Considering an )5 Mazda 3

[Nozferatu]

Hello,

I'm considering a purchase of an 05 Mazda 3 Sedan or Hatchback...not sure yet which one.

I test drove a Tiptronic version today and the engine seemed very smooth. The car was pretty tight overall in feel and crisp in handling...although the steering felt a little numb.

One of the biggest disappointments was the transmission itself. First off, it's only a 4 speed automatic. This car desperately needs a 5th gear in the highways. It simply revs too high even at 60 mph. That's really too bad.

The second issue was the transmission seems to have a little play in it at low, traffic crawling speeds...it's easy to make the transmission jolt back and forth at slow traffic speeds by simply lightly applying and lifting off the accelerator pedal..something that naturally occurs when stuck in traffic anyway.

A few other things I noted were the rather loud sounding power steering unit from the outside point of view.

Otherwise, the car has a good solid feel to it.

A few questions for you owners out there.

1) How solid is the interior over time? Do you begin to exihibit lots of rattling and squeaks or does the car stay very tight?

2) How do you auto tranny owners feel about the transmission? Does it feel robust and long lasting or feel like it's going to give up soon and gets rough and coarse over time?

3) How's the ride and interior noise at freeway speeds? How does it compare to other cars?

4) For the navigation owners...how is the nav system in this car? Is it worth it or is it a gimmick? I like the idea of a nav system and wouldn't mind getting mine with that option?

5) How are the Xenon lights as options? Are they better than the regular lights or a waste of money?

Currently, I own a 2002 Golf GTI VR6 24v. It's a smooth, fast car and has excellent quality so far. I've not had any problems with the car other than a recall for the coils but that was taken care of already. The Mazda is no match in terms of acceleration and handling isn't half bad considering all the complaints I have read about how soft the GTI's suspension is. The primary reason I'm considering the Mazda is because 1) it's a 4 door and 2) I'd really like an automatic at this point in my life.

Thanks for your input and help.
(cool)

 

[Nozferatu]

Anyone?

 

[sbxxxvipats]

hey,

All I can atest to is from what I've read on the site, and my experience on the test drive. My wife and I drove a lot of different vehicles and when it came down to decision time, We were debating on the Jetta and a 3. So when I did the research we found out that the 3 seemed a lot more reliable and the options on the car don't even touch the Jetta. We decided to order the 05' SP23 with all 4 availible options. My wife will primarily use this as a commuter and I was fairly satisfied with the tranny. We've only seen the Nav. system in a RX-8 but were very impressed so we did get it. I would recommend seing one yourself. We are very excited with our order. My only concern with the car was the auto tranny and to be honest we own a 97' malibu and it has a 4 speed tranny, I've never complained once that I needed another gear. I thought the car was very quite on the highway, this is also coming from a 97' Malibu.(Which is very loud). Here is a good link to Car and Driver Review: also for the most part I believe people LOVE thier 3's.
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=7566&page_number=1

 

[RobMP5]

I don't know if you are in the used market or not, however, do some research on the Protege5 as well. They don't look that much different than the 3 save for the non projector beam headlights and less bulgy body style. The P5 has less power than the 3, but it still has a 4 spd tiptronic auto and it has a more direct steering feel (I test drove a 3 auto and could get over the throttle LAG, oh well guess thats the price for drive-by-wire). The price difference between the two you can hook up a P5 really good. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Nozferatu]

hey,

All I can atest to is from what I've read on the site, and my experience on the test drive. My wife and I drove a lot of different vehicles and when it came down to decision time, We were debating on the Jetta and a 3. So when I did the research we found out that the 3 seemed a lot more reliable and the options on the car don't even touch the Jetta. We decided to order the 05' SP23 with all 4 availible options. My wife will primarily use this as a commuter and I was fairly satisfied with the tranny. We've only seen the Nav. system in a RX-8 but were very impressed so we did get it. I would recommend seing one yourself. We are very excited with our order. My only concern with the car was the auto tranny and to be honest we own a 97' malibu and it has a 4 speed tranny, I've never complained once that I needed another gear. I thought the car was very quite on the highway, this is also coming from a 97' Malibu.(Which is very loud). Here is a good link to Car and Driver Review: also for the most part I believe people LOVE thier 3's.
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=7566&page_number=1

Hi..

thanks for your reply.

A couple of questions/comments....

Your 97 Malibu...isn't that thing geared far taller? Usually American cars are real cruisers in the highway.

Also, how is the safety rating of the 3 compared to the Golf/Jettas? I've briefly read stuff about it. I can't believe the safety ratings Hondas get sometimes...I think it's a conspiracy. The Civic, in that flimsy, crappy feel state gets 5 star ratings for front and side impacts while my Golf...which truly feels like a sturdier more robust car doesn't....somethings not right. Granted you can't go by feel alone but from accident pictures I've seen, I'd much rather be in my Golf. But that's a different story.

