MICHGoBlue
Member
- :
- 2005 Mazda RX8 6MT & 2014 Mazda 3i GT 6MT
Greetings from Madison, WI!
Just got my 2014 White Mazda 3 i Grand Touring 6mt this past Friday.
Went into the dealership originally to purchase a Mazda 3 i SV 6mt, but after test driving a GT, wanted to make my daily hour work commute a lot more comfy with the GT package.
Went with a 3 year 45,000 miles lease, as I own 2 other cars (2005 Mazda RX8 and 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer), so not worried about exceeding the mileage.
Although, after the ever-so-brief ownership of the 3, kinda wished I would've purchased it because I can see myself getting attached to this daily driver at the end of the lease.
Driving Impression
Having a 6mt was a must for myself, and surprisingly this particular dealership had a handful of diff manual equipped 3s on the lot.
Where as the Honda dealership only had 2 manual transmission cars in the entire lot, 1 civic and 1 accord.
And the Toyota dealership only had ONE manual equipped, a bare bone Corolla model.
Did not crosshop any other compacts in the class.
Love the light, yet precise shifter.
Luke warm on the clutch feel, a very light feel, with no feel for the clutch grabbing point.
Haven't stalled the car as the clutch is extremely forgiving, but I personally would like to feel the engage point instead of just going through the motions.
But to be fair, all of the cars in this class I've tested have the same clutch feel.
The steering wheel is nice and chunky with the leather wrapped wheel offered in the model I drove.
steering action is a bit light, but very precise, still confidence inducing.
If the steering was a hydraulic system, it would've been perfect for this little car.
It understeers under WOT turning, but is able to swing the tail around when taking the foot off of the throttle.
The grip itself isn't plentiful, but the fun that comes with it sure is!
The All season tires the car comes with is built with comfort in mind, and it shows.
But the suspension has so much composure that, even without the top end grip, it is still controllable in the corner at higher speeds.
Going normal/a bit over the speed limit in curvy country roads, it is just plain fun navigating the chunky steering wheel, pointing to whatever direction you desire the car to go, and it does so with less body roll than other cars in the same class.
The 2.0 litre engine is peppy enough for normal driving, but does lack the urgency when you do want to have some fun on-demand.
It does sound pretty nice under hard acceleration, without the high pitch buzzy noises 4 bangers in compacts usually exhibit.
It's rather eager to rev, and when mated with a 6mt, you kind of forget that it is only a 2 litre with 150-ish hp.
The 2.5 litre with 6mt obviously would've been nicer, but depending on the future pricing, I probably would've stuck with the 2.0 litre for cost anyways.
The brakes are really good for its class!
Good pedal feel, and on spirited country drives, it was very consistent with no signs of fading.
Doubtful that it'd last long on a track, but if you track your car, you'll probably be upgrading the brake pads anyways.
Exterior
I went with the white model, as I felt like that's the best contrasting color with that gorgeous front grille.
I wish I didn't live in Wisconsin, as a front license plate is required (although I do not have one on the RX8), so I will probably just leave it there.
But it does hinder the handsome look a bit.
I also went with a sedan, as I felt like for the 1st time ever, the sedan design wasn't just an afterthought after the hatchback.
I personally find it more handsome than the hatchback, but wouldn't have minded the hatchback at all if the pricing was the same, especially given the extra storage space.
The only gripe I have is with the 16" wheels, it's very... bland.
But since it is a lease, I will not be buying any summer wheels.
I didn't get the optional LED lights in the headlight housing, but it does look pretty good as a few in the dealership had them.
Not worth upping the trim to get it though...
Mine also did come with foglights, and I like how they look on the car!
The trunklid spoiler is very classy.
Understated, and just the way I like on my daily driver.
Very european sedan-ish.
Overall - very nice curves for a compact sedan, without being overly busy like those in the Hyundai lineups.
Interior
BY FAR THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PART ABOUT THIS CAR (Grand Touring Model).
If you would've told me that I'd be picking a car based on its interior superiority, I would've told you you're crazy.
I've never had a car with leather seats, I've never had a car with navigation system, hell, I've never even had a car that had a moonroof!
But after test driving the i SV, and gotten to sit in the GT model, I just could not go back!
I have an hour commute daily for work, and having such a comfortable interior was simply a treat for myself.
The overall trim in the base model feels very much on par with the Corolla and Civic I test drove
Lots of plastic that are hard to the feel.
The steering wheel was adequate, but not luxurious by any means.
The cloth seats are the best in its class, and seems comfortable for a long road trip.
But boy, the moment I sat in the GT, I felt like I was sitting in a BMW 3 series or Audi A4s.
The technology package literally is a rip off of the iDrive system in the beemer.
The leather (or is it just nice vinyl) seats are very Volkswagen in terms of feel, quality, and the fair pricing.
The leather wrapped steering wheel is a simple joy to hold onto.
The auto climate control has quality parts to it, as the knobs feel high end.
Same with the iDrive rip off controls, nice feel to the touches.
Wish it had better controls for the moonroof, but it's adequate.
The navigation isn't the prettiest in terms of finish and placement, but it's nice enough.
I wish the touch control still would've worked while the car is in motion, but I get it.
Rearview reverse camera is a nice addition, same with the blind spot monitoring side mirrors.
All bluetooth connectivity works the way it should, except for text/email reading, which I still can't figure it out how to make it work with my HTC One X.
I'm sure I've left some things behind, but overall impression - I wish I would've purchased the car!
It feels like a car I can live with for a decade+, but I'm sure by the time I have to turn this car in, Mazda will have an even better car in its lineup.
As much as I love driving the RX8, as of right now, the Mazda 3's cockpit is simply the better place to be in
Other than luxury car brands, I have a hard time coming up with an interior that is this nice and still cost-efficient.
