from MS3 to M235i is 5 door hatchback practicality, a bigger fuel tank (giving slightly better range, I think the MPGs of the 2 cars is very close), and of course a fair wad of cash. I'm just a bit tired of the rough ride -- depending on my mood i welcome it, but at other times it's annoying. My passengers complain a lot about the tight suspension. (OK, I could get new passengers :-).

If there's anyone here who has driven the MS3, I'd really be interested in your take on the comparative merits of the M235i.

Your assessment and your passengers is spot on. My son has 2012 MS3 and we've both driven it extensively. Longer rides down PC1 were fun but tiring. He drove it from SATX to Sacramento and it must have been a pain.
The 228/235 I drove would be all day comfortable, unlike the MS3, but you'll get 4 doors for backseat passengers with the MS3.

He liked the hatch-back initially, but frankly never carried enough gear to warrant it. We did put some small furniture in it one time.

While they all wear 18's the MS3's ride is jarring in comparison.
The 235 is definitely quicker and I think the 228 is also. Both are much better drivers.

When he comes to town and drives the 328, he always has this silly grin.
He's always begging me to drive it. Those 2 sentences say a lot.

[glaukopes]

Originally Posted by Tony

I'm surprised at the civilized reply that you got here. I guess the Mazda Speed 3 isn't a threat to the M235i. The Audi S3? that appears to be a different story. LOL!!!

After test driving the S3, I thought, "Eh, it's nice, but it's not worth the extra money over a WRX. I'll probably just buy a WRX." Right after that I test drove the M235i, and I thought, "I've got to have this car. It's a million times more pleasurable to drive than the S3 and worth every extra penny over the WRX."

[Kiwi]

I don't understand why BMW USA does not bring the 1 series to the States as it's the biggest seller in a lot of countries. The 116i is the biggest seller which the States does not get and just flies along.

[mfourn20]

I'd take the new 1 series 5 door in a heart beat over my M-Sport 228....

[durangodoug]

Hey mczoomer not sure if you're still searching or not but I drove a buddy's MS3 a couple weeks ago. I love Mazda for what they offer but you will notice the build quality difference. The manual transmission is fun as hell in the MS3 but when I got over 70 things started getting hairy (I could see the hood moving), and I didn't really have the confidence in the corners. I have seen my buddy autocross his MS3 so I know it's a great sporty car, but after he rode in my 235 he's looking at BMW or VW for his next vehicle purchase.

[ABPReader]

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[mvallido]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

That is so easy to deal with. Simply leave the driving mode in Sport. One push of the mode selector at boot up. I do it everyday, and it works. The car is always ready.

Exactly.

[ABPReader]

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[angelbones]

Jet00, I'm not discounting the fact that the ms3 is a fun car, however, I'm a little dubious over this video. First, I'm not convinced it's an M235. More importantly, it looked to me more like the Bimmer was toying with the guy and didn't really put everything into it. Also, it is very likely that someone videotaping something like this usually means they have tuned their ride beyond factory specs. Thanks for the post though.

[nike001]

Originally Posted by durangodoug

Hey mczoomer not sure if you're still searching or not but I drove a buddy's MS3 a couple weeks ago. I love Mazda for what they offer but you will notice the build quality difference. The manual transmission is fun as hell in the MS3 but when I got over 70 things started getting hairy (I could see the hood moving), and I didn't really have the confidence in the corners. I have seen my buddy autocross his MS3 so I know it's a great sporty car, but after he rode in my 235 he's looking at BMW or VW for his next vehicle purchase.

I've driven a few MS3's and they're definitely cool cars, but like you said, the build quality is noticeable. I probably would've had one in place of my 330i ZHP if it weren't for the fact that they're FWD.

Originally Posted by angelbones

More importantly, it looked to me more like the Bimmer was toying with the guy and didn't really put everything into it. Also, it is very likely that someone videotaping something like this usually means they have tuned their ride beyond factory specs. Thanks for the post though.

That MS3 had to have been modded as it seems to me like the M235i clearly ran him. I played around with an MS3 with unknown mods (had appearance mods, figures if you modify the apperance you add SOME sort of performance mods) this past spring and I hung with him on the highway without any issue when he did the ol 'downshift & go' trick.

[kd0t]

According to the comments section, the ms3 has a k04 turbo, few bolt ons, and tune. IIRC the k04 turbo makes them pretty beastly (at least on the Audi's)

While the M235i only has a tune.

So considering the ms3 is FBOed.. I think the 2 kept up rather nicely.

[ABPReader]

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