2018 Mazda Mazda3 Review and Comparison
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Date: 2019-05-30
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Comments and reviews: 10
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I had a 2015 Mazda 3 and HATED IT -- Id suggest passing on this car. The cabin was loud, the ride was utterly horrible (the suspension continually capitulating over road surfaces I didnt even see imperfections in, the auto trans up-shifted at all the wrong times (like it shifts into 2nd gear after about 10 ft so once you pull out into the roadway and gas-it the engine is bogging and theres no power, the seat needed lumbar adjustment badly, the infotainment system crashed virtually every day, the Bose stereo couldnt be enjoyed because of all the road noise and created rattles in the doors. The glossy and shiny plastics were put in all the wrong places and beamed the sun into my eyes -- Im surprised I dont have eye damage -- although it looks like they made some interior revisions, so maybe they improved this. The tires it comes with are garbage. I upgraded to ultra high performance all season tires and light weight wheels, but it did virtually nothing for the ride. Grip was improved, but the handling didnt improve that dramatically (still just understeered like crazy. I live in the pacific northwest and it rains a lot. If you try to accelerate aggressively, from a stop, the front tires just spin and bounce up and down like crazy due to super soft motor mounts -- you get no traction. Then the engine cuts power and youre sitting there going virtually nowhere. The better tires didnt help with this much -- motor mounts are just too soft. After telling all this to a coworker, they still purchased a 2016 model, against my advice, and were absolutely furious with it. The car also went into limp-home mode on me, on the freeway, once --- which almost caused a wreck, and which they later came out with a recall for. It felt like a half-baked car, rushed to market, honestly. Just look in the back where they put the front seat-belt tensioners -- with the cheap plastic covers -- its like it was an after thought. Also, look in the trunk -- they had to add Styrofoam to most of the trunk to fit the spare tire in -- again, as if they forgot. But they didnt add it to the whole trunk so you have drop offs in certain areas -- its kind of ghetto and half baked. The auto climate control was also not well thought out, but I wont go into that -- written too much already. Like I said, the car felt rushed to market -- as if they got it 85-90% of the way there and said good enough.
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I had a 2015 Mazda 3 and HATED IT -- Id suggest passing on this car. The cabin was loud, the ride was utterly horrible (the suspension continually capitulating over road surfaces I didnt even see imperfections in, the auto trans up-shifted at all the wrong times (like it shifts into 2nd gear after about 10 ft so once you pull out into the roadway and gas-it the engine is bogging and theres no power, the seat needed lumbar adjustment badly, the infotainment system crashed virtually every day, the Bose stereo couldnt be enjoyed because of all the road noise and created rattles in the doors. The glossy and shiny plastics were put in all the wrong places and beamed the sun into my eyes -- Im surprised I dont have eye damage -- although it looks like they made some interior revisions, so maybe they improved this. The tires it comes with are garbage. I upgraded to ultra high performance all season tires and light weight wheels, but it did virtually nothing for the ride. Grip was improved, but the handling didnt improve that dramatically (still just understeered like crazy. I live in the pacific northwest and it rains a lot. If you try to accelerate aggressively, from a stop, the front tires just spin and bounce up and down like crazy due to super soft motor mounts -- you get no traction. Then the engine cuts power and youre sitting there going virtually nowhere. The better tires didnt help with this much -- motor mounts are just too soft. After telling all this to a coworker, they still purchased a 2016 model, against my advice, and were absolutely furious with it. The car also went into limp-home mode on me, on the freeway, once --- which almost caused a wreck, and which they later came out with a recall for. It felt like a half-baked car, rushed to market, honestly. Just look in the back where they put the front seat-belt tensioners -- with the cheap plastic covers -- its like it was an after thought. Also, look in the trunk -- they had to add Styrofoam to most of the trunk to fit the spare tire in -- again, as if they forgot. But they didnt add it to the whole trunk so you have drop offs in certain areas -- its kind of ghetto and half baked. The auto climate control was also not well thought out, but I wont go into that -- written too much already. Like I said, the car felt rushed to market -- as if they got it 85-90% of the way there and said good enough.
