Mazda 3s vs. Scion tC

[speedhawaii]

i say tc. mods from big companies

 

[YuYuRena]

From looking at both car in person, I must say tC isn't that bad looking. The price of it couldn't be better with what you got. Now true that depreciation on the scion might be better, but how do you know that??? Scion is a new brand so the cars out from it will have a different depreciation than toyota cars. Only time will tell which car depreciate faster.

Also with the large corporate support of toyota this thing might take off in a year or two. Remember lexus?? back in the hey days no one really bought lexus when it first started, but after a year or two of quality products and advertisement, it took off.
As far as who owns what and so forth, there isn't as much individual car companies anymore. Everyone is involved in a partnership or some sort of ownership of others now. I don't think Ford using Mazda parts or the other way around is a bad thing.

 

[YuYuRena]

But if I had $35,000 to blow on a car, I'd seriously consider the 350z. What does Toyota have to offer me for a sports car in that range?

Hehe I guess the only sporty car in that range would be a toyota altezza, I mean lexus is300.

But yea it's sad that supra is gone and mr2 isn't turbocharged anymore. But I thought the loss of the mr2 was bigger than supra. Because technically the supra still kind of lives on in a GS300. The 3SGTE is not to be found anymore though here, but the new mr2 is better overall, it's light-weight, deceivingly quick (Not fast), good handling, and a good feedback to the driver. But then again with the price of that car, I rather get the new upcoming lotus elise than that yota mr2.

 

[70]

Im not arguing but lets look at the facts

November 1979 Ford buys a 25% stake in Toyo Kogyo of Japan, later to become Mazda.
January 1988 Mazda begins building the Ford Probe at Mazda Motor Manufacturing Corporation in Flat Rock, Michigan.
June 1992 Mazda Motor Manufacturing Corporation is restructured as equal partnership with Ford, renamed AutoAlliance International Inc.
July 1, 1992 Ford acquires 50 percent of Mazda Motor Manufacturing and renames the company AutoAlliance International, under which the Probe is built.
April 1996 Ford takes effective control of Mazda.

Um, this is about as inaccurate as you can get...

I don't where you found this info, but it is not accurate.

Ford owns 33%, not 50%...As a matter of fact Mazda and Ford entered into a closer tie-up with Ford increasing its equity share from 25% to 33.4% in 1996. As you should know, a controlling interest in Japan is 33%. It is different in the States.

Mazda was called Mazda in '79! Mazda stopped calling themselves Toyo Kogyo a longtime ago...

As far as the tC vs the Mazda3 go, I like both actually. The tC has a lot of nice features standard and it runs nice. I think it has to be run a little higher to hit the sweet spot in the power curve than the Mazda3, but both have their good and bad points.

I'm torn. I like the tC, but the Mazda3 has a lot going for it as well.

 

[italgal02]

Mazda was called Mazda in '79! Mazda stopped calling themselves Toyo Kogyo a longtime ago...

I think when the other guy wrote November 1979 Ford buys a 25% stake in Toyo Kogyo of Japan, later to become Mazda.

They meant in that same year.... the reason why its on the same line...

And i agree, the Scion is very nice, but i odnt think it beats the 3.

 

[70]

I think when the other guy wrote November 1979 Ford buys a 25% stake in Toyo Kogyo of Japan, later to become Mazda.

They meant in that same year.... the reason why its on the same line...

And i agree, the Scion is very nice, but i odnt think it beats the 3.

Apparently you misunderstood what I said or I didn't clarify.

Mazda was Mazda before '79...They stopped calling themselves Toyo Koyo long before '79...As a matter of fact, they called themselves Mazda in 1934!

 

[goldwing2000]

Ok, folks. Let's try to keep it on topic (Mazda 3s vs. Scion tC). If you want to discuss Mazda's history, let's move it to a different thread.

Thanks.

 

[barod60]

they've already developed a turbo for the tc. we're still waiting
for a exhaust system. whats wrong with mazdas. anything without a rotary
get's no love from the aftermarket.

 

[AzMz3]

they've already developed a turbo for the tc. we're still waiting
for a exhaust system. whats wrong with mazdas. anything without a rotary
get's no love from the aftermarket.

The aftermarket is getting there for the 3. And once it does it will be a no contest against the tc.
I still have yet to see one in person but I do like them. It will be a hit for Toyota.

--Herb--

 

[550Joe]

I have had my 3 since mid April and had 8K carefree and happy driving so far. That said just yesterday I ordered a Scion tC, it is not going to replace the 3 just sharing garage space. I think the tC has out done Mazda at offering more bang for the buck. Once the car comes in (about 60 ~ 90 days, I special ordered it so it must be built) I will post my observation / comparison.

 

[wongpres]

Here's a cut & paste of when I drove the tC about 3 weeks ago:

Even though I'm Canadian, I own a Mazda3 and have driven a production-spec Scion tC (I even drove both vehicles on the same roads).