Thanks for reading!
Just got my 2014 White Mazda 3 i Grand Touring 6mt this past Friday.
Went into the dealership originally to purchase a Mazda 3 i SV 6mt, but after test driving a GT, wanted to make my daily hour work commute a lot more comfy with the GT package.
Went with a 3 year 45,000 miles lease, as I own 2 other cars (2005 Mazda RX8 and 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer), so not worried about exceeding the mileage.
Although, after the ever-so-brief ownership of the 3, kinda wished I would've purchased it because I can see myself getting attached to this daily driver at the end of the lease.
Driving Impression
Having a 6mt was a must for myself, and surprisingly this particular dealership had a handful of diff manual equipped 3s on the lot.
Where as the Honda dealership only had 2 manual transmission cars in the entire lot, 1 civic and 1 accord.
And the Toyota dealership only had ONE manual equipped, a bare bone Corolla model.
Did not crosshop any other compacts in the class.
Love the light, yet precise shifter.
Luke warm on the clutch feel, a very light feel, with no feel for the clutch grabbing point.
Haven't stalled the car as the clutch is extremely forgiving, but I personally would like to feel the engage point instead of just going through the motions.
But to be fair, all of the cars in this class I've tested have the same clutch feel.
The steering wheel is nice and chunky with the leather wrapped wheel offered in the model I drove.
steering action is a bit light, but very precise, still confidence inducing.
If the steering was a hydraulic system, it would've been perfect for this little car.
It understeers under WOT turning, but is able to swing the tail around when taking the foot off of the throttle.
The grip itself isn't plentiful, but the fun that comes with it sure is!
The All season tires the car comes with is built with comfort in mind, and it shows.
But the suspension has so much composure that, even without the top end grip, it is still controllable in the corner at higher speeds.
Going normal/a bit over the speed limit in curvy country roads, it is just plain fun navigating the chunky steering wheel, pointing to whatever direction you desire the car to go, and it does so with less body roll than other cars in the same class.
The 2.0 litre engine is peppy enough for normal driving, but does lack the urgency when you do want to have some fun on-demand.
It does sound pretty nice under hard acceleration, without the high pitch buzzy noises 4 bangers in compacts usually exhibit.
It's rather eager to rev, and when mated with a 6mt, you kind of forget that it is only a 2 litre with 150-ish hp.
The 2.5 litre with 6mt obviously would've been nicer, but depending on the future pricing, I probably would've stuck with the 2.0 litre for cost anyways.
The brakes are really good for its class!
Good pedal feel, and on spirited country drives, it was very consistent with no signs of fading.
Doubtful that it'd last long on a track, but if you track your car, you'll probably be upgrading the brake pads anyways.
Exterior
I went with the white model, as I felt like that's the best contrasting color with that gorgeous front grille.
I wish I didn't live in Wisconsin, as a front license plate is required (although I do not have one on the RX8), so I will probably just leave it there.
But it does hinder the handsome look a bit.
I also went with a sedan, as I felt like for the 1st time ever, the sedan design wasn't just an afterthought after the hatchback.
I personally find it more handsome than the hatchback, but wouldn't have minded the hatchback at all if the pricing was the same, especially given the extra storage space.
The only gripe I have is with the 16" wheels, it's very... bland.
But since it is a lease, I will not be buying any summer wheels.
I didn't get the optional LED lights in the headlight housing, but it does look pretty good as a few in the dealership had them.
Not worth upping the trim to get it though...
Mine also did come with foglights, and I like how they look on the car!
The trunklid spoiler is very classy.
Understated, and just the way I like on my daily driver.
Very european sedan-ish.
Overall - very nice curves for a compact sedan, without being overly busy like those in the Hyundai lineups.
Interior
BY FAR THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PART ABOUT THIS CAR (Grand Touring Model).
If you would've told me that I'd be picking a car based on its interior superiority, I would've told you you're crazy.
I've never had a car with leather seats, I've never had a car with navigation system, hell, I've never even had a car that had a moonroof!
But after test driving the i SV, and gotten to sit in the GT model, I just could not go back!
I have an hour commute daily for work, and having such a comfortable interior was simply a treat for myself.
The overall trim in the base model feels very much on par with the Corolla and Civic I test drove
Lots of plastic that are hard to the feel.
The steering wheel was adequate, but not luxurious by any means.
The cloth seats are the best in its class, and seems comfortable for a long road trip.
But boy, the moment I sat in the GT, I felt like I was sitting in a BMW 3 series or Audi A4s.
The technology package literally is a rip off of the iDrive system in the beemer.
The leather (or is it just nice vinyl) seats are very Volkswagen in terms of feel, quality, and the fair pricing.
The leather wrapped steering wheel is a simple joy to hold onto.
The auto climate control has quality parts to it, as the knobs feel high end.
Same with the iDrive rip off controls, nice feel to the touches.
Wish it had better controls for the moonroof, but it's adequate.
The navigation isn't the prettiest in terms of finish and placement, but it's nice enough.
I wish the touch control still would've worked while the car is in motion, but I get it.
Rearview reverse camera is a nice addition, same with the blind spot monitoring side mirrors.
All bluetooth connectivity works the way it should, except for text/email reading, which I still can't figure it out how to make it work with my HTC One X.
I'm sure I've left some things behind, but overall impression - I wish I would've purchased the car!
It feels like a car I can live with for a decade+, but I'm sure by the time I have to turn this car in, Mazda will have an even better car in its lineup.
As much as I love driving the RX8, as of right now, the Mazda 3's cockpit is simply the better place to be in
Other than luxury car brands, I have a hard time coming up with an interior that is this nice and still cost-efficient.
Thanks for reading!
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