I have been a very satisfied owner of a 2006 Mazda 3 GS for one month now and I have much to share on this purchase I made. Prior to this car, I was driving a 2002 Honda Civic LX, two door coupe with automatic transmission. I liked my Honda very much. It was economical and practical. Changing cars was more of a "want" then a "need" for me. A co-worker of mine had purchased a 3 recently and as soon as she made me sit in the driver's seat, I fell in love. I just had to get one... NOW! However, on the contrary of most of my impulsive purchases, this one I did not come to regret.
So, I actually decided to rent this car versus buying it for several reasons. First of all, a family member of mine owned a Protege in the 90s (what used to be Mazda's economy model prior to the 3) and let's just say the car caused him many, many aggravations. It seems there are lots of shared opinions on Mazda, some people swear by it, namely because of the durability of certain successful models such as the MPV. However, others think they are nothing but gas-guzzlers with expensive replacement parts. Due to the uncertainty of it's overall quality and durability, I opted for a rental. Not to mention that renting a car is much cheaper on the short-term.
In Canada, the 3 Sedan comes in three different trims; GX, GS, or GT. GX is really the base, power-nothing and only two speakers. While the GT is the Cadillac of Mazdas, with 17-inch alloy wheel and optional leather interior and power sunroof. I decided to go in between with the GS model. The GS model gives you the following
-4 speakers instead of two
-keyless entry
-steering wheel mounted radio controls
-body color painted door handles
-15-inch alloy wheels
-manual seat controls
To this I have added the automatic transmission, electric group, and air conditioning for roughly 1,000$ each. I find that adding groups options to the 3 is somewhat confusing. For instance, adding the air conditioning option for a GX or GS is not the same price. In addition, the electric group option can only be added to the GS, and not the GX. Also, you can't have the electric group without having the air conditioning first. I guess it has to do with the assembly plants. However, it gets confusing and frustrating at the same time to force customers into purchasing things they don't want.
I decided to go with the color Sand Mica, a nice metalized champagne color... very classy. Unfortunately, this was supposedely a color very much in demand and I had to wait six weeks to get my 3. I was quite suprised since most people seem to find the color resembles too much the 1980's popular tan color, which everyone came to hate. I saw very few Mazda 3's on the road with this color before I got mine. Other color options include arctic white, charcoal, silver, bright red, indigo blue, and black. Very ordinary colors. I find the indigo blue looks too much like a flashy purple and probably will go out of style very soon. There is also another color available, a very nice bergundy red. I only saw one Mazda 3 painted this color and it was in the showroom at my dealer. I believe this color is awailable on the touring model only.
The exterior of the 3 is very unique and practical at the same time. For me, it's just the perfect size; small enough to fit in parallel parkings but big enough to be comfy inside and have a stable drive. The 3 is both available as a hatch and a sedan. I deicded to go with the sedan simply because I find it nicer (and it's cheaper also). This car is quite high. In fact, it's proportions resembles somewhat the Volkswagen Jetta. The 3 has a very nice profile. Although it is a four door, Mazda's designers were able to give this sedan a very sporty look, but at a price. You'll notice that the rear doors are cut in a strange shape to give the car a coupe appearance. This makes it quite difficult to come in and out of the backseats. But not that I really care since I never sit there. Another little detail, this car was definitely not made for winters. You'll notice that the trunk has no place to get a grip to open it. This is not a problem in warm climates... but over here when it's -30 and full of snow and ice, you need some leverage to open a frozen trunk. Some people might decide to use the key while it's in the keyhole, which will result in a bent key! Strangely enough, this is not a problem with the hatchback, since on the hatchback there's a nice little place where you can fit your hand in at the bottom of the trunk lid.
