Recommend Mazda3?
 

Hey guys, I've been tracking this forum for quite some time, but never really interacted much because I don't actually own a Mazda 3. I read the reviews, I've gone to the dealer to see it, and by sight and on paper, its an awesome car. However, I do car much about reliability, I commute about 300 miles a week, so I want a car that is relatively dependable. It appears that many owners have a problem with their fuel systems, I guess its acceptable since its a new car and bugs are expected.

However, if you could do it again, would you buy this car tommorow?
It has come down to two cars for me, an 05 civic HX, or an 05 mazda3 i sedan.
Both are seemingly good cars, but both seem to have their share with bugs, the civic shouldn't have much of an excuse by now though since its been out for 4 years(7gen).

yay or nay? regret or pleased?

thanks in advance.

I LOVE our new Mazda3 hatch. Very nice car. You cannot buy another car with this level of refinement or options for anywhere near this price.

The 3i is a proven motor. It's the fs-de motor with VVT and the fs-de has been around for over a decade.

I just purchased an 03 P5 fully loaded last year (msrp was $19,800 with 5-spd). My wife's new 3S hatch was $20,800 with 17" wheels, side curtain airbags, stereo controls in the wheel, cargo tray organizer, sport gauges, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, larger 2.3L engine AND automatic tranny!....all that and it was only $1K more...msrp. You can't beat that for value. and the ride is AMAZING.

I drive her 3 and I feel like driving cross country...I get into my P5 and feel like Im' in an upscale go-kart!!

I think nearly everyone on this forum would choose the Mazda3 over the Civic. Here is why I would:
1) Better handling than a Civic
2) Newer platform (Current Civic debuted in 2000)
3) More torque and hp (especially if you get the 2.3L)
4) Interior materials that look and feel upscale
5) Premium compact image (not econocar image)
6) Stiff structure, yet curb weight comparable to old Protege
7) Inspired styling (sorry, the latest Civic is a bar of soap).
8) High-end features available, such as factory navigation system, manumatic trans, etc allows you to pick and choose which luxury/ convenience items you want
9) You'll get to be a part of Protegeclub.com!
As always, driving each back to back (and as extensively as you can) will help you make your final decision.

DRIVE IT! I drove my 04 5speed hatch and it was game over. Mazda won.

Reliability? My understanding (from Consumer Reports) is that Mazda has a decent to good record on similar models. I've got my fingers crossed. The 4 year bumper to bumper warrantee with loaner if ever necessary allayed most of my trepidations of passing on the Toyota and Honda brands.

Well..

I've owned Mazdas for longer than most of you have been alive (okay since 1974).
They are as reliable as anything, if you do the routine maintenance.
They always offer a terrific value for the money.

They are not as well known as other brands, because they are a small company that puts money back into making the car better, not into advertising.

The Civic HX, has less power, but better gas mileage. So at 2 bucks a gallon you'll save about $5 a week by running the Honda. The Honda also has a track record for the Civic, since they have pretty much used the same body style for the car for almost 10 years...so resale will be stronger.

Personally, the Civic makes better sense as a pure commuter.
The 3 makes more sense for almost every other use.

The Mazda3 ultimately makes more sense if you are a person who enjoys driving, and doesn't want to settle for an appliance.

Sorry, folks - Honda has not made a fantastic handling Civic since the last gen car, which had control arm suspension on all corners. Honda, (ignoring its heady sport compact following), chose to put MacPherson struts on all corners of the current car. Struts aren't a bad thing, just drive a Focus or a Protege at a good clip on a winding road. Trouble is, the latest Civic lacks that kind of magic.

Why the change in personality from the fun last generation? The latest was designed/ engineered by comittee - I am not joking here, Honda targeted a hypothetical customer they nicknamed "Jennifer", who happened to be a teenage girl without much interest in cars. Fuel economy, safey, comfort, and a low price were the ultimate design goals. Just like the dull as dishwater Corolla, in fact. This bit about the target consumer is FACT, not a clever smart-ass response. Do a google search on it and I'm sure you'll see that repeated.

