Mazda to Begin Offering CarPlay in September

[gdjsnyder]

I also heard a lot of negatives on the CX-3, what was your main pain points?

To be fair to Mazda, in hindsight, it's mostly my fault. I got the CX-3 when it was first released, in September 2015. I had a 2013 Mazda 3 and loved it, but I got a new job and needed to do highway traveling and with how bad winters are here I wanted more an SUV than a car (Mazda 3 was horrendous in snow) but I also didn't want a bigger car. My dad had a CX-5 and I didn't like how wide it felt when I would drive it, so the CX-3 seemed like a perfect compromise, not much bigger than my 3 but still AWD for snow. Within a week, the center armrest broke which I had replaced and it broke again 2 weeks later. Cup holders under the arm rest is the stupidest decision ever. I never thought to ask the size of the gas tank, which was 11.2, but with Mazda's formula it shows you empty before 10 gallons, so I was filling the car up 2 times per week. When I was looking at cars it seemed the CX-3 had more storage space than my 3 but I was very, very wrong - taking trips in that car was my least favorite experience, always had to pack as light as possible. The biggest problem though were the seats. Number one, never drop anything between them because you're almost guaranteed to not get it back. Number two, I never new I had sciatica until this car. We did a 15 hour road trip once and I was in pain for days. Didn't put two and two together until we did two more trips and my left leg would flare up with this excruciating pain.

I got a 2018 Nissan Rogue to replace it and honestly the only thing I miss from Mazda are the automatic windshield wipers. I won't say I'll never go back to Mazda, but the CX-3 would be the last car I would ever spend a penny on again in my life.

 

[Attirex]

Wankel!

 

[jonnyb098]

This might just a new england problem, but Mazdas seem to rust faster than any other car around here. Don't get me wrong, they all rust eventually. But I see 2015 Mazdas showing signs of rust around the wheel wells with no other sign of damage, and 2010 Mazdas with full on rust spots. If there is rust on the painted surface that soon, I don't even want to know what it's like under the car. At least Hondas and Toyotas give you more time before the rust starts to show.

It's probably a good car for other parts of the country that don't have salt-water soaked roads for 4 months of the year. And it's probably a decent car to lease - the prices are low and rust isn't an issue if you only have it for two winters at most. But man I would not recommend buying one for a long loan term to anyone around here.

Cars in general are a horrible money pit. Which is why the rise of self driving cars and Uber/Lyft is starting to become a bigger deal. Owning a car (especially in Michigan ) is next most expensive thing people have next to a house.......oh yeah and kids. Haha.

 

[hudson1]

I miss my Saab.

 

[ke-iron]

Does this mean that every traditional manufacturer (e.g. not Tesla) now offers CarPlay? I thought Toyota and Mazda were the last holdouts.

Edit: I did see the last line of the article but I'm looking for clarification on "one of the last"

Nissan and Infiniti still does not support it.

 

[Shotgun OS]

I know most people will not opt for the manual, but the only way to get one in the 2018 Mazda6 is with the sport trim and that's kind of a bummer it won't get CarPlay. Hoping base models like the Miata and new Mazda3 get it standard in the future.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Cars in general are a horrible money pit. Which is why the rise of self driving cars and Uber/Lyft is starting to become a bigger deal. Owning a car (especially in Michigan ) is next most expensive thing people have next to a house.......oh yeah and kids. Haha.

Agreed. I think for relatively safe drivers that don’t want the latest and greatest of everything and that commute to work daily by car, buying an off-lease CPO car makes the most sense financially. This presumes they can afford the higher payments and then continue to drive the car for at least a few years after the loan is paid off.

But even then, the cost of having a car is crazy high - no matter how you chop it. So far, ride sharing has been far from a panacea. Daily commuting using even the cheapest carpooling options on uber/lyft still add up a ton.

Lets say a car payment, gas, insurance, etc all cost $500/month total and compare that to uber/lyft. To save money, allowing yourself a $20/weekend uber/lyft budget, a daily workday commute would have to cost under $10.50 each way. I suppose it depends on the city, but in my experience $10 rides are pretty short and walkable or bikable. I think most people that commute to work by car live further away than a $10 ride.

 

[antricparticle]

To be fair to Mazda, in hindsight, it's mostly my fault. I got the CX-3 when it was first released, in September 2015. I had a 2013 Mazda 3 and loved it, but I got a new job and needed to do highway traveling and with how bad winters are here I wanted more an SUV than a car (Mazda 3 was horrendous in snow) but I also didn't want a bigger car. My dad had a CX-5 and I didn't like how wide it felt when I would drive it, so the CX-3 seemed like a perfect compromise, not much bigger than my 3 but still AWD for snow. Within a week, the center armrest broke which I had replaced and it broke again 2 weeks later. Cup holders under the arm rest is the stupidest decision ever. I never thought to ask the size of the gas tank, which was 11.2, but with Mazda's formula it shows you empty before 10 gallons, so I was filling the car up 2 times per week. When I was looking at cars it seemed the CX-3 had more storage space than my 3 but I was very, very wrong - taking trips in that car was my least favorite experience, always had to pack as light as possible. The biggest problem though were the seats. Number one, never drop anything between them because you're almost guaranteed to not get it back. Number two, I never new I had sciatica until this car. We did a 15 hour road trip once and I was in pain for days. Didn't put two and two together until we did two more trips and my left leg would flare up with this excruciating pain.