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James Brosius
Im pretty sure 0-60 doesnt mean anything at all between mile lights in a city or a quarter mile stretch. Im pretty sure straightline speed isnt that important. I have a 2014 3 I GT hatch and literally Im the only one in the car really. This thing is perfect for me and honestly the quality in the 3 with the piano black and leather everywhere is great over all the other entries. In 2014 this was leading. Think of the car when it started. Not what it is now. This thing is still one of the best cars to drive on back roads. It really is a drivers car. In Michigan I dont see as many new ones, so I feel somewhat special driving the current gen around, especially the hatch. Yeah the mid level below the S Touring is probably the best option. The 2 Liter is still pretty great to drive. I had my mothers 2006 Ford escape with the v6 in it and honestly both have almost the same steering response and handling. Its tight and fun. Almost to the point where its deadly. Lol anyways thats my input.
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Im pretty sure 0-60 doesnt mean anything at all between mile lights in a city or a quarter mile stretch. Im pretty sure straightline speed isnt that important. I have a 2014 3 I GT hatch and literally Im the only one in the car really. This thing is perfect for me and honestly the quality in the 3 with the piano black and leather everywhere is great over all the other entries. In 2014 this was leading. Think of the car when it started. Not what it is now. This thing is still one of the best cars to drive on back roads. It really is a drivers car. In Michigan I dont see as many new ones, so I feel somewhat special driving the current gen around, especially the hatch. Yeah the mid level below the S Touring is probably the best option. The 2 Liter is still pretty great to drive. I had my mothers 2006 Ford escape with the v6 in it and honestly both have almost the same steering response and handling. Its tight and fun. Almost to the point where its deadly. Lol anyways thats my input.
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Michael Gallegos
Just bought a 2018 Mazda 3 Hatchback Sport and I cannot rave more about this car. I absolutely love it. Before I get people telling theres faster cars around this price point: drag racing was not an influencing factor when I decided I wanted to spend 19k on a car. I was looking for something affordable, reliable, and fuel efficient. In other words practicality was my number one concern and the hatchback delivers as promised. It is all that I mentioned while looking good and putting a smile on my face. The car has adequate power for merging on the highway and is a blast to push through corners/curvy roads. Keep in mind this is all with an automatic. I was going to go for the 6 spd manual but I deal with LA traffic to and from work and could no longer bare it with a manual so I opted for the auto. If youre looking for something practical that is more than just an appliance I would definitely recommend the mazda 3.
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Just bought a 2018 Mazda 3 Hatchback Sport and I cannot rave more about this car. I absolutely love it. Before I get people telling theres faster cars around this price point: drag racing was not an influencing factor when I decided I wanted to spend 19k on a car. I was looking for something affordable, reliable, and fuel efficient. In other words practicality was my number one concern and the hatchback delivers as promised. It is all that I mentioned while looking good and putting a smile on my face. The car has adequate power for merging on the highway and is a blast to push through corners/curvy roads. Keep in mind this is all with an automatic. I was going to go for the 6 spd manual but I deal with LA traffic to and from work and could no longer bare it with a manual so I opted for the auto. If youre looking for something practical that is more than just an appliance I would definitely recommend the mazda 3.
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Jude F.
I rented a Mazda 3 for a weekend when I was shopping for a new car. The one thing I really didnt like about the handling was that it has a computer program that stiffens the power steering in the turns and relaxes it back again in a straightaway--so its like the steerings always wanting to default to straight ahead, giving resistance on the turns. I read that this was Mazdas idea of how to make the car more solid in turns, but I found it annoying. Overall I liked the handling of my old 2006 Subaru Legacy better, and there wasnt much about the Mazda 3 that made me feel like I wanted to trade the Subaru for one. I wound up getting a Mazda 6 Sport with a manual transmission and Im very happy with it, a very refined and nice-handling car. It is noticeably bigger, though, it takes a little while to get used to the feel of it.