All the major sport compact magazines agree, if you are going to build up a Civic, it's better to start with a previous generation car. The only bright spot in the current lineup is the Si, if you can live with its strange guppy styling and the fact that it can barely keep up with a number of other cars it competes with (Mazda3 w/ 2.3L, SRT-4, SVT Focus, etc). There is plenty of room in the world for a car like the current Civic. But as far as the press is concerned, it belongs more in Consumer Reports than it does in Sport Compact Car, or for that matter, in our forum.

yeah, i went to both dealers today, a mazda and a honda. The mazda dealership had some asses working there, but looking past that, i got to play around with the mazda3, very nice car, awesome cockpit, great interior, however the door shutters quite a bit when being shut. Overall, it seems to be awesome, I didn't get to drive it, however I have read and heard of its great handling and decent push. I agree, excellent value, you get a lot for your money, but I'm gonna try to keep it alil under 15g's, the lower the better. So bottomline, its been reliable to you guys? Didn't fail to start in the morning?

Ive owned my 3s for exactly a month today and couldnt be happier with my choice. I got the 3s with the sport package, sunroof, ABS, autodimming rear view mirror with compass/temp, and spoiler, 7year 100,000 mile warranty...and still managed to walk out of the dealer for 19,000...a comparably equiped civic or corolla would have been more. I was torn between the civic, the corollas, and the 3. The civics are slouches...they dont offer the performance, handling or styling that the 3 does. Their more noisey on the road and their completle lack of torque makes you rev the motor excessively. Engine compartments are not refined at all...you see a motor, lots of wires and crap running everywhere. Interiors are very plain jane and offer nothing impressive. And just forget the corollas...good "economy" cars but FAR from a sport compact. What can i say about the 3 though...theirs nothing that it doesnt do well. It handles very well, plenty of power from the 2.3, very sporty agressive styling, comfortable interior, everything feels very slick and refined and still gets 30+ MPG on the highway. I dont think theres a car around that will offer you more bang for your buck for under 20,000.

VTOHThree - You've really got to drive it! If the dealer didn't offer you a test drive, he's an idiot! The drive is what will sell you. You will reach deeper into the piggy bank or cut back on the Lattes to make the extra payments. Mazda calls it "zoom-zoom" - yeah it sounds silly BUT - there really is a difference - within the compact price range - the 3 really has more "zip" and corners flat and at the same time the interior seems much quieter. And more comfortable. Since I was only considering hatches, I drove a Matrix and then a 3 hatch. Wow. Matrix - a noisy sluggish not-very-comfortable econo-box. Mazda-3 - a real car by comparison.

OTOH - I drove a Corolla for over 10 years. Know other people with Corollas and Hondas - if you are looking for expected reliability and long term economy and will settle for their ride characteristics - they are the safe choice.

Oh? Door "shudders"? Someone must have messed up that door. Try another one.
The door closing has the satisfying hefty feel and thud you get on some of the better "luxury" brands.

You come on a Mazda board for an unbiased opinion?? Come on!! just kidding :)

I compared a few cars before my purchase of the Mazda 3s. Most I compared in person, others I compared on paper. The Civic was one that I compared on paper and the 3 won out for me, especially on horsepower. I would say that this was the deciding factor for me. I owned a Geo Prism once and I hated the lack of power in my everyday driving. I swore I would never buy another 4 cylinder car until I had the chance to drive the Mazda 3 which has more get up and go than my previous car which had a V6. I would say that if you really enjoy driving and am looking for something more than a point A to point B car, take the 3 for a couple of test drives and see what you think. It's a very fun car to drive and gets pretty decent fuel mileage.

Anyway, I do feel like I made the right choice with the Mazda though I've only had it for two weeks. It's a car that you can be proud of and there are some really great deals out there too, if you wouldn't mind having an '04 instead of the '05.

