TOP GEAR...Mazda3 "feels cheap"?

Antoine

Antoine

Administrator
I was watching an episode of TOP GEAR (British automotive show) and they had a segment on new hatches on the market. They tested the Mazda3, Vauxhal Astra and the new Golf...I was so surprised that they thought the Mazda3 was the worst of the bunch...the one who was testing the cars said words like "feels cheap"....talking about the interior "it's just a bit blehhhh" and about the car overall "all you can eat...bargain bucket"...they said because the new focus is based on the Mazda3 chassis...Ford will ruin the new focus...

Interestingly enough...the one who did the test said he thinks the current Focus is still the best overall family hatch...

I had no idea how much they love and praise the Focus...at least in England...anyway I was shocked to say the least at the comments made about the 3 (shocked) :bs:
 
*censord for everyones good*(shocked) yeah feels cheap and interior? what does the new focus look like inside compared to the 3...I must have sniffed cocane mixed with shards of glass to be that mistaken. I havn't even seen a decent interior of a civic in all model year production....hell hate to say it but neon wasn't that hot and still owns the focus interior...
 
Da 6 said:
*censord for everyones good*(shocked) yeah feels cheap and interior? what does the new focus look like inside compared to the 3...I must have sniffed cocane mixed with shards of glass to be that mistaken. I havn't even seen a decent interior of a civic in all model year production....hell hate to say it but neon wasn't that hot and still owns the focus interior...
Click to expand...

I agree (2thumbs)
 
I can't speak for the Focus produced here or in the UK, but I do own the Mazda3 as well as the Mazda6. I love both these cars and their design concepts are very well thought out and unique. However, to be honest, the 3 does feel pretty cheap sometimes. The worst is when you drive the car over any kind of bump (i.e. railroad, speed bump, pothole...); the whole car shakes make noises like a 100-year-old house. This is completely opposite on the 6, which is solid as a rock. The 6 looks and feels like a luxury sedan that costs thousands more. Now, I know the 3 is an entry-level compact and it shouldn't be compared to the 6. I'm just pointed out that the extra 3000-4000 that the 6 costs, makes the world of difference in ride quality. I'm definitely not complaining about my 3 (it's only a 16,000 car), just making an observation.

How many people have driven a Honda Civic LX/EX and how does the ride quality compare to the 3?

Also, the Focus just looks like a pile of $h!t. It’s amazing how many people rave about this car, especially the independent car publications. The car may have a solid build quality, but its design is the most ridiculous thing on the road.
 
I had the opportunity to really check out a current-gen euro Ford Focus on an European vacation in 2002. It's very different compared to the 1st-gen Focus in N. America. If you want to see an extreme example of cost-cutting just compare the euro and N. American Ford Focus (completely different animals even though they look quite similar). The euro and N. American Focus is completely opposite in terms of reliability, quality, how it's perceived, etc... The only thing the N. America Focus has kept from it's euro counterpart is above average handling (and even the suspension has been crapped a lot in N. American-spec). But again, the euro-Focus also costs more $$$ than the N. American one.

Comparing the current-gen euro-Focus to a Mazda3, I can see how the Mazda3 can feel a bit cheap. The interior materials (mainly plastics) are superior on the euro-Focus (I'd compare the euro-Focus interior to that of the N. American Jetta in terms of quality). However, in Europe, the Mazda3 is also slightly cheaper $$$-wise than the Focus, so this inferiority kind of makes sense.

Again, the next-gen Euro-Focus uses the Mazda3/new Volvo S40 platform, unlike the N. American '05 Focus, which is just re-styled and remains on the old Focus platform. This next-gen euro-Focus will debut this year. What will it look like? Well, all indications are that Ford has pulled a fast one and actually introduced the concept of it 3 days ago at one of the most unusual places of all - China:

http://autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_code=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=04571986

That's it, all indications are that the car above is the concept version of the 2nd-gen euro-Focus sedan (basically the whole world, aside from N. America, will get the new platform Focus). Of course, things like the tailights, bumper fascia's, and wheels are all just concept, but the general shape will be that of the 2nd-gen Focus that everyone but N. America will get. In fact the vehicle at that autoshow is just a shell (no interior), so the only thing one can make from it is the overall exterior shape and size.
 
The european Mazda3 2.0l petrol is the same as the 2.0l in N. America. The car itself is virtualy identical to N. America - except they can get things like automatic climate control, dynamic stability control, LED taillights, etc... But of course, all this stuff makes the car cost much more than a fully-loaded N. American-spec.

But the plastics on the dash for example are identical, so if they say stuff like that is cheap then it also applies to N. America.

Having said that, it's VERY difficult for Japanese manufacturers to get praised in Europe. And while I've seen many euro reviews complaining of cheapness, the Mazda3 (like the Mazda6 before it), did get 2nd place in European car of the year, and I think that really says it all.
 
why the hell does an american car company make a car for overseas market and then s*** on the one in it's original country of origin....look at the damn 380 hp escort...and even DCX is doing the same with the neon...there was no 03 front end change and there was actual seperate blinkers. Parts that are made here but restricted to overseas market like woodgrain dash pieces that I had to kill to get? JDM bringing cars to us watered down and we give them the stuff better than what we get?
 
Cars cost more in Europe than N. America. In the UK, a fully loaded Mazda3 costs 17,500, which equals $31,837.75US. Plus, the largest engine in Europe is only the 2.0l engine because of gas prices over there. You willing to pay that much for a Mazda3?

N. American car prices (especially Canada), are like the cheapest in the world. Also, in N. America, a compact size is deemed economy & cheap, whereas it simply isn't like that in other places (again, primarily because of much higher gas prices).
 
bad thing abotu any of those shows is it is whoever getting slipped the most money, get the best reviews. Right now seems like ford is getting all the best reviews even JD power. so i dont know..
 
SenorCorwin said:
bad thing abotu any of those shows is it is whoever getting slipped the most money, get the best reviews. Right now seems like ford is getting all the best reviews even JD power. so i dont know..
Click to expand...
Yeah JD shitted on the 6 so bad a normal person would be scared to go 65 in it (pissed) I wish people would be honest but there's a surcharge for that service...
 
The British pound is quite strong over the US dollar isn't it?

Yeah...does seem like Ford has England in it's pocket.
 
Yeah, I wonder also who did the review. Because I'm amazed that Top Gear can come to this conclusion. But I'm also surprised by the good review Jeremy did on the new Ford GT40...
 
Jeremy wrote a positive review?

I don't actively follow Top Gear but the few reviews I've read and others that have been referenced seems to show that guy doesn't like anything, just dislikes certain cars less than others.
 
Hum.. well no. He likes a lot of things. I have the RX-8 video review here and believed me, he loves it. Or the BMW M3 CSL... No really, he can dislike american muscle cars a lot and such. But I don't think he's a show-off-never-enough critic.
 
Darn, I have the GT40 review but I don't have the mazda3 which i guess was later in the show. Anyone know where I can get it? or where i can get a whole bunch cause i'm looking for a 350z one too.

Jeremy Clarkson I think is sometimes a little pompous, and exagerates a bit, but i still am considerate of his opinion. I find it funny how he always absolutely hates any other transmission besides manual, although he'll give props to where they're earned.

However, the mazda3's dash DOES feel kind of cheap. The fake leather isn't plush like the ones on the civic for instance. But, i think that is just nitpicking as you don't go around feeling up dashes. As long as it looks proper, and the mazda3's does, it doesn't really matter.
 
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