Rockin03mp5
Member
- :
- '13 Mazda3 / '13 Edge / Your Mom
So, while the P5 was at the dealer for a transmission flush, I went to look at the new 3s.
At this time they only had sedans, but i still wanted to check em out.
Smile!
U will notice, they got rid of the 2.5 badge on the side of the car, and put it on the back. Now there is one less badge to remove!
One thing I thought was funny, was that on the sport, with the 2.0, they gave it a chrome strip on the front. You can tell that the front smiley grill is a bit different too.
So, since the dealership here is so awesome, they let me take the top of the line grand touring out for a test drive. It was this one. I like the dark red. It had everything. The tiny nav, 10 speaker bose stereo, 3 memory heated seats, push button start, 6 speed manual trans. I mean everything!
Ok, now for my review.
The good:
The 2.5 is nice. Ive heard that it is unrefined, but i thought it was smooth, and strong. Whooops my p5 all over the place. Since it was new, only 10 miles on it, i didnt take it to redline, but did get to about 5.5k, and it was strong all the way and wanting more.
The transmission is smooth shifting as well. I had no problem finding all 6 gears, and did eventually figure out how to find reverse. (push down on the stick a little bit) I thought it was better than the 6 speed in the rx-8 that i drove.
The seats were very comfortable, and the heaters worked really well. It was only 25 degrees out, so they were needed. They had good support, and i could sit way back because of the telescoping stearing wheel.
The ride was nice and smooth, yet still zoom zoom. Not harsh like my p5. Seemed a lot like the older 3 i had driven a while back. Not a lot of body roll, and took the bad MI roads like a champ.
The interiour looks nice, we will leave it at that.
I like the look of the rear. The dual exhaust, though pointless in a 4, adds a bit of class and symmetry, that i like. The led tails are a nice touch. They also got rid of the shorty antenna, and added a little fin antenna. Looks good.
Now the not so good.
With my ability to sit far back, there was little space behind me for rear passengers. I'm only 6 feet tall, but i have kinda long legs, and long arms so i like to sit back. At this position, the e-brake was hard to reach. It is on the far right of the cupholders, which are right behind the stick.
That is another thing. If you put anything in the cupholders, you block the stick. Very stupid. That was the first thing my wife did, was put her water bottle in the cup holder, and it made it impossible to rest your arm with your hand on the stick for ready shifting.
Now the transmission was very smooth, but the clutch took a lot of travel to catch, and the gear ratio was too close. That is my one peave about mazdas in general. Even in 6th, it was at about 3.1k rpms at 75 mph. That is only a little lower than my p5 is in 4th! WTF? With the added power, they could have stretched out the gears a little more to give a better mileage on the highway. Since i drive mostly interstate miles, this is a big deal to me.
Now if you look at the interior picture, you can see just how may fricken buttons they put on the stearing wheel. Holy crap! I'm gonna push all sorts of random things all of the time! Also, right to the left of the "zoom zoom" is the tiny nav screen. It is a little small, and hard to read way up there. I understand why they did it, to keep costs down, but it is useless really. Plus we couldnt figure out how to use it in the 10 minutes we were driving it.
Conclusion:
It is a mixed bag. I really havent driven the first gen 3 to see the real differences.
The looks will turn people away. You either like it, or love it.
The power is very adequate with the 2.5, but the mileage probably wont be there.
Lots of gadgets, so lots to go wrong.
Maybe I'm just a more simple person, or maybe i know you can get better stereos and navs for less.
If you like the look, be sure test drive all of the kinds. I'm interested to see how the 5-speed manual and auto feel. The car doesnt need 6 speeds, since it doesnt give you better mileage anyways, just more shifts.
So, basically, I will wait and see if the 2 comes here. Or for the new speed3.
At this time they only had sedans, but i still wanted to check em out.
Smile!
U will notice, they got rid of the 2.5 badge on the side of the car, and put it on the back. Now there is one less badge to remove!
One thing I thought was funny, was that on the sport, with the 2.0, they gave it a chrome strip on the front. You can tell that the front smiley grill is a bit different too.
So, since the dealership here is so awesome, they let me take the top of the line grand touring out for a test drive. It was this one. I like the dark red. It had everything. The tiny nav, 10 speaker bose stereo, 3 memory heated seats, push button start, 6 speed manual trans. I mean everything!
Ok, now for my review.
The good:
The 2.5 is nice. Ive heard that it is unrefined, but i thought it was smooth, and strong. Whooops my p5 all over the place. Since it was new, only 10 miles on it, i didnt take it to redline, but did get to about 5.5k, and it was strong all the way and wanting more.
The transmission is smooth shifting as well. I had no problem finding all 6 gears, and did eventually figure out how to find reverse. (push down on the stick a little bit) I thought it was better than the 6 speed in the rx-8 that i drove.
The seats were very comfortable, and the heaters worked really well. It was only 25 degrees out, so they were needed. They had good support, and i could sit way back because of the telescoping stearing wheel.
The ride was nice and smooth, yet still zoom zoom. Not harsh like my p5. Seemed a lot like the older 3 i had driven a while back. Not a lot of body roll, and took the bad MI roads like a champ.
The interiour looks nice, we will leave it at that.
I like the look of the rear. The dual exhaust, though pointless in a 4, adds a bit of class and symmetry, that i like. The led tails are a nice touch. They also got rid of the shorty antenna, and added a little fin antenna. Looks good.
Now the not so good.
With my ability to sit far back, there was little space behind me for rear passengers. I'm only 6 feet tall, but i have kinda long legs, and long arms so i like to sit back. At this position, the e-brake was hard to reach. It is on the far right of the cupholders, which are right behind the stick.
That is another thing. If you put anything in the cupholders, you block the stick. Very stupid. That was the first thing my wife did, was put her water bottle in the cup holder, and it made it impossible to rest your arm with your hand on the stick for ready shifting.
Now the transmission was very smooth, but the clutch took a lot of travel to catch, and the gear ratio was too close. That is my one peave about mazdas in general. Even in 6th, it was at about 3.1k rpms at 75 mph. That is only a little lower than my p5 is in 4th! WTF? With the added power, they could have stretched out the gears a little more to give a better mileage on the highway. Since i drive mostly interstate miles, this is a big deal to me.
Now if you look at the interior picture, you can see just how may fricken buttons they put on the stearing wheel. Holy crap! I'm gonna push all sorts of random things all of the time! Also, right to the left of the "zoom zoom" is the tiny nav screen. It is a little small, and hard to read way up there. I understand why they did it, to keep costs down, but it is useless really. Plus we couldnt figure out how to use it in the 10 minutes we were driving it.
Conclusion:
It is a mixed bag. I really havent driven the first gen 3 to see the real differences.
The looks will turn people away. You either like it, or love it.
The power is very adequate with the 2.5, but the mileage probably wont be there.
Lots of gadgets, so lots to go wrong.
Maybe I'm just a more simple person, or maybe i know you can get better stereos and navs for less.
If you like the look, be sure test drive all of the kinds. I'm interested to see how the 5-speed manual and auto feel. The car doesnt need 6 speeds, since it doesnt give you better mileage anyways, just more shifts.
So, basically, I will wait and see if the 2 comes here. Or for the new speed3.
