2012 Mazda MAZDA3: When You Least Expect it
May 29, 2012
There I was at a stop sign. Cross traffic does not stop (nor do they slow down). Considering Mazda's reputation for spirited driving, I figured this real-life game of Frogger would be easy. No. When I stomped the gas pedal I was met with the dreaded throttle tip-in.
That Dynolicious graph above illustrates it. There was that brief pause of lazy forward motion, followed by the rush of acceleration I was expecting from the get-go. Argh.
The tip-in was a bit of a surprise because I never noticed it in "normal" driving. That's when I decided to break out my Dynolicious iPhone app. Below is a graph of normal throttle application.
The tip-in is much less noticeable with a light foot, blending seamlessly into smooth acceleration. It's not at all like our departed BMW 7 Series, where tip-in was prevalent in every situation. Still, I think if the pedal it pushed to the floor, there should be no tip-in. Then again, I'm no engineer.
The moral of the story: plan ahead and anticipate a little hesitation.
Mark Takahashi, Automotive Editor @ 9,883 miles
