Mazda 3: Great Car for the Money

I purchased a new 2005 Mazda 3s in March because I had lost my first car, a Pontiac Grand Am, when I was broadsided by an SUV. After the aftermath of that settled, I began looking at cars to replace it. I wanted a brand new car that had a good all-around safety rating and was a lot more reliable than the Pontiac. So I looked at the following:
-Honda Accord and Civic, both 4-cylinder. and V6
-Nissan Altima 2.5 and 3.5
-Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart
-Mazda 6s V6

All of these cars were at or about $20k, which was way out of my price range. But my father, who was with me, suggested I look at the 3 since it was similar to the 6 that I love.

I drove it and really liked it. After 2 months and 3200 miles, here's what I think.

Exterior
The exterior, especially the s model, its very sleek and European. It's not very long, and it is a little tall, but the whole package flows well. With the sport package, it seems to sit very low to the ground, making it even more sleeker. At the same time, there are not hard lines in the body. In contrast, my Pontiac had all times of lines, indentations in its bodywork, so this is very clean and streamline. The clear taillights are very cool and stylish without being too garrish like the Altezza lights that have made their way on to other cars. The one thing I did not like was the antenna. It stuck out like sore thumb on an otherwise nice shape, but it was swapped out for a much smaller antenna which I do recommend.

Interior
I love the interior. I like the red guages that, at night, are lit up by several small blue LED bulbs. The radio is also stylish, with red lights that light up with your different changes to the radio. Some hate it, I like it. (This can be turned off). Also, the standard radio is fine, not great, but I have not listen to the premium stereo that is available. But for those who are not into loud bass, it is a decent radio.
To get technical:
1) The seating position is great. The seat is comfortable that is well bolstered to keep you in the seat when driving aggressively. The seat also moves up and down to help give you a better view of the road. There is a ton of headroom, even with the sunroof, because of its tall stance.
2) The steering wheel tilts AND telescopes, which is a great feature. Also, you get cruise control and radio controls on the steering wheel, which I really like.
3) The front seats are plenty roomy. The rear seat is alright, but I am 6'1" and my seat is far back, which limits leg room for those behind me. But you can pile 4 regular size people inside in good comfort.
4) The interior, in general, is very nice. It is made of high-grade plastics and vinyl that you would see in higher priced cars. All the controls are easy to use and are well marked. With the s, you get power everything (locks, windows, mirrors).
5) The trunk does seem small on first glance, but I have packed a large amount of boxes, a suitcase and bags in one trip and they all fit. With the 60/40 folding rear seat, you can fit a lot of stuff in a little car.

Performance
With the s, you get a 2.3l 4-cylinder with Variable Valve Timing. With the stick shift, it is mighty fun to drive. With 160 hp and 148 lb/tq, the engine is plenty powerful with a ton of passing power that returns low-mid 30s MPG (I have gotten 34.9 MPG going 75 mph with the A/C on, as an example). When you want to go, it goes. It does put you back into your seat and you can easily chirp second gear.
The manual is very nice. It is easy to drive this car in traffic and be smooth doing it. The shifting is smooth and well-weighted, with nice notches for each gear so you never have to second guess if you're in third or fifth. The clutch is somewhat heavy, but easy to modulate. The pedal travel, however, it's kind of long and the pedal is angle up so those with smaller feet will have to hold your foot up to put the clutch in.
The handling is superb. I do not have the sport package, but the car handles amazingly. The sport package is even better. The car, with it's independent suspension and sway bars standard, is very compliant and fun. With the Toyos that are on the 16 inch tires, the car stays glued to the road. The steering is very precise and is well weighted. The car is a blast in the twisties. For example, when I test drove the 3 w/ the sport package, I took a turn at 41 mph that was suppose to be taken at 15 mph. The car stayed on its line and pulled itself through. It was simply amazing.
The brakes are strong, but lack a lot of feel. They are easy to modulate and will stop you in an emergency.

Safety
The car comes with the usual front airbags, with the passenger airbag that can sense if someone that is lightweight is sitting in the seat, it will deactivate the bag. I ordered the car with an $800 airbag and ABS package. With that, you get both side airbags in the front seats as well as a curtain airbag that protects both front and rear passengers.
The car gets great front safety ratings in a crash. The sides failed the test only because it did not have the side airbags in the test cars. When you look at other cars that were tested with side airbags, you see that the dummies are protected a lot better. Just some food for thought.


The car does come in a lesser version, with a slightly smaller engine, but with no power options. When you get all the power, along with the upgraded wheels, its about the same as a base s model. Its up to you. There is also a hatchback that comes with the 2.3. There are options available such as: sunroof, premium stereo, navigation, leather, automatic transmission, and HID headlights. There is a 4 year/50,000 mile warranty that comes with free roadside assistant as well as free loaner cars for warranty work.

There are a few things I would change.
*One would be an adjustable intermittent windshield wiper setting. One setting just does not do it.
*Also, the cloth seats can become statically charged and catch lint and hair, making the seats look bad. This does not happen all the time, but after a while it accumulates.
*Third, there needs to be a separate button on the key remote to open the trunk.
*While cruising with the cruise control, my leg ends up resting against the center console. After a good while, it becomes painful to have my leg up against it, so I end up trying to adjust, but it doesn't seem to work. Never had this problem in any other car I have driven in.
*Because of it's tall stance, when it is windy, the car gets blown around. It is not dangerous by any means, but constantly correcting the car can become tiresome.
*Finally, there is some wind and road noise that I would've hoped would've been nonexistent. The road noise is worse with the Goodyear RS-A's that are on the 17 inch wheels.

Overall, I am extremely impressed. The Civic, probably its biggest rival, does not even compare to this car. I work at a Honda dealer and have driven more than one Civic and it is such a underwhelming car compared to the 3. The car blew me away in almost every aspect.




UPDATE 3/3/06
Well, it has been just short of one year with the car and almost 16,000 miles on the car, so I thought I would give an update.

Simply, the Mazda3 has been flawless. Aside from a few small problems/annoyances, this car has been spectacular. I have been able to drive 4 hours with four people with a suitcase per person, and still got 29 m.p.g. going 75 m.p.h.with the air conditioning running. It is still fun to drive. I am still getting great gas mileage. Everything works. It is still peppy. The 5 speed manual is still fun to use. I just cannot say enough good things about this car. Simply, after a year of ownership, I am not tired of the car.

As stated earlier, there have been a few problems with it, but they have been minor and have not affected the performance or reliability of the car in any way.
-A rattle developed from the windshield wiper stalk. Apparently, it likes to come loose every so often. A good, solid push on the stalk back towards the steering column works.
-The driver's seat has developed a nasty squeak when you adjust yourself in the seat. It does not pop up while driving down a regular road, but getting in and out or shifting weight will make it squeak.
-Two of the bars on the back window that help defrost the back window have stopped working completely. However, the rest of the window heats up enough that the space where the other two bars have stopped working clear themselves anyway.
-A nut on the driver side wiper came loose. According to the local Mazda dealer, this is a normal problem when you use your wipers before clearing off the windows. All it takes it popping the hook, removing the cap from the end of the wiper stalk, and tightening the bolt that is exposed. Simple, yes, but it really should not happen.
-Maybe this one is me, but how come there are no Mazda dealers that honor the loaner program that comes with the warranty? Every dealer I go to does not have loaner cars. Maybe I have not had a significant problem that warrants one, but if I need one, will I have one?

Again, I am extremely satisfied with this car. I am looking forward to many more years and (hopefully) trouble-free miles with it. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at NABDaMan316@yahoo.com or post in the Comments section.