I've been looking for a new car and have been eyeing the Mazda3 (5-door). Anyone have one here and can give the pros & cons?
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Does anyone here have a Mazda3 5-door?
- Thread starter Stridder44
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wish I could help you on that part. The madza 3 5door was the other car I was really thinking about getting and was pretty torn bettween that and the Spec V. I untimately went with the spec because it was more fun to drive.
But I will say it is a really nice car and I really like test driving it. If I had it to do over I think might of end up chosing the 3 over the spec. It a great car. I woudl recomend going to test drive it and see what you thing.
But I will say it is a really nice car and I really like test driving it. If I had it to do over I think might of end up chosing the 3 over the spec. It a great car. I woudl recomend going to test drive it and see what you thing.
Stridder44 said:
I've got an 'O5. Its a pretty good daily driver. I've put just over 25k on it in a year. It handles well, has tons of grip, and a reasonable engine. I average 32 mpg in mixed highway and city driving with my roof rack on. A little bit better without it. Overall it seems like a great car for the money... nothing really to complain about. It under-steers a bit more then I'd prefer, but that's more of a safety feature for the average driver then it is a con. My only other thing that really bothers me is the lack of an aux input on the radio.
My wife and I have an '05, she drives it the most though.
It's got a little zip to it and handles pretty well... I'd test drive one though yourself to get a feel for it. Turning radius is tight. Gas mileage has been pretty good... we both drive about the same distance to work, and she seems to fill up like once every 1.5-2 weeks where I need to fill up once a week (I have a Cherokee Sport, for reference).
We've had one problem so far, and that was with the upgraded mirror. The technicians who installed it left a wire loose and was draining our battery constantly over the course of a couple weeks. They insisted that nothing was wrong, only that the battery was "bad". We took it to another dealer to inspect it, and they found the problem with the wiring. So we've found the service we've received on the car has been variable... as I would expect most dealer service to be for most any other models.
Other than that, she's been pretty happy with it... for the price point, it's not a bad sporty little (it's actually not little, there's actually quite a bit of legroom in the back... I'm 6'4" and haven't found sitting in the back uncomfortable at all... I just say little because my Cherokee is a tank in comparison
) car with a decent amount of features (good trunk space, mileage).
It's got a little zip to it and handles pretty well... I'd test drive one though yourself to get a feel for it. Turning radius is tight. Gas mileage has been pretty good... we both drive about the same distance to work, and she seems to fill up like once every 1.5-2 weeks where I need to fill up once a week (I have a Cherokee Sport, for reference).
We've had one problem so far, and that was with the upgraded mirror. The technicians who installed it left a wire loose and was draining our battery constantly over the course of a couple weeks. They insisted that nothing was wrong, only that the battery was "bad". We took it to another dealer to inspect it, and they found the problem with the wiring. So we've found the service we've received on the car has been variable... as I would expect most dealer service to be for most any other models.
Other than that, she's been pretty happy with it... for the price point, it's not a bad sporty little (it's actually not little, there's actually quite a bit of legroom in the back... I'm 6'4" and haven't found sitting in the back uncomfortable at all... I just say little because my Cherokee is a tank in comparison
) car with a decent amount of features (good trunk space, mileage).
My mum has one and it's a very nice car (I think it's the SP23 model). I've driven it a few times and I've found it to be smooth but gutsy. The interior is stylish and the BOSE sound system is awesome. As far as I know she hasn't had any problems with it yet. The only thing that annoys me about it, is that it doesn't have a rear windscreen wiper.
max_altitude said:My mum has one and it's a very nice car (I think it's the SP23 model). I've driven it a few times and I've found it to be smooth but gutsy. The interior is stylish and the BOSE sound system is awesome. As far as I know she hasn't had any problems with it yet. The only thing that annoys me about it, is that it doesn't have a rear windscreen wiper.
Yeah, that was another thing too. I know my next car will need subs. Good to hear the stock sound system is nifty.
Stridder44 said:
oh the back end will have plenty of room for those. I was pretty close to getting it just because the cargo room is so nice. If I had it to do over I might of end up getting the mazda3 5door over my spec.
The only thing I didnt like about it compared to my spec V is the low end power on the engine was just not there. It did not have the low end gusto I was used to and noughting compared to Spec V. (previos car was a 92 SE-R). Give you a comparision my 04 Spec V has passing power in 6th gear. In the Mazda during the test drive I would have to down shift to get the power. but that being said I loved how that shifter felt. Mazda stick shifts are oh so smooth.
It depends on what you want. I gave up the driving confort, cargo room and a few other minor things for pure profomence and fun to drive factor. But that 2nd part was very imporant to me.
Timepass said:
That's good to hear too. I have an 04 VW Golf and it shifts so damn smooth. I was really turned on by the new GTI but not by it's price tag, and noticed you can get the Mazda3 sGrand Touring for around $20k (leather and all!). Would you say the material quality is high? (My Golf is sturdy as hell in every way).