Best of luck on your decision, I know it's a very taxing process!!

Yes, but civic is good enough
That was only 4 years ago, cars like the outgoing mustang or cavalier are from like 1979.
yes, which yields much worse gas mileage. The 2.0 gets about 10 mpg worse than an HX civic, and the 2.3 gets about 13 worse.
same with the civic.
Civic has a good image too, not too econocar.
Civic weight 250 lbs less and still gets a "Best Pick" by the Insurance Institute. www.highwaysafety.org.
I admit, it is boring, but most people like boring. That is why it sells better than the three.
Most people buying an inexpensive car, don't want leather and Nav, if I wanted to buy a Mazda 3 for 23k I would buy a Acura RSX/TSX instead.
With the civic you would be stuck with the ricer club.
True, that is why I bought the 3. I liked how it drove better, and it is still reliable enough. It probably isn't Civic reliable. Consumer Reports picked the Mazda 3 as their top pick. They stated reliability wasn't as good as Honda/Toyota, but they still expected better than average. At 300 miles a week, you would probably save about $15.00 per month on gas with the Civic over the Mazda. Not a big deal, you would save about $150.00 a month driving the Civic instead of an H2.

Insurance on both a Civic and a Mazda 3 is dirt cheap. I pay about $60 a month for full coverage $500 deductible here in Iowa (clean driving record and 25 years old).

If you are only interested in something that is sort of fun to drive, gets good fuel economy, is sort of nice looking, offers structural rigidity that is at least better than the two hoary 20+ year old cars you mentioned (Cav and Mustang), has lots of red dots in Consumer Reports, and gets the seal of approval from the insurance companies, then the Civic is the car for you. If you want a car that you can fall in love with, then buy a Mazda.

Hey guys, thanks again for the feed back, although the more i hear, the harder the decision gets... I did a similar post on a civic forum, lol, ofcourse they have their arguing stands as well. I admit, even though i still haven't driven the 3 yet, i could imagine i'd be much happier commuting from point a A-B in it. I'm almost unenthiastic thinking about the civic, it doesn't feel quite as rigid or solid as the 3. And i love the seats in it as well, very high quality feel, reminds me of vw's once again. If i am going to buy a new car it will be very soon, possibly in the next few days or weeks... still sleeping on it... i'm really up in there air between the two... 3 has more power, room, and details... the cvic is alil' more practical(boring) but it equates to good gas mileage and its lighter on the pocket book.

Quick question. Why haven't you driven one yet? On another note there are other cars besides the civic and the 3. There is the integra from subaru. Unturbocharged it has the same horespower as the 3 and has all weel drive abs and such for about the same. There is the tc from scion. Costs the same and has almost all the same stuff as the hatchback 3. Now how do they compare is your desision. Mine was this. Because of the all weel drive the subaru lost some horsepower so that was out and the tc did not compare in ride feel to the 3. Because the tc is a coupe it had less space in the back and they both had the same 0-60 times so the 3 won. Now as far as safetey goes the scion has abs standard and the 3 does not. That did not bother me. The 3's 4 weel disk brakes have been more then enough for me. But if you are more safety oriented you can have that in mind. Although the 3 does have an optional abs package that comes with more airbags and electronic brake assist to boot. Sorry about the rant but I wanted to bring up two more options besides the piece of crap...I mean civic and the most perfect 3. :-)

The Integra from Subaru? You mean Impreza, right? Regardless, finding one for under 15K (as our friend is hoping to do) will not be possible, unless he goes used. Ditto the TC.

