sanblaster
Member
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- 2009 CWP Mazda Axela Sport & 2006 Nissan 350z
He already bought a 3.
mazda 3 vs honda fit
- Thread starter jred321
- Start date
what he said.
i don't agree with what you said about the other 2 cars though. regarding the fit, it costs $15-16k, nowhere near the 20k mark, and given that it comes standard with all power options and very well appointed, is priced appropriately with everything else on the market. you can't get the stripper $12k model like you can on other brands. my gf bought a yaris this summer. they start at like $13k or something. by the time it's drivable with power windows/locks, abs, etc..., it ended up being $15-16k. same holds true for the 3 and if you want a 3 hatch you can't get the 2.0 and it bumps you up a good bit in price. and if your driving styles are the same i would think a 2.0L engine pushing a 2800lb car would get worse gas mileage than a 1.5L engine pushing a 2400lb car.
regarding the vibe i would venture to say you haven't actually driven one. exterior and interior on the 2008 and prior are pretty bad. handling dynamics, however, are on par with the 3. i drove them back to back and could certainly not say it was significantly worse. this is an area that the vibe greatly surprised me on the test drive as i was expecting it to handle like the only other GM car i've driven, the cobalt/cavalier, which is also the worst driving car i've ever driven. the 2009 vibe has a significantly revised exterior (i'm still not a huge fan but it's way better than the previous version) and the interior is actually livable. not the normal pontiac interior that they've been using since the 80s like the prev gen.
after driving and researching all 3 are pretty good cars. if the fit had the option of some of the other nicities of the 3 (heated leather seats, sunroof, crap like that) and got better real world highway MPG (though i'm now realizing my 15 miles round trip i drive every day is mostly in traffic so highway #s aren't as big of a deal) i probably would have gotten the fit because it would have been a bit less than the 3. if the vibe wasn't quite so ugly and was in more abundant supply i probably would have gotten that as well since i get GM supplier pricing and it too would have been cheaper than the 3. i got what i got and am happy with it but the other 2 cars are definitely worth considering, the 3 is not the clear hands down winner everyone would lead you to believe
I got 41mpg in my 3 coming back from DC last weekend (and yes, I did check the METARs along the way to see if I had a tailwind, and I actually had a left quartering headwind most of the way).. It's a little naive to think that weight and engine displacement are the only factors affecting mileage. Driving style is far more influential than either, and there are dozens of other mechanical design factors that go into it as well. I was driving between 55 and 65 the whole way and avoiding rapid acceleration (which is the single biggest factor causing low fuel mileage due to the fact that the thermodynamic efficiency of a 4-stroke gasoline motor decreases very rapidly with power output).
The overall combined fuel economy I have experienced so far is 32 MPG, about half and half city and highway.
W/R/T the vibe, I did drive one last summer (a rental) so I am speaking from my experience with that car. It could have been an 07 or an 08, but it had no miles on it when I picked it up at the Denver airport, so I imagine it was an 08. The handling was awful, lots of body roll and squishyness. I can't really comment on the drivetrain since I only drove it at altitude. Either way, it was an honest assessment.
I looked at a Fit long enough to determine it was too expensive for what it was, and ugly enough that I would not want to drive it. That's about as far as I got with it. Also, all things being equal, +2MPG on the highway and +4 in town is really insignificant, but giving up 40HP to get there is simply ludicrous, IMHO. That mileage difference can easily be overcome with good driving habits.
Hope that clarifies my position on it... not trying to start a war of cars here.
OnebigTymer11
Member
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- 2008.5 CWP MS3
Have you thought about a mitsu lancer?
i test drove a fit to do a review for my old job and had a blast. of course i dont think it would last long the way i was driving it, but if you are just keeping it til the warranty runs out it was a pretty fun car for booting around downtown toronto. the little engine is hilarious, it just makes you want to keep revving the crap out of it, you feel like an out of work F1 driver doing his grocery shopping. fun car, but obviously the 3 is the better car.
FunkyBuddha
Tuned by Slick Nick
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- 2003 Spicy Orange MSP
Honda Fit
already had one of those of the fun variety. the normal one doesn't interest me. plus it's not a hatch, i want the hatch so i can throw bikes in the back
LazerBlueP5
Member
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- 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe // 6spd
Replying a bit late in this thread and haven't read all the replies so my appologies if I reiterate some points that were already made.
