COULD HAVE BEEN A . . . FORD; Mazdaspeed 3 offers a pleasant ride.(News)

Byline: JOE KOVACH

After one editor drove the Mazdaspeed 3, he wrote, "Almost the whole time I drove this car, I kept thinking, `Boy, did Ford ever blow it.' This is what a latest SVT Focus could've been. Fast, handles, sticks, you can fling it around-shame on Ford. Oh, well, Mazda gets the glory, I guess. This is a cool-looking little scooter, the engine whips you along damn fast, and the bucket seats held me nicely.''

Sounds great, but two complaints keep recurring: torque steer and balky shifts. The company says, "Torque characteristics from first through third gears are electronically controlled to deliver appropriate power delivery, minimizing torque steer and wheelspin.''

"Minimizing'' is hardly what our drivers have noted.

"You almost never know where the thing is going to go if you stomp on the gas,'' said one staffer. As for the balky shifts, another offered: "I still can't hit a happy place with the clutch engagement. I can't seem to drive any of these Mazdaspeed 3s smoothly.''

The Mazdaspeed 3's suspension doesn't much enjoy pounding over pockmarked pavement, but in light traffic on the freeway, the car runs smoothly at 70 to 75 mph, with enough revs-and turbo boost-in reserve to punch it up to 85 or 90 mph in a blink. Brakes, ...