Rajunz

This kind of sums it up from my point of view...........................

PTPerformance

I own both and this is my take on it.

MS3 wins in the corners... hands down.

Stock for stock, pretty much equal but the MS3 you have to shift much more.

CSRT4 vs MS3 power for power adders.... CSRT4 comes way out on top.

MS3 with coilovers..... will put to shame most properly set up track cars if equal tires are installed on both cars.

The MS3 is a track killer if there is a corner. CSRT4, will do the same in a straight line. Now don't get me wrong the Caliber is not slouch in the corners, its just no MS3 and just the same for the MS3 compaired to the Caliber in straight line performance. Both are good cars.

Andrew85

Well I was looking at both cars, took both for test drives several times, and I do mean several times. It took me a long time to decide over these two cars and well the MS3 came out on top. These are the reasons WHY I got the car over the CSRT-4.

MS3:

- Way better interior
- Better Exterior (Just missing a scoop)
- Corners better
- Turns more heads then an CSRT-4
- Last but not least. If I end up selling this car, the Re-sale value of this car will be higher then the CSRT-4 due to being an import.

Dont get me wrong, both are super great cars and both have great power and torque, the MS3 is just more practically better off if you drive it everyday!

HIGHBRED8

you chose a ms3 for almost every reason most chose the srt lol.

interior is marginally better imo.
exterior - 90% of people say its hard to tell between a ms3 and regular 3.
handling - yes totally give it to the ms3.
turns more heads than a csrt? i dont even see how thats possible. theres half the csrt's on the road than there is ms3's and ms3's have such a subtle exterior compared to the drastic difference in the csrt to the regular cali's.
resale- we'll see about that. the ms3 takes just as big a dive as most any car on the road. if the csrt is anything like the nsrt re-sale wont be bad at all. hell i saw nsrt's pre csrt release selling for only a couple grand less than they were new (condition, mileage and mods dependent).
and practicality - that i totally disagree with you. ill buy better interior, handling etc but practicality im sorry the csrt owns the ms3 in that. way more room, better seats, fridge, etc.

dont get me wrong i like the ms3 a lot, i just dont agree with the reasons you gave. whatever though, everyone choses a car because its what they liked better.

PTPerformance

I don't get it either. When I drive the MS3 more people comment on it then the CSRT4 all the time. I mean I can not park the car with out someone saying "nice car". I don't get it.

The GB cooler is very cool in the Caliber and I like the "room". Being a big guy (6' 5" and 250 lbs) the Caliber fits me better. But the handling of the MS3 really takes your mind off how cramped it is inside the car.

Andrew85

I totally agree with you that people cant really tell between the MS3 and the Mazda 3. A few things that are different between those cars is.... The hood is lifted/extended, the MS3 is lower to the ground, the spoiler actually is diverted in the middle and isnt attached to the shell of the car. I love a sleeper car, freaks people out! I drive a black tinted MS3 and it turns heads so much. The seats in the MS3 can be compared to the CSRT-4 seats easily. Both offer the support of the "Hug system" (Haha thats what I call it :P) Im in a colder climate and harsher winter conditions then pretty much a lot of people (Ask anyone that lives in Edmonton The point behind that is that the cooler only works if the A/c is on and well, I never really use the A/c around these parts. Sure its a cool feature but when is it actually convenient for me to put a cooler where I can store other shit in a bigger glove box?! If I want a drink ill just stop and grab one then use the cup holder :P The CSRT-4 is a bigger vehicle for sure, but we didnt buy these cars to see who could fit the most groceries in the boot right?

DRHEMI

The only reason it turns more heads is that they have to look at it really hard to figure out the difference between the MS3 and regular 3.

And your arguments sound like that of a fanboy not a car enthusiast you sound like you had absolutely no intrest in the car in the first place. If you didnt want to put grocieries in it then you should have bought a bike, its a hell of alot faster, turns more heads, stands out more, looks better etc etc. People buy the CSRT4 and MS3 because its a hatch and is actually a very good daily car IE going to the grociery store.

The fact that I DONT have to get out of the car to get a cold drink is what makes it better, who puts a whole lot of crap in their glove box anyways? My insurance, registration and owners manual is in there maybe a couple of wrenches and a tire pressure gauge thats it.

And no the seats of the MS3 dont even come close to the seats in the CSRT4 the supports in the CSRT4 are by far BETTER, I like the seating position in the MS3 better but your not going to win that argument the SRT4 seats if Im not mistaken are the same as the ones in the 90,000 dollar world beating Dodge Viper, dont get any better than that Im sorry.

Now the differences between the MS3 and regular 3 are minimal at best even I have a hard time differentiating between the two until Im close to it. You can tell a CSRT4 is different right off the bat there is no second guessing now if people know what it is, is completely different, the MS3 has been out for several years so its going to be better known, while the CSRT4 has been out for a few months. But hands down exterier design goes to the CSRT4 everything is completely function from the scoops to the spoilers to them even putting 19s on the car.

MS3:
Pros
Slightly (and I say slightly) better interior (I still like the CSRT4 better but asthetically the MS3 is nicer).
Better handling

Cons
Blends in
Horrible motor mounts
Seats arent that great
Butt ugly hatch design (personal opinion they so should have offered a sedan version)

CSRT4:
Pros
Very distinguishable
Faster straightline acceleration
Better mod ability
Far more aggressive stylign
Better brakes

Cons
Rear end leaves a little to be desired
Doesnt handle as well
Brakes dont allow for much room in wheel choices
higher seating position

Last but certainly not least, a MS3 is as much an import as a Ford Focus, MAZDA is a stil a FORD at heart so trust me its resale value wont be better, infact if the past is any indication the NSRT4s of old hold its value a hell of alot better than the Mazda Speed Protege, and considering the CSRT4 will be produced in lower numbers then the NSRT4 we can only assume the resale value will be the same if not better than the NSRT4.

danssrt

I did not test drive the MS3 for one simple reason: styling. It just doesn't do anything for me, and I can't own a car that I feel that way about. Better performance, better handling, faster, better interior, etc, be darned, I can't drive it if I can't look at it. I know plenty of people can get past a cars looks. I can't when it comes to a car I have to drive everyday.

mopartodd

I like the way it looks personally, it was the bad crash test rating and REAL HIGH insurance rate that finally killed the MS3 for me.

__________________

2008 CSRT-4
2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i 6MT
1969 Coronet 440

Andrew85

The 09's are pretty safe, air bags everywhere, the brakes a bigger. Yeah it all comes down to taste right? Depends what you're into and what floats your boat so-to-say The MS3 is a really good drive though, wish you woulda taken it for a rip!