loj68
09-08-2003, 11:05 AM
Well, I took my new SRT-4 to my favorite twisty country back roads here in the Raleigh, NC area today and have some impressions on how it compares to our Spicy MSP which I've taken on this run a few times.
The SRT just has a surprising amount of speed......the throttle response is really linear and smooth when powering out of corners......it really bests the MSP here because of the "hesitation". Even if Mazda fixes the hesitation (let's pray) the SRT torque coming out of corners still rocks.
As I said in an earlier post, the SRT brakes feel incredible. Through the twisty bits they just scrub off speed like it's nothing and the pedal feel never changes....nice and solid the whole time. At this early stage I can't really tell which is best because the MSP brakes feel just as good.
The steering feedback and handling still goes to the MSP through the twisties hands down. I could throw the SRT through the corners at a pretty good clip and it stuck without any problems but compared to the MSP it feels a bit vague when pushing through corners. The MSP simply feels like it's on rails and the steering input is just EXACT! You go exactly where you steer and the feel is flawless. The SRT didn't have any problems keeping a nice, fast line through curves but the vagueness kinda gives the feeling that it may drift offline.....although to it's credit it never did.
All in all, I'd feel comfortable pushing the MSP harder and quicker through corners but the SRT throttle response coming out of the corners along with that torque and straightline speed would probably more than make up for any gap in cornerspeed. Also, the SRT seats are better for cornering because the big bolsters that hold you in tight.....in the MSP I find myself having to grip the wheel for dear life when cornering hard because of the "commuter" seats.
The SRT just has a surprising amount of speed......the throttle response is really linear and smooth when powering out of corners......it really bests the MSP here because of the "hesitation". Even if Mazda fixes the hesitation (let's pray) the SRT torque coming out of corners still rocks.
As I said in an earlier post, the SRT brakes feel incredible. Through the twisty bits they just scrub off speed like it's nothing and the pedal feel never changes....nice and solid the whole time. At this early stage I can't really tell which is best because the MSP brakes feel just as good.
The steering feedback and handling still goes to the MSP through the twisties hands down. I could throw the SRT through the corners at a pretty good clip and it stuck without any problems but compared to the MSP it feels a bit vague when pushing through corners. The MSP simply feels like it's on rails and the steering input is just EXACT! You go exactly where you steer and the feel is flawless. The SRT didn't have any problems keeping a nice, fast line through curves but the vagueness kinda gives the feeling that it may drift offline.....although to it's credit it never did.
All in all, I'd feel comfortable pushing the MSP harder and quicker through corners but the SRT throttle response coming out of the corners along with that torque and straightline speed would probably more than make up for any gap in cornerspeed. Also, the SRT seats are better for cornering because the big bolsters that hold you in tight.....in the MSP I find myself having to grip the wheel for dear life when cornering hard because of the "commuter" seats.