Hello everyone! Thinking about a Mazda3 Hatch...

[davecerv]

Hello everyone from mazdas247!
My name is David.
I currently have a Chevy Sonic LTZ Automatic Hatch.
I got it July 2013. I'm not 100% happy with it anymore. I've been ignoring little annoying things with the Sonic. Quality issues that are making me have second thoughts about how this car will be in 5 years. I needed an alignment at 200 miles...paint is crap...ticking sound when steering left (taken the car three times on that)...noisy breaks that's said to be normal for the car...ac blows out a little air when it's clearly off...engine stutters from time to time... The Sonic only has 16k miles btw...
That being said, I'm a very conservative driver. Sometimes I think I'm overreacting about these little things but I don't see a quality car in the Sonic. But then again I know it's not a luxury car. I had a old honda civic before this and it never did these annoying things.

I really like hatchbacks. The mazda3 hatch had my attention when I was looking for a new car but I took the plunge on the Sonic because of price and features.
Now I'm looking for motivation, is the Mazda3 really a more quality car?

Thanks in advance for whoever read my whole post!

 

[10spokess]

To be honest on my test drive it's quality was amazing. I do not own one yet but I am in love with the car. I've driven the chevy sonic extensively and I would say that your experiance is the first I have heard of with sputtering but gm is known to have rattles, and crappy paint. The mazda 3 quality is hands down one of the best I have felt with the 2.5 or the 2.0. The transmissions are the shinning star of this car so you will love it if you stay with the automatic.

 

[davecerv]

To be honest on my test drive it's quality was amazing. I do not own one yet but I am in love with the car. I've driven the chevy sonic extensively and I would say that your experiance is the first I have heard of with sputtering but gm is known to have rattles, and crappy paint. The mazda 3 quality is hands down one of the best I have felt with the 2.5 or the 2.0. The transmissions are the shinning star of this car so you will love it if you stay with the automatic.

Yay thanks for reading/replying to my post!
When I got the sonic it was the coolest hatchback for the price I knew of. I wasn't aware of the mazda3 redesign and advancements. I don't want to be paying for a car with crappy parts. I just want a nice good lookin' quality hatchback that will last me at least five good years. The mazda3 iGrand Touring hatch is what I would get even though it's right at my peak budget line for a car. I'm impressed by what the skyactive engine is all about but I'm also a little scared about possible long term issues with it being complex. Do direct injection engines require special treatment?

 

[cxpmaz]

Hi davecerv and welcome.

It is unlikely you will find much negativity on this forum since most of is love our 3's.

I for one was a Toyota guy. Like the reliability of my Matrix. Unfortunately, it was an automatic and not much fun to drive.

I decided my next car had to be a manual, sporty, good on gas, and especially fun to drive. My 3 meets all those requirements.

Best of luck finding your 3 if you decide to go that route. Toe, there are few cars that compare in this class.

If you can drive a stick, get it you will not be sorry.