Hi everyone!
Is it totally inappropriate to dig back from the dead your own first thread after more than five years?
I was just stopping by to reports some tires experiments (in another thread) and then I went back digging this thread and it was just interesting to see a pix of the car when it was brand new and read and remember all the excitement that went into those days back then....
Well, now that I got some time to write few words, may as well update the forums with whats going on with the car!
We still have it, it is still the wife's car. It has 62.000 miles so far and we still like driving it and so far is becoming one of the best 20K I ever put on something! Very, Very reliable (hope nothing goes wrong now that I said it, LOL!) and it just fits in so many daily life situations, I often think about how did we live before having something like the 5.
Switched to synthetic long ago and doing 10k miles oil changes. replaced air filter once. replaced tires once. replaced the battery once (but must say is all wife's fault as she keeps forgetting the lights on when she makes prolonged stops, then I keep charging the battery, but she keeps forgetting and eventually the battery could not recover anymore, so we got a new one, but my point is - I bet it was avoidable, so I would not blame the battery. Now she finally learned how to switch off the lights and we are good with the second battery for few years). that is really it. nothing else have been touched.
What truly amazes me with this car is the brakes! At 60+ K miles, the pads are still so thick, I bet we will get beyond 100K looking at how they are wearing. and that is simply remarkable considering how well the car breaks for how heavy it is!
If there is one thing I could wish - well let's make them two (and I am sure my wish is in line with so many here) is to have little bit more low end torque and to have 5th gear. I know the new Autos have the 5th and I see they put the bigger engine there too, so perhaps all that is solved with the newer models, but my early model would be so great with little bit of that. But, must say, we have got used to all that and we just drive it differently, in the slower lanes when going through long steep hills and in general just enjoying the ride and scenery rather than the performance of the car.
It is one of the few cars I had which makes me just happy to be riding in it and for some odd reason once I am in it, I just don't care much that is not a rocket. Maybe is almost a blessing that it is on the slow side. Makes you focus on other nice things in life....
We plan to drive it to the ground. Or to drive it till the repair bills are starting to be more than what buying another car would cost. Our first Mazda and so far it has been great!
Hope you all "early adopters" have similar or better experiences!
Happy motoring and perhaps will bump this in another 5 years
p