Comments:
- the tC is heavy, and this weight is clearly felt when driving the cars back-to-back. The Mazda3 is far superior in driving dynamics. Note that I'm not saying the tC is shabby (it's much better than say a Corolla), but it is much inferior to the Mazda3, and I would attribute a good portion of this to the weight
- many people comment how the tC is so solid when you close the doors and so on. This is not true, the doors feel like this simply because they're heavy (just listen to the body noise when closing the door on both vehicles). Basically, from driving and doing things like closing doors, it's very clear that the Mazda3 has higher torsional and flexural rigidity (I would imagine the tC's panoramic roof has an affect too).
- the tC is significantly cheaper than the Mazda3. Heck, even after specing out the price of a tC with side airbags, and converting to $cdn, the price was still cheaper than my Canadian Mazda3 price-plan price. This, despite the fact that Canadian cars are typically cheaper than the US, and the fact that Canadian-spec Mazda3 does not offer side airbags (all other options were very similar between the two). The tC is simply an AWESOME value.
- both cars are new models and have their issues (the tC I drove only had 13 miles on it but the roof was rattling like crazy even at speeds as low as about 15mph, the other person in the car also heard it). Having said that, I would argue that with a build date of spring '04 or later, all but one of the Mazda3 issues have been resolved. I would rate the vehicles equally in terms predicted reliability.
- both cars have lots of tire noise from their respective 17's
- no visibility issues for me in either vehicle

Basically, if I were slightly short on money (I'm talking about a purchase here, not sure about lease rates with the tC), and if having only 2-doors is fine, then I'd get a tC over the Mazda3. However, if I could afford the approximately $1,000US extra, then I'd get the Mazda3.
Both are excellent vehicles and are heads-and-shoulders above the rest of the competition in that class/price-range. It will be very interesting to see how Honda responds when its next-gen Honda Civic comes out just over a year from now.

 

[SobearREAmemiya]

Both cars have high look factors. I never was one to like Scion, but I ALMOST like the tC. Now if it were rear-wheel drive, I would be an even happier man, but since it's not, if I had my pick, it would be the Mazda3, even though my girlfriend would never ride with me again. -_-

 

[carperformance3]

i finally saw some track numbers on the tc. i would say a purchase would come down to priorities. the 3 far out-handles the tc. it also has more handling potential than the tc. as far as speed, they are almost dead even, but has anyone else noticed the excessive space on the exhaust side of the 3? you know this motor was built to be turbocharged, otherwise mazda would have banked the motor back for handling benefits. its only a matter of time before we see some turbo 3s, definitely on the mazdaspeed. the tc is great bang for the buck, but i would give the 3 a one up on potential.

 

[DigitalHeadShot]

The Supra cost $30k+ as a BASE price. The turbo model was $40k+. How was that aimed at the youth market?

(braindead (lol2) (headshake (dunno) (screwy) (rofl) (hah) (rlaugh)

I was just thinking the same thing. lol I think the answer is fast and furious lol

 

[r1ceburner]

(braindead (lol2) (headshake (dunno) (screwy) (rofl) (hah) (rlaugh)

I was just thinking the same thing. lol I think the answer is fast and furious lol

It was more appropriately aimed at the "Wishing to be young" market. A market for mid-life breakdowns and rapidly balding men.

 

[550Joe]

You all can hope for a turbo sometime in the futer but TRD already has a supercharger for the tC

 

[goldwing2000]

You all can hope for a turbo sometime in the futer but TRD already has a supercharger for the tC

TRD? Maybe it's just me but I don't know if I'd buy parts from a company that names itself TuRD. (boom02) (evil)

 

[70]

You all can hope for a turbo sometime in the futer but TRD already has a supercharger for the tC

Not the greatest looking blower kit though...

A centrifugla blower on a jack shaft...YUCK!

 

[r1ceburner]

Not the greatest looking blower kit though...

A centrifugla blower on a jack shaft...YUCK!

'

It ain't pretty, but ugly boost beats no boost for most people.

 

[550Joe]

I have both a 2004 Mazda 3 4 door with the 2.3L auto & a 2005 Scion tC 2.4L with auto. After putting ~ 13.5K on the 3 & ~ 2K on the tC here are my feeling of both cars.

• Engine smoothness ............. tC
• Engine sound ..................... tC
• Transmission ...................... 3 (ability to manually shift)
• Brakes .............................. tC
• Steering wheel feel ............. tC (3 almost wins with controls on the wheel)
• Stock sound system ............ tC
• Front seats ....................... tC (much more comfortable)
• Rear seat room ................... tC (better leg room)
• Rear seat comfort ............... 3
• Cornering speed ................. 3 (seems to have less under-steer)
• Cornering feel ..................... tC (corners much flatter)
• Road noise (around town) ..... 3
• Road noise (freeway) ........... tC

How after making the list I am a little surprised since before I made the list I would have picked the 3 as a hands down winner. Especially since most of the time out of the 4 cars that I have I pick up the 3s keys for my daily 90-mile commute. The most amazing part of the comparison is the 3 cost me $19,950 and the tC was only $16,500 so if I were so inclined I could have the TRD blower installed and I would still be out the door for less than my 3.