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- 2019 Mazda3 AWD Hatchback
I completely agree. I owned a redesigned 2013 Rav4 Limited and after an accident, ended up buying a CX-9. I was a lifetime Toyota driver. Now I realize the Rav4 was a "dependable POS."
The Toyota started up every morning and got me point A to point B with no issues. However, the cheap plastic, rattling interior, appaling infotainment system, harsh suspension, hard seats and lackluster engine performance were negatives. The Limited line didn't even have real leather seats.
Of course, the blame is on me for buying the Rav4 to begin with. Honestly, I had a truly blind, ignorant allegiance to a car company that used to make higher quality cars. At that time, Mazda was never on my radar. It wasn't until after the wreck that I started deeply exploring other car brands. I'm so glad I did! ����
Nothing wrong with brand loyalty. It's not like you go out and buy a new car every day (not most of us, anyway) -- it's a big purchase, and usually your most reliable information is your own experience. If you've had good experience with a brand and you've been happy with your purchases, deep research and curiosity are the only things that would drive you away. Even with a good test drive, you just don't know everything about how a vehicle will perform for you day to day until you've used it day to day.
I'm on my second Mazda now, and there's a very good chance there will be a third in a few years, because these two have been great. Before that I had three MINI's, which might have been more had the 2013 Paceman not been one of the worst vehicles I'd ever owned. But that's the way it goes -- one bad apple just soured me on the whole brand.