2005 Mazda3: In the Autoblog Garage Day 4-5
It's time to wrap it up, and we will now descend into the first-person. It is utterly disappointing to see Mazda3 go.
From the moment I slid into the seat and took off, it was like reuniting with a long lost friend. What can I say; it
certainly deserves all the praise it receives in the media. After all the praise about there car's dynamics, there are
a couple items that I forgot to go over.
First, the interior has a high utility value. There are seemingly unlimited little cubby holes and compartments for
every little thing. Plus, the glove box has to be the biggest I have ever seen in a compact car. Of course, the rear
seats fold down, as usual in this class of compact wagon/hatchback. There is also a nifty compartment under the floor
in the trunk. It is very handy for storing various items like fast food condiments,
Odwalla bars, and other goodies in case a
late night romp through twisting mountain passes finds you stranded in the woods like an all-too heroic rally
driver.
Secondly, driver controls are unexpectedly good for a car in this price range. For instance, these are the best
on-wheel stereo controls that Ive run across in a long time. They integrate nicely with the wheel, and are right at
your thumb when youre running the most effective 3 oclock-9 oclock hand positing. The steering wheel is the perfect
tool for tossing the Mazda3 around, it almost seems purposefully crafted to inspire the racer in the person behind the
wheel.
Any complaints? Besides the tendency to excessively speed and the fantasy of having more top end power, Mazda3 has
little to fault. I do take issue with the instrument cluster. The IC is lit all the time, and those crimson lit digits
are hard to see in bright sunlight.
It is also important to illustrate what kind of buyer this vehicle fits. Those looking for an ultra cushy ride may
want to look else where. The Mazda has that low to the ground feeling that I relate to a seemingly long gone generation
of fun to drive Japanese cars. If you looking for a mini-Lexus, this isnt it. Otherwise, the Mazda has a solid ride,
and is reasonably comfortable. This is especially true considering the cars sporting character.
I highly recommend the Mazda3 for those who enjoy driving but are on a budget. It is a great combination of an
engaging driving experience with a high utility interior. It is a combination that is hard to beat for under $20,000.
We look forward to seeing what Mazda does with the rumored MAZDASPEED3. Check out our upcoming Autoblog Podcast 15 this
weekend for our discussion of the Mazda3 and the next vehicle in the Autoblog Garage.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John B 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
The only disappointment was when my wife bought one for herself, there was nothing I could do to persuade her to forgo the automatic for a manual transmission. That said, even the auto version is a great car. We've had it 18 months and 42,000 km. Rock solid.
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retsel 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
John B... how in gods name can you put 42000 km on a car in 18 months.... i did the math approx 77km a day... dang son... do your work on the moon...
i too love this ride... how it for people over 6'3"
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Todd W 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Great read! I've had my Strato Blue sedan for a little over 14 months now, with no complaints. I've heard a few people complain about mileage, but my car religiously gets 27mpg city and 35mpg highway (provided I can keep the speed below 75).
You are right, of course. This is a car that pratically begs to be opened up on the highway. Thankfully the cruise control works very well, or else I'd have a lot of tickets. At 6'3" I was a little worried that I'd not fit in any of the cars I went to look at, which was true of the Civic, but once I sat in the Mazda I knew I'd come home. Everyone in my family loves it and can't stop commenting about how nice a car I bought, and I can't stop singing the car's praises whenever someone asks.
Its' always nice to have random people come up to you and tell you how much they like your car. And you know what? After 14 months it's -still- happening.
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thefultonhow 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Retsel: 42,000 km in 18 months is nothing. The first year that my dad had our 2001 Subaru Forester, he put about 70,000 miles on it. That's about 115,000 km. How did he do it? A ~120 mi round-trip commute from Baltimore, MD to Northern Virginia. Then he changed jobs and was able to take public transit... the Forester currently has about 110,000 mi on it.
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JimboNC 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Loved this review. I've driven them and they are a blast. If the tires seem too noisey for you try another brand such as Kumho for a quieter, smoother ride. The OEM tires are loud and have stiff sidewalls, they wear out faster too.
Wish I could trade but my 2001 Proteg?X has only 23,740 trouble-free miles on it after four and a half years. I'm at the other end of the annual mileage thing.
The suspension on the Mazda3 is softer than on the Proteg?Mazda got rid of the hop between 30mph and 45mph over road imperfections. And the MZ3 engine (2.3) is QUIET, you simply can not hear it until speed gets up to 30mph.
For a small car with utility it exudes quality you won't find in other compacts. It's perfect as an single person's mini-SUV and weekend sports car. It's all about handling and even older drivers appreciate that. I'm 75, do I fit the buyer profile? You bet.
