I posted this on the Mazda247forum in their "other cars section".

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showt...3706434&page=2

My wife drives a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3 GT and I drive, of course, a 2008 Cobalt SS. Interesting responses so far. The post is below.

"Hopefully this thread isn't too old for this post, I haven't been on here for a while.

I have the unique opportunity to compare my daily driver 2008 Cobalt SS to my wife's daily driver 2008 MS3 GT.

First of all let's put the "whose car is faster" debate to bed. stock vs stock, we went from a 50ish roll in the top of 3rd gear so that the MS3 was getting all it's boost and it was dead even. The Cobalt has limited boost only in 1st so I am guessing that is why it is faster over all. As far as the "launch control" on the cobalt, you can get better 1/4 times by not using it. Handling, you are not going to be able to tell the differnce between the 2 cars on the street, they will both take an on ramp faster than any sane person would want to, lol. Braking feels the same in each car, fading never showed up on either. The Brembos sure do look a lot prettier than the nasty MS3 calipers though, lol.

The second thing I want to address is interior. The Mazda wins hands down. The seats are better and the plastics used are more eye appealing and it just has a classier look. That being said, the Cobalt has some nice features that the Mazda doesn't. Sun roof. The base stereo (pioneer) sounds much better than the crappy Bose system in the Mazda. I don't need to buy any parts to have XM except the subscription. The stereo displays song and artist info unlike the Mazda's. The tire pressure monitoring system displays the air pressure for each tire unlike the mazda. The Cobalt actually has a boost gage unlike the mazda. The shifter in the Cobalt has a much more positive feel than the Mazda's "stick in a jar of peanut butter" shifter. The pedals in the Mazda are nicer than the cobalts but both work for heal-toe down shifts fairly well. The Cobalt's interior is not nice, but it's not falling apart or anything like people make it sound. That being said, the interior is the least important part to me, coming from driving as my previous daily a 1995 neon with no AC. ANYTHING is an improvement, lol.

Exterior styling is subjective so let me give you my opinion on these 2 cars. Neither of the 2 cars are exceptionally sexy. I would much rather look at my 2000 Pontiac Firebird Formula than either one of these cars. They are not ugly, however. The cobalt I have is on of the few SS's without the giant ricer wing and it looks much more subdued that way. The MS3 has a very nice "hot hatch" look to it that I like.

Modibility is something that is important to me, as I can't leave any vehicle I own alone. I have done some limited searching as has my wife and the MS3 seems to not have much after market support as far as power increase goes. Has anybody cracked the Mazda ECU? I spent 250 bucks on a mail order tune (only because no dyno tuners in my area have any experience with the LNF motor) and added about 30 hp and 80 ft lbs of torque to my Cobalt with zero driveability comprimises. If anybody can give me some advice on things to increase power for the MS3 that won't affect driveability, I'm all for it.

Finally, let make the point that I am not a "brand fan boy". I buy whatever vehicle fills the needs that I have. I own a 2000 Pontiac Firebird Formula for play at the dragstrip, a 1990 Toyota 4x4 pickup for offroad and hauling, my wife has the 2008 Mazda MS3 for a fun daily that can haul 3 dogs, and I have a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt SS for a fun daily that still gets decent gas mileage to go back and forth to work, and I love everyone of them. Even with their unique quirks and issues.

I guess my point is that by having a closed mind and liking only one brand of vehicle you can miss out on some really neat cars that you might otherwise really like."

And for the record, I'm not a Mazda board troll since technically I am paying for my wife's car and my car and they both are titled to me.

 

Ill have to check back on their forums when more people have replied.

 

Yeah, I just posted yesterday and that particular section moves kinda slow...

 

Made my objective post.

 

A very nice review.

 

great write up. thanks for the comparison.

 

i think you are pretty fair with your write-up. nothing rong with praising the strengths of each machine. i can def give respect to the MS3. i like it, but i just am not a fan of the body-styling. its still a cool car tho.

 

"My thoughts...
It's a piece of **** rental car with surprisingly high capabilities. It's chassis and engine may be superb (in terms of performance not reliability), but is just a Cavilier underneath it all."

Lmao. Says the man with the stock ms3.

 

ill be over there in a min!

 

?? Not sure what that means. A post you made on here?

 

LOL nice to see "it's just a Cavalier" who drives "just a Mazda 3" is getting ruined by his fellow board members . Nice objective review, not wild about the "ricer wing" comment but you're entitled to your opinion of course .

 

By his logic, they just drive a Protegé. The Cobalt replaced the Cavalier (only a slight resemblence in shape) and the Mazda 3 replaced the Protegé.

Looks like we will have to have a good old New Cavalier vs. New Protegé face off instead of a Cobalt vs. Mazda 3 face off!

 

After reading most of those losers posts, Im embarrased to say I own an 05 black mica Mazda 3 hatch.... lol

I love hearing mazda owners talk about other manufaturers making sub par transmissions... hell if anyone would know about **** transmissions, its us mazda owners.... Mine blew at 19 00KM...


Seriously stock for stock both cars are very close. Comes down to personal preference. One car is not substantially better than the other off the lot.

 

nooo. i drove a cavi that was suprisingly more gutsy than the average. it was stock and i would pull Z24's all the time, but i owned it for 6 years and put 130,000 on it in that time. i knew the car front and back and as my first car i'm still sort of attached. my 2007 ss/sc is superior in all perameters. suspension, chassis, interior, size, transmission, interior quietness, stereo quality, steering, and obviously engine potency. and i wouldn't have to drive an ss/sc to say that. the cobalt is a superior car that has slightly similar styling, but it's def not a cavi. take it with someone with a lot of drive time with one.

 

X2
Whats even better is they still call it a cavy, but yet share no parts with each other & the cavy never went out & proved itself....but the cobalt did. Guess thats why their panty's are in a bunch.

 

did i meantion i'm not a hatchback fan? MS3 are cool, but not a fan of the styling. then again, i like it better than the styling on a 4 door TC.

 

The Honda Civic owners even claim the Cobalts are Cavaliers. Granted they were both assembled at Lordstown, the Delta I platform is not even close to the J-body on the Cavaliers. Now that Delta II is coming out, how often do you think people will call the Volt/Cruze a Cavalier?

 

"The Cruze is just a Cobalt underneath it all"


thats what people will be saying years from now.

 

stupid cruze. i hate that thing.

 

Well, it will put an end to performance debates of SS versus X if nothing else...the base engine is essentially the same as the one in my g/f's Aveo...she'll actually be able to BEAT someone in a race . Thread title "Chevy Cruze vs Aveo Who Will Win?"

 

comparing the two, a cobalt and a mazda3, the fit and finish on the mazda is far better interior
I owned an 05 Mazda 3s and I still have an 06 SS.

 

Save for this one exception, the prevailing attitude is more levelheaded than I would have expected on a Japanese car forum.

 

I agree. I was surprised too.

 

cavalier did prove itself also lol..

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/fe...cer/index.html

http://www.drift.fr/en/pics/cat-1014...alier-drag.php

dunno why everyone hate's on the cavys either. my buddy has an lssport one and add boost, you got a car that'll eat ALOT.
The older ones maybe i could understand, ecotec ones, nah.

 

I talking stock any 1 can dump money in a car & make it fast, I have plenty of friends that have or had cavy's boosted & none. Lets face it every1 compares them because they are made by the same company .....so it must be a cavy!