Now the interior. The interior of the 3 is probably it's biggest asset. I can honestly say that this interior could easily be put in a 30,000 to 40,000 dollar car. My mother owns a BMW 325 xi and I found quite a few similarites between both interiors. At night, the dash illuminates a nice red. The speedometer is definitely different from most economy cars out there. Instead of being barrel-shaped like many Hondas, Nissans, and Toyotas, the speedometer is devided into three circular tubes displaying engine revolution, speed, and gas/temperature. Quite similar to the speedometer of a Pontiac Gand AM/Grand Prix. Another nice touch is a digital display of which gear the transission is in. Very useful when using the four-speed shiftronic transmission which, by the way, is available standard on every automatic transmission. The radio is also very unique. It has nice ciruclar buttons and looks very sharp. A digital screen below the ventilatory traps displays the radio station or CD track being played. Also available on the screen is exterior temperature, as well as average speed, average gas consumption, current gas consumption and remaining distance with gas tank. This later feature however doesn't seem to give reliable data. For instance, while driving on the highway, the values are all over the place, and displays on average 5.1L/100km (the same consumption as a Volkswagen diesel engine... impossible for a twin-cam engine). I guess I have to give this feature more time, since the values are based on calculated averages and the car many not have enough numbers to begin with. The seats are really great. They offer an excellent position and are fully adjustable, including the lumbar support (GS trim). This car can seat five, although I find it's just too small for three adults in the backseat. Four adults is comfortable, and you can fit in a child in between on the backseat for short periods and still be fairly comfortable. This vehicle has ample storage space; each door and the armrest have storage compartments. Not to mention the cavernous glove compartment, in which you could literaly fit things like a laptop, XBOX, and yes, even a pet. The only negative thing I can point out are the climate controls. They look O.K. but they are the cheap 1990's toc-toc-toc style. Digital controls would have been really nice. Perhaps in a later edition...
This car comes standard with a 2.0L engine with sequential valve timing (150 horsepower and 135 pound per foot torque). This is a DOHC engine... what we novices know as a dual-cam or twin-cam engine. What's so great about twin-cam engines is that they offer superior torque and power without paying the price of a six-cylinder engine. The downside is increased emissions and of course gas consumption. If I had the option, I would have taken a single-cam engine. Reasons being that I really don't care if it takes me 7 or 11 seconds to go from 0-100 km/h... as long as I eventually get there. For me, gas economy and low emissions are a priority. But since mazda offers nothing less than two twin-cam engines, I had to do with it. I never really understood why some manufacturers made such a big deal about twin-cams (i.e. Hyundai and Kia). Honda is able to make performing single cam engines, so why not everyone else? And in addition, twin-cams are known to break more often. This I believe is a big downside of the 3 because anyone who will prioritize gas economy will opt for the new Honda Civic with it's single cam engine rather than the Mazda 3!
Important thing to mention is the safety of this car. We always tend to not worry to much about those things... until we've end up intubated and in a coma for several weeks. Unfortunately the Mazda 3 breaks no records. Oddly enough the ABS breaks only come in option with the GT trim or the Sports Package on the GS trim. Side airbags and curtains are unavailable. I find this is
unnacceptable considering all the other goodies Mazda gives you... looks like they have replaced safety equipment for things like rain sensors and exterior thermometers. We should never bargain on safety. Volvo sold many cars at a higher price with that philosophy.
Driving this car is a real pleasure. In fact it reminds me of my previous Volkswagens... cars which were very exciting to drive but had zero reliability. (Come and read my review on the Jetta
here) The Mazda 3 has a slight sporty feel to it. However, I find the suspension way too soft for this car to be classified "sports car". The GT trim would probably be more appropriate for that. Road noise is a bit high in this car. Depending on which type of surface you are driving, you may have to put up the volume of the radio to drown the road noise. But considering this car sells for as low as 16,995$, I think it's very well acceptable to have some road noise.
So, the Mazda 3 in a nutshell:
Nice features:
-Automatic windshield wipers (controlled by a rain sensor)
-Standard shiftronic transmission
-Wheel-mounted cruise control and radio controls.
-Alloy wheels standard in the GS trim.
Downsides:
-Elevated gas consumption
-Cheap climate controls
-No handle on trunk lid
-Road noise
-No side airbags/curtains
-ABS breaks not standard
So, in my opinion the Mazda 3 has a lot too offer, especially for it's price. It's rivals include the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla, and Nissan Sentra. I believe the only competitors worth considering would be Honda or Toyota. Hyundai is about to change the Elantra and Nissan's model are as exciting as cheese melting in an oven. Not that the Corolla's model is anything exciting either (C is for Conservative, as mentioned in another Epinion) but I would still consider it simply because of it's legendary reliability. The Civic is particularly interesting, with it's great gas milleage and reputation. However, for me it just looks too much like something that should be orbiting around the earth. I could live with the exterior, but the interior is just out of this world.
In conclusion, the Mazda 3 represents the best of both worlds. Japanese quality construction and engineering, combined with the sporty-luxury look of european manufacturers. And reliability to come.