I got a 2018 Nissan Rogue to replace it and honestly the only thing I miss from Mazda are the automatic windshield wipers. I won't say I'll never go back to Mazda, but the CX-3 would be the last car I would ever spend a penny on again in my life.

The CX-3 is perfect for two people, way too small for more than that. Roof rack will give you more "trunk space", but I agree, it is extremely small. I lost my wedding ring between the seats a month ago and have yet to find it without unbolting the seats. Super fun for city driving and fits anywhere, but highway driving is a chore with low torque (terrible for passing or on-ramps) and noisy cabin (particularly with the stock tires). Stepping in and out is a breeze, and the elevated view is a plus. The better value is the Mazda 3 (hatchback), and really, the only reason you would want it is for the AWD (which is not that much of a plus: the ground clearance is the same as a Mazda 3, its light weight offsets snow traction gained from AWD). But despite the shortcomings, I like my CX-3.

 

[Way69]

To be fair to Mazda, in hindsight, it's mostly my fault. I got the CX-3 when it was first released, in September 2015. I had a 2013 Mazda 3 and loved it, but I got a new job and needed to do highway traveling and with how bad winters are here I wanted more an SUV than a car (Mazda 3 was horrendous in snow) but I also didn't want a bigger car. My dad had a CX-5 and I didn't like how wide it felt when I would drive it, so the CX-3 seemed like a perfect compromise, not much bigger than my 3 but still AWD for snow. Within a week, the center armrest broke which I had replaced and it broke again 2 weeks later. Cup holders under the arm rest is the stupidest decision ever. I never thought to ask the size of the gas tank, which was 11.2, but with Mazda's formula it shows you empty before 10 gallons, so I was filling the car up 2 times per week. When I was looking at cars it seemed the CX-3 had more storage space than my 3 but I was very, very wrong - taking trips in that car was my least favorite experience, always had to pack as light as possible. The biggest problem though were the seats. Number one, never drop anything between them because you're almost guaranteed to not get it back. Number two, I never new I had sciatica until this car. We did a 15 hour road trip once and I was in pain for days. Didn't put two and two together until we did two more trips and my left leg would flare up with this excruciating pain.

I got a 2018 Nissan Rogue to replace it and honestly the only thing I miss from Mazda are the automatic windshield wipers. I won't say I'll never go back to Mazda, but the CX-3 would be the last car I would ever spend a penny on again in my life.

Looked at the cx3 when I was buying, it’s a total ripoff compared to the Mazda 3. It’s based on the smaller Mazda 2. So you’re basically paying Mazda 3 money for the model below, with all wheel drive.

 

[limo79]

Definitely too late decision. What about all these cars sold to consumers where dealers informed that update will be for free for all models?

Technically Mazda infotainment is outdated: no Google Maps, Satellite and Street View. No audio commands like in Android devices where speech recognition is an excellent (take a look on the latest Mercedes A voice commands and map guidance projected on windscreen). Mazda map model is ancient: Hyundai / Kia gives you map update s for free during 7 or 10 years. LCD screen resolution in all Mazda cars does not match camera resolution and everything is blurry (terrible rear camera quality). Hope God that multimedia interface is quite fast and there is no touchpad like in Lexus.

Regarding CX3: most of SUVs are overpriced and offer much less trunk space and much worse seat row pitch. Please note that model 2 which was a base for CX3 does not offer disc brakes so this is some advantage of CX3 over base model 2. Generally Mazda 3 is a better choice but some drivers prefer to seat slighlty higher from some reasons. Also 3 is assembled in Mexico (Salamanca) while CX3 in Ujina plant in Japan like model 6 so if you look for the 100% japanese car it is better to buy CX3 especially that in some places like trunk quality of materials is much better. Also was surprised with the rear suspension settings in CX3 (more subtle than in 3 while I expected something opposite because model 3 has independent (better) suspension). Generally good vehicle but overall construction looks very fragile (see suspension links or brake discs mounting). Please keep in mind that model 3 has 2 way AC so you can make separate setting for driver and passenger while CX3 has only 1 way AC so temp/flow setting will be the same for driver and passenger. If you look at real comfort and space (incl. trunk) both models are bad choice.

 

[imageWIS]

They have been lying about this forever. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[LondSteve]

Nissan and Infiniti still does not support it.

That's not true, my 2018 Nissan Rogue has CarPlay.

Almost their whole line have CarPlay.

 

[Zzebedee]

As a current model (2014 but only minor cosmetic and interior changes have been made since then) Mazda 6 owner please don’t let this be a factor in buying one.
They are garbage, the build quality is shoddy, the engines are poorly designed (particularly the skyactiv ones and the after care is abysmal.
My cars engine went caput last year. 2 dealerships couldn’t sort it (and 1 had to be tricked into even looking at it because they knew of the problem). An independent garage couldn’t sort it despite trying for 2 months. In the end an independent Mazda specialist took it begrudgingly as s favour to my garage and managed to sort it.
3 months without a car and over £3000 for a car just out of warranty

 

[ke-iron]

That's not true, my 2018 Nissan Rogue has CarPlay.