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Xman 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Having test drove a Mazda3 back in May, I agree with most of your review, except that I would not recommand the car. I drove a auto equipped "S" model and found two major problem areas.
First, NOTHING happens power wise until the tach hits 3000 rpm. While I'm sure the 5-spd helps with this, the auto equipped 3 is slow off the line, even with the semi-manual shifting feature.
Second, the a/c is worthless. The day of the test drive it was 83 degrees. The car was parked under a covered area for about 15 min while the salesman went over the features. Even after this, the a/c never cooled the car effectively. After 30 min of sitting in the shade/driving, I was still sweating. Apparently I'm not the only one that has noticed this, check the Mazda forums, many owners complain about this.
All in all, the Mazda3 is a good practical sports car, but only if ordered with a 5-spd and driven in a moderate climate. Needless to say, I passed on the "3".
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Bigel 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
I find the red/orange back-lighting very irritating. And yes, the trendy silver gauge faces are difficult to see in the daytime. I'm also not a big fan of the integrated stereo. If they fixed these items during the MMY refresh, I'd get one for sure.
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fleecy 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Xman
The A/C is just fine on the 3, when used the right way. Just open the windows to evacuate the hot air first, then the A/C will keep you fresh. I tend to sweat a lot in hot or humid climates, and the 3 keeps me sweat-free.
As far as your 3000 rpm remark is concerned : just turn off the gas-guzzling A/C and open the windows. You'll find the car very different at low rpm then.
Bigel : what silver gauge faces? Mine are black with backlit red lettering. The gray border doesn't interfere at all in daytime, and has that nice blue glow at night. Very legible.
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Xman 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
fleecy
Well I appreciate you pov, but the 3 I drove had it's doors opened for a few minutes while the A/C was on, so the hot air had plenty of time to evacuate. By the way the A/C was on Max and recirculate modes. I've heard that some 3's have properly working A/C some don't. Shouldn't all of them, like yours apparently, work well? Besides, after sitting under a covered area for 15 min's in ONLY 83 degree heat, the car should have been cold inside. It wasn't.
As to your second point, "turn off the gas-guzzling A/C and open the windows", your kidding right? Where I live we get 90+ degree weather for a good part of the year. My commute leaves me in bumper-to-bumper traffic going and coming from work. Unless you love the heat, you'd be miserable seating in any car under those conditions. All modern cars should have tractable power throughout it's rev-band without having to turn the A/C off. What's next, make sure any passengers I have don't excede a certain weight limit so that the engine doesn't have to work so hard? The 3 has a good engine, put I expected more out of 160hp/150 torque.
As for saving gas, the cost in minimal and not worth sweating to get it, in my opinion. Heck, my first car, a '74 Plymouth Duster, had better A/C then the 3 I drove.
To me, the A/C and low-end torque issues are problems that Mazda needs to address. In fact, I read that they've formed a group to address the complaints of American customers. What was one of the first complaints they are to address? You guessed it, weak A/C in ALL their cars.
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Peter W. 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Xman: Welcome to the wonderful world of the sub-20K Japanese sporty compact car (as opposed to sports car). The only place you will find low-end torque in the 4-cyls in a much pricer European import or a guzzly domestic. At least the Mazda3s is better than most: you can coast on idle up an incline in first gear without feeding it gas. But you're not gonna get the same power from an equivalently priced Civic, Corolla, Matrix, Sentra, Reno, Cobalt, Elantra, or Golf.
Sorry you had a bad test drive experience. I imagine this was 2004 when the Maz3 first came out and some of them arrived at the dealer in need of a freon charge. Needless to say there have been countless TSB's surrounding the A/C and most of the complaints on the mazda forums are "This A/C is just adequate when my old _____ used to freeze me to death...". Most everyone stopped complaining after getting tips for how to evacuate all the hot air from an all-black interior. Most of the people who got to park in garages commented that they never had a problem.
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md 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Xman, I would venture to guess that you have not experienced AC in a lot of 4 cylinder cars. That compressor will suck a lot more juice out of a 4 banger than a I/V6 or V8. I don't recall ever riding in a 4 cylinder car with ice cold AC to battle our 90+ degree high humidity summer days. I don't like cars that are gutless at the low end either, but the Mazda3 should not be approached as an inexpensive sports car, that is the Miata, it should be approached as a compact tailored for drivers. When you look at it that way, it is miles ahead of any other entry level compact offered in the U.S. Maybe you should check out a Mustang.
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Xman 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Peter W./md
The car I test drove was a white, 2005 model.
As for the A/C working better in a garage parked car, that's great assuming you have a garage (I do), but what happens when you park the car outside for an extended period of time, like at work?