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I rented a Mazda 3 for a weekend when I was shopping for a new car. The one thing I really didnt like about the handling was that it has a computer program that stiffens the power steering in the turns and relaxes it back again in a straightaway--so its like the steerings always wanting to default to straight ahead, giving resistance on the turns. I read that this was Mazdas idea of how to make the car more solid in turns, but I found it annoying. Overall I liked the handling of my old 2006 Subaru Legacy better, and there wasnt much about the Mazda 3 that made me feel like I wanted to trade the Subaru for one. I wound up getting a Mazda 6 Sport with a manual transmission and Im very happy with it, a very refined and nice-handling car. It is noticeably bigger, though, it takes a little while to get used to the feel of it.
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Joseph G
I like Mazdas design language, but the 3 looks weirdly squished or cross-eyed up front to me. It works better on the 6 and other bigger vehicles. I think its still one of the better-looking cars, but I like the look of the Golf more. The fuel economy being notably worse than competitors is unacceptable IMO for a company that has been putting all their eggs in the ICE basket. May not matter to enthusiasts, but the company needs to actually deliver dramatically superior efficiency in Skyactiv-X or rethink their strategy. Theyre saying 30% better. if they can hit that without raising price then thats good. If the price goes over 20k for the base model or they cant get at least 50 mpg highway theyve wasted time developing a dead-end technology.
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I like Mazdas design language, but the 3 looks weirdly squished or cross-eyed up front to me. It works better on the 6 and other bigger vehicles. I think its still one of the better-looking cars, but I like the look of the Golf more. The fuel economy being notably worse than competitors is unacceptable IMO for a company that has been putting all their eggs in the ICE basket. May not matter to enthusiasts, but the company needs to actually deliver dramatically superior efficiency in Skyactiv-X or rethink their strategy. Theyre saying 30% better. if they can hit that without raising price then thats good. If the price goes over 20k for the base model or they cant get at least 50 mpg highway theyve wasted time developing a dead-end technology.
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The Adventure Mazda
Ive owned 2 Mazda3s and have absolutely loved them. Every time I ride in a Corolla or Elantra I realize how good it really is. For taking long trips theres never anything we have to leave behind due to the hatchbacks phenomenal space. My girlfriend has the sedan and has never had any issue with not having enough trunk space. Theres plenty of room. My 2016 with the 2. 0 was rated at 30city/40hwy/32comb. I have averaged 35. 6mpg after 22k miles. I usually get 45 on the hwy so not sure why they decided to lower the estimates. I looked into the i-eloop system and I believe they ended that option with the 2017 model. I had it in my 2014 and it worked real well. Averaged 36. 1mpg overall. Great review, thanks
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Ive owned 2 Mazda3s and have absolutely loved them. Every time I ride in a Corolla or Elantra I realize how good it really is. For taking long trips theres never anything we have to leave behind due to the hatchbacks phenomenal space. My girlfriend has the sedan and has never had any issue with not having enough trunk space. Theres plenty of room. My 2016 with the 2. 0 was rated at 30city/40hwy/32comb. I have averaged 35. 6mpg after 22k miles. I usually get 45 on the hwy so not sure why they decided to lower the estimates. I looked into the i-eloop system and I believe they ended that option with the 2017 model. I had it in my 2014 and it worked real well. Averaged 36. 1mpg overall. Great review, thanks
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Frank HunInvader
Great review Thanks Alex On the other side, the commenters saying slow, or lacking etc. people who read these comments need to understand, that everyone is coming from a different experience. Neither the Mazda, nor any of the competition is either slow or ugly or lacking, if youre coming from a 15yr old car. Pick any of them, you will find all of them waaaay better than anything just 10yrs ago And those, who drive or driven a more expensive luxurious or sports car, not sure what they are doing here. Their opinion dont matter, were talking about cars that cost brand new 18k-24k, not 40k. Dont listen to the nit-pickers, they probably dont even own a car to begin with.
