I love Honda's engine bay. That said Mazda's engine bay is not too shabby at all. Easy to work over, sideways, and underneath the engine. Engineered to be easy to work on. Only thing I would change is oil filter accessible from the top like BMW/VW does.
Well mazdas engine bay design is not the BEST to work on - that would probably be Toyota or Honda like you said, but theyre certainly nowhere near the worst to work on like some of the German cars. I strongly agree with you that it would be nice if they placed the filter at the top like they do with the euro cars.
They've gotten a lot better. I caught hell for saying this but I've given serious thought to buying a Malibu, still am actually.
The Equinox is an interesting vehicle and they're selling a ton of them. No way do I think their diesel would be better than a CX-5 diesel. Heck, for their base gas model you might get passed by someone on a bike, even the 2.0T doesn't seem very impressive, but the Equinox is an interesting car. It's good looking, has some different colors, the entertainment system is good (has AA/Car Play), etc. It's only two major weakness are speed and the headlights aren't the best (the Malibu's are worse apparently). It's got a high base price too but being a Chevy it'll go for at least $5K off MSRP
Well, I can see why you got blasted for something like that. GM has only improved in recently years because of the huge cash infusion by the American government in 2009. GM wouldve been dead by now if it wasnt for their several corporate bailouts (along with dodge)
I had a rental Chevy Malibu which I was able to compare to my dads mazda 6 (both 2015 models) and there is simple no comparison. Where should I even start....
Styling - the Malibu is a hideous car in comparison to the shapely and expensive design of the Mazda. The proportions, styling language is just disgusting inside and out.
The Mazda rides better while tracking straight on the highway far more stable. Handling of the two cars side by side is just no comparison... the Chevy feels poorly tuned wherever you look. It takes corners laboured with zero feel and no confidence. It feels like nothing more then a poorly tuned appliance around corners and is just as impressive on the highway.
Moving onto the drivetrain... the engine revs in an unspiring passion, doesnt get good fuel economy, poor torque delivery, sound is nothing special, comes from an unreliable engine family, the transmission is poorly tuned to the engine and unresponsive, I could go on and on. The Malibu is never mentioned and right at the bottom of all its competition along with the equally uninspiring dodge.
Even if you dont want the Mazda (which is the best of the class IMO) there is the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Camry, even the Kia and ford which are all better and more accomplished then a worthless Chevy. Im shocked you even bothered to mention such a car. Have you driven any of these cars I mention?