And yes, I am experianced with 4-cyl cars. In fact I've owned just about everything at one time or another, from 4-cyl's to V8's. And while it's true that most 4-cyl cars have problems with cold A/C and have gutless low-end power, not all do and you don't have to spend a fortune for it either.
The point I'm trying to bring out is this, shouldn't we as the consumer expect the manufacturers to build cars that don't have this issues? If your buying a 150/160hp car, shouldn't it perform well regardless of transmission choice and wither or not the A/C is on? I'm not talking Corvette or Mustang performance here, just good usable power for everyday driving. Shouldn't we expect to get a car that has A/C that actually works and keeps you cool even in 90+ degree climates? Of course we can vote with our wallets, which I did.
Anyway, I did find a 4-cyl car that has good engine performance and ice-cold A/C...a Scion TC. It has great low-end and mid-range power for everyday driving. No, it's not a sports car, but it's not supposed to be. I gets 23mpg city as opposed to the Mazda's 24mpg. Yes, the Mazda has a nicer interior and sportier handling, but at least I'm nice and cool in the TC. The A/C cools off the cabin immediately (even when it's been sitting in the hot sun for 8 or so hours) and actually gets so cold that you have to turn it down after a few minutes. It's able to do this in spite of the all glass (tinted) roof and with little loss of engine power. I know some owners have had issues with this cars A/C also, but mine works like a charm. Apparently it's the same for the Mazda too, some are fine others not so fine. Of course, if you need a 4-door/5-door car, then the TC isn't a good choice. But, for the price, it's hard to beat, in my opinon.
Again, I would have loved buying the Mazda, but I just couldn't see being stuck in traffic in 90+ degree days with an A/C unit that struggles to keep up with the heat.
Anyway, glad to hear you guys are enjoying your Mazda3's, good luck to you all!
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Jaymez 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
"I don't recall ever riding in a 4 cylinder car with ice cold AC to battle our 90+ degree high humidity summer days."
I had a '90 Cavalier with the 2.2L four banger. The air in that thing was so cold it could easily frost my windows in 90 heat.
This review has highlighted so many reason why I'd never buy this car, it isn't funny. Tiny compartments, steering wheel controls, intergrated stereo, etc. I could go on but I don't feel like it. Piss on Mazda.
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fleecy 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Jaymez : so you won't buy any car with steering wheel-mounted controls? You're allergic, or something?
The "integrated" stereo is easily removable, and aftermarket faceplate/bracket combos do exist at reasonable prices. A simple look at Mazda3-oriented forums should have pointed that to you.
As far as storage goes, this car has many large ones. Two inside the center armrest, one in each door (w/ bottle holders there too), a huge glovebox (big enough for two stacked Apple iBooks) and extra compartments under the cargo floor. What's wrong about this?
Xman : I guess that I would look at frosty A/C at slow speeds as a necessity if I wanted to buy a car to burn expensive gas stuck on the highway at 2 mph for hours every day, like you do. Or maybe I would look at alternative means of transportation to get to work, like commuter trains, carpool. Maybe I would move closer to my work, or find work closer to where I live. Who knows?
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John B 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Retsel:
Good math. Easy - just drive back and forth between Toronto and Montreal every six weeks or so. 1,100 km round trip plus ancillary driving. Geez - where do you live?
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John B 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Retsel:
Good math. Easy - just drive back and forth between Toronto and Montreal every six weeks or so. 1,100 km round trip plus ancillary driving. Geez - where do you live?
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JustJase 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
I've owned seven 4-cylinder cars in my life and most have had adequate A/C to cool the hot, humid Georgia summers. One trait they all shared was that the A/C robs power from the car when it kicks in. No exception! It's a trade-off all 4-cylinder drivers understand and have learned to accept.
People talk a about rolling down the windows and turning off the A/C to save fuel. Does it occur to you how significantly the additional drag of open windows decreases fuel economy? Studies have been done on the subject, look one up if you're interested.
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Xman 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
fleecy
Your comments to me are absurd and have nothing to do with this discussion. Once again, I like the Mazda3, except for it's lack of low-end torque and lousy A/C, at least in the car I test drove.
You like your "3"? Great.
You don't mind driving with the A/C off to save a few cents? Terrific.
But, taking cheap shots at other posters is neither great or terrific. It's juvenile. Please stick to the subject matter and leave the personal insults out. Thanks.
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murse 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
Actually, there is a service bulletin for the A/C. Some early cars had a problem with it not getting cold enough.
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CFC 10:45PM (12/18/2005)
I've had my 2006 Mazda3 (manual, 2.3) for 2 weeks now. Not much has changed from the 2005. So far no complaints, just pure driving pleasure. I highly recommend test-driving one if you are looking at similar cars like Jettas or Civics. We were deadset on getting a Jetta until we tested the Mazda3 and were blown away.
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