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Great review Thanks Alex On the other side, the commenters saying slow, or lacking etc. people who read these comments need to understand, that everyone is coming from a different experience. Neither the Mazda, nor any of the competition is either slow or ugly or lacking, if youre coming from a 15yr old car. Pick any of them, you will find all of them waaaay better than anything just 10yrs ago And those, who drive or driven a more expensive luxurious or sports car, not sure what they are doing here. Their opinion dont matter, were talking about cars that cost brand new 18k-24k, not 40k. Dont listen to the nit-pickers, they probably dont even own a car to begin with.
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Neil Richardet
There are 2 things to like about the Mazda 3 that are not being mentioned - no CVT Transmission and no Turbo. The CTV gets better gas mileage but if and when a problem arises you have to replace the transmission because NOBODY WORKS ON THEM. A Turbo isa real power booster and can transform a vehicle BUT when a Turbo starts to age it will become apparent that performance has a price and this will have an effect on the resale value. So Mazdas conventional 6 speed Automatic if you change the transmission oil as recommended will last much longer. The lack of turbo power will be addressed in the new gas diesel engine and gas mileage should lead the segment.
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There are 2 things to like about the Mazda 3 that are not being mentioned - no CVT Transmission and no Turbo. The CTV gets better gas mileage but if and when a problem arises you have to replace the transmission because NOBODY WORKS ON THEM. A Turbo isa real power booster and can transform a vehicle BUT when a Turbo starts to age it will become apparent that performance has a price and this will have an effect on the resale value. So Mazdas conventional 6 speed Automatic if you change the transmission oil as recommended will last much longer. The lack of turbo power will be addressed in the new gas diesel engine and gas mileage should lead the segment.
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mustafa abubakar
I Agree with you Alex. The C and D pillars are to thick it may affect rear visibility and it greatly affected the overall look of the car. I think Mazda was trying to compete in cargo space capacity where the older mazda3 lost to the Hyundai i30 705 litres to 572 in trunk space. They want to achieve high practicality while maintainingtheir sleek design without having to resort to a boxy shape. Just my thought. I didnt see ventilated seats and a wireless phone charging option, rear A/C vents plus automatic lift gates whats Mazda thinking? docustomers have toask them likethey did in the case of android auto and apple car play before they give it?
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I Agree with you Alex. The C and D pillars are to thick it may affect rear visibility and it greatly affected the overall look of the car. I think Mazda was trying to compete in cargo space capacity where the older mazda3 lost to the Hyundai i30 705 litres to 572 in trunk space. They want to achieve high practicality while maintainingtheir sleek design without having to resort to a boxy shape. Just my thought. I didnt see ventilated seats and a wireless phone charging option, rear A/C vents plus automatic lift gates whats Mazda thinking? docustomers have toask them likethey did in the case of android auto and apple car play before they give it?
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dMb
Your previous Mazda3 0-60 time was slow compared to every other reviewer. That doesnt mean you did it wrong, just that the specific car you got in your specific conditions and may have been either weak or heavy. You standing by the slower time you got back then isnt noble or good journalism because its a non-representative example which you acknowledge as a non-representative example. Its far better to say we got this value, but everyone else got that value, so be aware instead of saying we got this value, so thats what it definitely is despite everyone saying they got something else.
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Your previous Mazda3 0-60 time was slow compared to every other reviewer. That doesnt mean you did it wrong, just that the specific car you got in your specific conditions and may have been either weak or heavy. You standing by the slower time you got back then isnt noble or good journalism because its a non-representative example which you acknowledge as a non-representative example. Its far better to say we got this value, but everyone else got that value, so be aware instead of saying we got this value, so thats what it definitely is despite everyone saying they got something else.
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