I've had some experience with all 3 cars, in one way or another (...at least in a minor way). I currently own a MS3, used to own a Toyota Matrix, and a good friend of mine just bought a 2008 Fit.
They are all around the same price point but the Mazda 3 feels so much more expensive than the other two. The Fit, on paper, is supposed to be the cheapest but seems to be the highest price of the three- at least if you look at real-world stickers at your local Honda dealer. I think my friend paid 19K+ on his Fit Sport, which I find ridiculous. It's abysmally slow and is very akward looking- hate the "tall" windows. Cargo capacity is the least out of the round up.
The Vibe/Matrix on the other hand excels in this area with something around 53 cu ft of cargo capacity with the back seats droped. I loved the fact that the seat backs and trunk are rugged hard plastic. Definitely adds to it's utilitarian design. They also fold completly flat which is a nice touch. It also has other cool features like a 120v plug in the front dash, and a rear hatch who's glass can raise separatly if needed. Overall it's a very well designed vehicle, great as a daily driver and cargo hauler. It's got a bullet-proof reliability rating and good resale. Problem is the 1.8 motor is lack luster and the sticker price is often just shy of 20k.
The Mazda 3 has arguably the best "looks" out of the group, also sporting the best fit and finish. It's got the most powerful engine and has collected enough awards from the rags to fill an oversized trophy cabinet. It's not as well designed in regards to hauling cargo- the interior volume is much less than that of the Vibe and the seats don't lay completely flat or offer the hard cargo floor.
I'd say out of the three it would be down to the Vibe/Matrix and the Mazda 3. Depends on which is more important to you- flexibility or performance.
I've had some experience with all 3 cars, in one way or another (...at least in a minor way). I currently own a MS3, used to own a Toyota Matrix, and a good friend of mine just bought a 2008 Fit.
They are all around the same price point but the Mazda 3 feels so much more expensive than the other two. The Fit, on paper, is supposed to be the cheapest but seems to be the highest price of the three- at least if you look at real-world stickers at your local Honda dealer. I think my friend paid 19K+ on his Fit Sport, which I find ridiculous. It's abysmally slow and is very akward looking- hate the "tall" windows. Cargo capacity is the least out of the round up.
The Vibe/Matrix on the other hand excels in this area with something around 53 cu ft of cargo capacity with the back seats droped. I loved the fact that the seat backs and trunk are rugged hard plastic. Definitely adds to it's utilitarian design. They also fold completly flat which is a nice touch. It also has other cool features like a 120v plug in the front dash, and a rear hatch who's glass can raise separatly if needed. Overall it's a very well designed vehicle, great as a daily driver and cargo hauler. It's got a bullet-proof reliability rating and good resale. Problem is the 1.8 motor is lack luster and the sticker price is often just shy of 20k.
The Mazda 3 has arguably the best "looks" out of the group, also sporting the best fit and finish. It's got the most powerful engine and has collected enough awards from the rags to fill an oversized trophy cabinet. It's not as well designed in regards to hauling cargo- the interior volume is much less than that of the Vibe and the seats don't lay completely flat or offer the hard cargo floor.
I'd say out of the three it would be down to the Vibe/Matrix and the Mazda 3. Depends on which is more important to you- flexibility or performance.
Are you a roadie or one of those other wierdos...what are they called....oh yeah.. mountain bikers??
I admit I don't know what to do about carrying the bikes around. I usually just ride from my house, but I'm afraid of the trunk carrier scratching the heck out of the back, and the roof racks decreasing mileage.
Glad I kept my SUV, I guess heh.
I traded my evo for a honda fit and it was the best car for me. It was great on gas and I traveled 120 miles a day for a year and a half. I just traded in the fit for an ms3, but the fit was almost better to me than the evo. I would totally by another fit for a daily but the ms3 does the job plus has a lot of go the fit didn't have that I missed in the evo. The fit is a little slow but it seriously feels like your driving a lot faster because its so small. I put over 5000 grand in suspension and it handled like a go cart, the best part was out handling a 911 in a cloverleaf.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usvGVgC_neE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usvGVgC_neE
I got the S hatchback, and it has enough options that makes it cheap, looks hot (2 yrs and still people think its brand new off the lot) it handles great, I can get 31 mpg when I drive safely, but otherwise, avg about 24, 25. and has given me no problems, I also though of the fit, but it's too small.. and too overpriced!
skylar2ups
Member
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- 2011 Mazda3 iSport
And the fit makes you feel like you are sitting on cardboard... at least the 08's did.