How does the Mazda stack up?

Also, what options did you get and how much did you end up paying?

Thanks!

 

[mazdaspeedpower]

well, my mom owns a Mazda 3, and she has let me drive it a few times, just because I wanted to see what it was like. It was an 05 Mazda3 GT Cloth Sedan. It's such a nice car, so smooth and quite, especially compared to my MSP. I did notice that the Auto(tiptronic) could be improved, and did seem to fall kinda short, like you said, it's needs a 5th gear, however for that, Mazda offers the manual...lol. The car has about 800km on her so far(two weeks old), and seems to be breaking in very nicely. It's a truly amazing car, and I have yet to hear a rattle in that thing, and my mom hasn't either. The only thing she complained about, was how loud her snow tires are at 165km/h on the highway, but aside from that, regular driving on the highway is very minimal, and even going about 130km/h the car was really smooth and quite(on its regular all seasons), and when I took it up to 160 it still seemed to be solidly planted, and very quite considering how fast I was going, and that it was a windy day, seemd to me the only loud noise was from wind gusts. The cars handling is very nice and smooth, and I think once you get a feel for the steering, it's like butta, so smooth and soft, yet, if you throw it into a corner, it has some nice feedback, and feels nice and firm in your hands. The car does sounds good when accelerating heavily...I know I know, break in period, but in these days, thats not really that important...and I only just WOT'ed it last night when my mom said the car had smoothed out a bit since she bought it. It's still kinda settling and stuff, but you can feel she's gonna be smooth for a while now. I really nice car IMO, and I think if you are looking for a nice smooth AT, this is a good choice. I dunno which is better, sedan or hatch, but the sedan look seems to have grown on me. Of coursse, I'm not a big fan of the spoiler on the sedan, I much like it without, add the GT GFX package, and it looks like a really sporty little devil. Really nice car overall. Though I'm not sure I'd be giving up a VW Golf GTi VR6 24v for it, those are nice cars too.

 

[mazdaspeedpower]

oh, and the drive by wire, it's not really that noticable in the auto...infact, till I was just reminded in a previous post, I completely forgot about it. And I guess if you get over the fact that us manual drivers like a 5th gear, it's a good auto tranny, smooth and such, though I did notice some jerkiness in the lower gears in slow movement as you mentioned, as has my mom, but it's nothing that most auto trannys don't get. And I mean, it's dealable, cause you don't gotta worry about clutch this, shift that while driving, the little jerkiness is minimal, and not that defining. The tranny overall is nice, cause if you are just cruising, it's in 4th, conserving gas, give a little throttle, it'll downshift, give alot, and it'll hop on down to second throwing the car into higher RPM's, and really lettin er scream. It's a pretty good balance between a sporty auto, and a fuel conserving one....a very good match to the car.

 

[Nozferatu]

Hi,

thanks for your input. Much appreciated.

Yes....my dilemma is whether I can let go of my VR6. It's such a nice engine and I've kept it in such great condition that it's a shame to let it go. But given the traffic conditions here, I'm quite motivated.

I have to say...the VR6 has been pretty much flawless. She's a little moody at times but man does she move on the freeways. Such a nice powerband.

It's a shame the 3 doesn't have a turbo or a V6 option. It really changes the character of the car.

 

[FemGearHead]

I have had my 3 hatch for 2 1/2 months now. Very nice ride with the 4500 miles I have on it currently. I bought the 5 speed though - I could never drive an auto. The tranny is very smooth and shifts very nicely. The car makes SOME noises, but most cars will. No major complaints other than I drive it too much! hehe.

 

[sbxxxvipats]

I've heard that @ 80mph the tach will be around 2700 rpm on the engine, I figure that I don't cruise @ 80 that much so the auto is no big concern. We ended up @ the MSRP of 24,180 and we added a couple of options on top of that. But as far as MZ3s SP23 goes you can't any higher. I drove the car and loved it and can't wait to get it. Safety Reports have been moderate to very good depending on what your looking @ I'd say from the reports I've seen it's just a step below a VW. But atleast the mazda will run for 10 yrs.

 

[delpieve]

go manual that will solve your tranny issues

 

[anitajoe]

Did you end up buying the 3? I have one---wondering what your experience it on it!

 

[Nozferatu]

Did you end up buying the 3? I have one---wondering what your experience it on it!

No I decided to keep my VR6 GTI...it's not worth the cost of conversion right now. Besides, there are many new model cars coming out in the next few years and it'll be interesting to see the GTI and Jetta also.

 

[mobomelter]

hey what is this drive by wire i'm seeing? i know what it is but i didn't think the 3 had it.