In case you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years, you’d know that the MazdaSpeed 3 has been one of the best bang-for-the-buck cars in a long time. Over 250 delicious turbocharged horsepower, a great suspension, and at a price that can’t be beat makes the MazdaSpeed 3 a true enthusiast’s car. When Mazda came out with the new improved 2010 ‘Speed 3, there was now a competitor on the block for the cheap and fun performance. The Genesis Coupe has taken the tuner market by storm, with it’s stout 2.0T, or the impressive 3.8L V6 at it’s disposal. However, to compete in raw power with the ‘Speed 3, we have to reach for the 3.8L V6. FWD vs RWD? Turbo 4 vs. V6? Hatchback vs. svelte coupe? Edmunds Inside Line has all the details in their shootout.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

Here are two cars that couldn’t be more different in appearance and layout. Hatchback vs. coupe. Front-wheel drive vs. rear-wheel drive. Turbocharged inline-4 vs. normally aspirated V6. And certainly both go about their missions with decidedly different packaging. At 103.9 inches, the Mazda’s wheelbase is more than 7 inches shorter than the Hyundai’s — no small difference when it comes to changing direction quickly.

Edward Loh over at MotorTrend has done a quick short comparison between the Genesis Coupe 3.8L and the 2010 Chevy Camaro V6. Though they’re not back to back driving impressions, Edward shares his thoughts and opinions over both cars. What seems like the killer for me on the Camaro is that while it may be a few grand cheaper, it is considerably heavier and has a cluttered low-tech feeling interior. I understand the desire for a throwback to the heritage of the Camaro, but I feel the car looks like a bathtub with wheels. Anyways, click here to see Edward Loh’s writeup, or click “Read more” to see all the (high resolution) images we have mirrored.

Right away you can see that these two are primed for an octagon style face off. A slightly larger (+200cc) engine yields a two horsepower advantage for the Hyundai but seven less pound-feet of torque. The Genesis Coupe is half a second quicker to 60 mph and full sixth tenths swifter through the quarter mile, primarily due to its 300 pound weight advantage. Our test crew informs me the conditions weren’t exactly ideal and that you could see the Camaro times drop a couple of tenths in warmer conditions. Still, it’s impressive that a Korean upstart stomps all over one of America’s proudest pony cars at the drag strip.

Edmund’s Inside Line has just pitted the 2010 model year Genesis Coupe against the 2010 Camaro, and the results aren’t what you would expect. Both cars do great, but the while the Genesis Coupe holds the upper hand with it’s quick 0-60 times, the Camaro hold the advantage for higher skidpad numbers. Still a great read though, along with all the great numbers that you would expect from a proper comparason. Click here for the full article.

No, to get a car that gives the V6 Camaro a run for its (relatively little) money you have to go to Korea, of course. Here we speak of the 2010 Hyundai Coupe 3.8 Track. We’ve track tested both and we think you’ll find the numbers and specifications after the jump quite surprising.