Hands Down
 

Look I have only had my 4 door about 2 months but this car just leaves the other in the dust no comparison.I test drove a Toyota before i bought the Mazda 3 .It felt like I was sitting in a tin can.It shuddered on the road at even the tiniest bump. It felt like it was about 3 feet wide I just didnt like it at all. The Honda has always had a great reputation for reliability but they just dont have any spark they all look the same as the one before. When i drive down town in my new Mazda people look at it they all want to know what it is where i got it ect. Dont just buy a car because it gets good mileage you have to drive it on the weekends too. LOL hope you make the right choice for yourself

Yeah, when deciding on which new cars, it came down to the 3 and civic HX because.... tC is a ripoff for 16+grand, its just a tiny 2 door coupe...whereas the civic 2 door coupe is a lot cheaper... and if I am going to spend 16grand on a car(I'm not rich, I'm a working college student) it mind as be a spacious 4 door... on top of that, reliability, comfort, quality, gas mileage, styleetc. comes along too.. So thats why it came down to only the Civic HX coupe and the Mazda 3i sedan. And to answer why I never test drove, its because I was on rush that day, and the dealership just seemed very rude, very pushy, they didn't even ask me for a test drive, just got right into financing and trying to make me buy a used mazda 3, lol...bastards.

thats why I just left the dealership, but their eagerness to sell could come in handy when purchasing a new 04 rather than a new 05... they are essentially the same aren't they?( or did they fix a lot more bugs and tinkers in the 05?)...... my main concern is reliability, but definately some performance and fun factor as well.... i'm sick and tired of my boring corolla, has no umph to it... haha, even the 117hp civic HX makes my car feel slow.

No matter what you decide to purchase, be sure and SHOP AROUND online before you buy. It really, really helps if you have several quotes to work off.

It sounds like you are being smart and doing a lot of research, so you probably already know this but I just wanted to bring it up in case.

Check out http://www.carbuyingtips.com/

:boring:

go with the 3... even the i would be more fun to drive then the civic... and like it was siad before you have to drive it on the weekends as well... if that mazda dealership was pushy go to another... then show up there to get some service done in your new 3...haha... anywho, i was torn between the matrix and the 3.. but for the fun factor in the matrix i would have dropped about 4 more grand for the all wheel drive with the bigger engine, the awd is the only thing i wish i had in the 3... living in the north east it does come in handy, (can't wait for the ms3...!!!) from what you have said it sounds like you are already leaning towards the 3... you see tons of geriatrics driving civics....do you see any driving a 3... nope didn't think so... that should tell you right there!!!

Hey, now, easy there tsunami! I'm close to geriatric, in fact, 3 years away from the senior meal at Coco's! And I recognize a good ride when I see one. My wife has a 94 Corolla, so I know a little about them - if you try and accelerate too hard it sounds like someone's ripping hair out of a cat!

The civic is nice, very reliable, but dull as white bread, and slow, unless you get a two-door. The 3 is a very svelte machine, especially with 2.3. With the upscale version I'm driving, it is a (Beemer? VW Golf? Lexus 300i?) for folks who don't want to spend 25K plus on a car.

Hello everyone!!! As you can see by the exclaimation marks, I am quite excited! I am pretty sure that I will go with the Mazda 3. With all honesty, I wanted the car to begin with, but if I could get a civic HX for more cheaper, it would be a lot more economical. Fortunately/Unfortunately, there are no more 04' civic HX's on clearance, so those jerks are asking around 15grand(take maybe 600 bux max from that), and for that price, I would much rather go with a mazda 3, pay alil more, get a lot more........ but anyways, next step, do any of you guys know any good credit unions?? I have personally had a bad experience with Capital One, so I was wondering if you guys recommend any other places? (according to carbuyingtips.com e-loans is good as well, but I'd need first hand experience) thanks guy!

Vtoh - what ever you do, take a good drive before you commit to buying.

Highway, country back roads, and in town type driving. Fast and slow, curvy and straight. Do some hard braking and some fast accelerations.
Judge how comfortable the seating is, how the car sounds (too loud? can you hear your music at highway speeds?)

Sure on this board we like the Mazda's "zoom-zoom" - but in the end you might decide that you feel safer, with the more tried and true Honda or Toyota. Nothing wrong with that.