Hi, I've been driving a Mazda3 1.6L A (tiptronic, Singapore), manufactured in 2004 for close to 4 years now. As you would have guessed, I like the car a lot! It's a car that you will fall in love over time. When I first got it, I thought this car is all about speed. I was temporarily disappointed when the fact that you pointed out regarding the pick up was "true" at that time. I dreaded having to shift manually to a lower gear each time I wanted to go from 60-100km/h fast, and pick up from 0km/h seemed to stall at around 40km/h. M3 drivers who are dissapointed by this will often go through the following phases:

1) Driving persistently in Tiptronic manual mode

Adv: can accelerate fast. 1st gear 0-60 km/h, 2nd gear 60-110km/h, all within 8-10 seconds, Exhilarating! and whats more exciting is that handling during this acceleration is not compromised. I can shift in and out of traffic with great precision.

Disadv: I use a lot of fuel! Fuel consumption drops to 8.5-9 km/l, And I feel tired. Reason - driving like this will attract boy racers like Subaru 1.6TS, Lancer 1.6 M and a few very modified Toyota Vios and Corolla drivers who didn't realise that their car's suspension is not meant for sporty driving. And to race them all off, you need to be 100% alert and aircon needs to be off.

2} Soon you will feel that life is more than just speeding on the road. You will start to realise that you value your life, and whats more important to some is to lower FC so your pocket won't be burnt to emptiness. Most M3 drivers will then resort to going for cheapest fuel and driving very slowly, using tiptronic, starting with gear 2 to avoid friction and then changing to auto only after 60km/h.

Adv: FC can go up to 13km/l

Disadv: most drivers will get so bored as this car will feel extra heavy when driven slowly. And upon reaching destination, most drivers will feel that they have saved some fuel and thus no sin if they speed up a bit to overtake that boring Corolla in front, forgetting that this sudden race uses up so much fuel!

FC may thus be up and down and up and down averaging about 10-11 kn/l.

3) M3 drivers will then enter the maturity phase when they feel that Mazda3 won't come with the Auto gearbox if its not meant to be driven in Auto. So they will drive fully in Auto BUT with a difference that they dare to press the accelerator pedal from standstill. The 1st gear will get them decently to 30-40km/h, 2nd gear 40-60, 3rd gear is the deciding gear since if you don't depress the pedal a bit at this stage, 4th gear will set in seamlessly and you'll be trapped at 60 km/h. With my style of driving, I will depress at 60km/h gear 3 to get it to 70km/h then ease off as the 4th gear and invisible overdrive takes over.

This in the long run gives a decent FC of 11-13km/l.

In conclusion M# is not such a bad vehicle when it comes to power and acceleration; There's more than enough power as shown by manual tiptronic acceleration figures, but you have to know when to accelerate, and when to use the tiptronic to ensure optimal FC.

Realistic figures would be

FC 11-12km/l

0-100km/h 13sec, I mean most people just need 0-70km/h in about 9-10 seconds for daily non-highway driving (at least in Singapore).

Use tiptronic only for overtaking in non-highway situations when your travelling speed is 50-60km/h and you are already in 4th gear; drop it to gear 2 instead of 3, as gear 3 will not have the pulling power unless the speed is at 80km/h or above.

Higway cruising is a skill, M3 is most comfortable with 80km/h(2100rpm) 90km/h needs more work at 2500 rpm and once you get to 100km/h, you can never go below 3000rpm.

Having said that, if you really want to let your hair down occasionally, you can drive very very comfortably and stabily at 160km/h (if you don't get caught).

Remember, when Mazda makes this car, its meant to be driven enthusiastically. That's why the horses do not kick in until the rpm is at 3500rpm and above. Sometime you need to drive hard; sometimes you don't; and when you don't, as a rule, keep the revs less than 2500.

AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL - VALUE LIFE; YOURS, and OTHER ROAD USERS'. THINK TWICE BEFORE ENGAGING IN A RACE AND DRIVE SAFELY!

ALL THE BEST! I'm sure that you will grow to love that masterpiece!