Almost their whole line have CarPlay.

My apologies, Infiniti doesn’t have it. I’ve been waiting for them to get it for a while so I can upgrade. I assumed Nissan didn’t have it either since they’re the parent company.

 

[Sakurambo-kun]

I just bought a new Mazda earlier this year (MX5-RF), so I'm hoping their previous promise of a retrofit won't been reneged upon. That said, Mazda Connect is passable, it gets the job done. I can browse Apple Music (only what's in my library) and Apple Podcasts from MZD Connect, and the GPS works well enough.

 

[blucable]

Apple please for the love of all gods and human lives revamp the music player in carplay. It is horrible and it does not show the album art in it. The album art is just shaded in the background and so horrible looking that you might as well just remove it!... The 10th generation Honda Civics deserve a much better interface.

 

[NIKKG]

My wife and I bought a Honda CR-V last year in part because it came equipped with CarPlay, which was one of our "would love to haves." Now that I have it, it is a bit underwhelming (though may get better with iOS 12). I don't really enjoy the CR-V and wish we would have replaced the totaled Mazda3 with a CX-5. If the CX-5 had had CarPlay in its 2017 models, we'd own one today.

What is wrong with the CRV? I was thinking of getting one next year since its supposed to be good on fuel economy.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

What is wrong with the CRV? I was thinking of getting one next year since its supposed to be good on fuel economy.

Absolutely nothing. My wife and I share one car and, with a 10 month-old, it is everything we need. It has all the safety stuff we wanted, most (if not all) of the technology, all that. It's the nicest car I've ever owned. Our car before this was an awesome bright blue Mazda 3 2.5L, and going from that to a gray CR-V, which are literally everywhere, in terms of just wanting to get into it, it's a step down. I loved driving the 3 (and the CX-5 felt a lot like it) and loved the color of the 3. The CR-V is everycar.

 

[daveup2bat]

Not being able to use the touch screen while moving is DUMB!! Thank goodness Hyundai doesn't have that ridiculous feature...

 

[thisisnotmyname]

Nissan and Infiniti still does not support it.

Hard to believe there are still hold outs. Thanks for this information.

 

[NIKKG]

Absolutely nothing. My wife and I share one car and, with a 10 month-old, it is everything we need. It has all the safety stuff we wanted, most (if not all) of the technology, all that. It's the nicest car I've ever owned. Our car before this was an awesome bright blue Mazda 3 2.5L, and going from that to a gray CR-V, which are literally everywhere, in terms of just wanting to get into it, it's a step down. I loved driving the 3 (and the CX-5 felt a lot like it) and loved the color of the 3. The CR-V is everycar.

I got the 2017 Ford Explorer now but want to trade down to something smaller to save on gas because I drive alot for work. So I was thinking of the CRV or the new 2019 Rav4 when it comes out or just go for a plug-in hybrid. Still can't make up my mind. SUVs are cool, but plug-in hybrids make the most sense however I like having more room that comes with a SUV and I don't want to feel like a loser driving a Prius.

 

[a104375]

This might just a new england problem, but Mazdas seem to rust faster than any other car around here. Don't get me wrong, they all rust eventually. But I see 2015 Mazdas showing signs of rust around the wheel wells with no other sign of damage, and 2010 Mazdas with full on rust spots. If there is rust on the painted surface that soon, I don't even want to know what it's like under the car. At least Hondas and Toyotas give you more time before the rust starts to show.

It's probably a good car for other parts of the country that don't have salt-water soaked roads for 4 months of the year. And it's probably a decent car to lease - the prices are low and rust isn't an issue if you only have it for two winters at most. But man I would not recommend buying one for a long loan term to anyone around here.

I have a 2015 3, in NE, PA and I've had no issues with rust, I've even got some paint damage with exposed metal and that hasn't rusted either.

 

[ke-iron]

Hard to believe there are still hold outs. Thanks for this information.

As someone else corrected me, Nissan has this feature, but I know for sure Infiniti does not as I have been waiting a while for Infiniti to adopt CarPlay so I can upgrade.

 

[RangerOne]

The only thing with lower market share than Mazda is Windows Phone.

True, Mazda is a very niche player... but they make some really wonderful cars. They're reliable, great-handling, have fantastic exterior/interior styling, excellent feature sets that extend even to the lower-end vehicles, and great innovation in engine efficiency. I recently checked out a couple models (small and large SUVs) from 5 different manufacturers, and other than lacking CarPlay and air-conditioned seats, the Mazdas were my hands-down favorites.

I'm honestly surprised they're not much bigger than they are.

 

[Mr-Tomahawk]

Check out some Mazda car message boards. The parts are already available in the EU. You need to replace the USB ports with stronger ones (about $160) and then get the software update. Boom, done.

Can I have a link to this thread?