Comments on: Mazda3 Review & Road Test

By: bob

bob — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:41:55 +0000

I’ve never understood the parking sensor thing. I’ve never scratched a bumper parking. I guess its another toy to allow people to get away with just not paying attention while driving.

By: bob

bob — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:37:25 +0000

Actually, providing your vehicle is serviced by a licenced mechanic and according to the service schedule, then the manufactuer cannot get out of warranty claims. Having the appropriate computer and updates helps give the dealer a competitive edge.

Of course, as per your wager, that doesn’t stop them trying it on. A VW salesman attempted to tell me the other week that if the vehicle was serviced anywhere apart from THAT dealership my warranty would be instantly void. What Rubbish.

By: Ted

Ted — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 09:51:58 +0000

On the weekend I drove both the SP25 and the Maxx Sport both auto. I found the Maxx Sport to be lively with more throttle response and quit inside. Ths SP25 sounded like a front load washing machine and I do not think the extra 3K is worth it for the SP25 – only thing I would like in the Maxx Sport would be the Auto A/C. The SP25 did not feel any quicker than the SP25 and this may be dues to the it being near 80kg heavier that the Maxx Sport. I think that Mazda needs to reduce litre size and add turbo / supercharger to smaller, fuel efficent engines – I also think that Mazda makes excellent Rotary motors and many years ago, I have a hand full of rotary models. (put a rotary in the 3) If Mazda made piston engines like Honda, then we would have a nice package.

Thoughts anybody.

Ted

By: maz6

maz6 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:20:36 +0000

aj555 says:
July 11, 2009 at 7:12 pm
After dropping the 6 in for it’s six monthly service (don’t get me started on that)

As a new Mazda 6 owner, just wondering if you would share what you meant earlier here or is it on the Mazda 6 thread – apologies I know this is about Mazda 3, but am very curious to know what your cars problems are, how old it is etc etc, if you have already shared this on a thread in Mazda 6 review, pls tell me which one

By: Allan

Allan — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:39:22 +0000

I’m sure you can look up a map as well

By: Carfanatic

Carfanatic — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:32:51 +0000

you say that now, wait till you run into something while you are parking.

By: May Steel

May Steel — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:31:10 +0000

I have had my SP25 3 months now I had the front park sensors installed and they are crap Mazda have had the car back 3 times trying to fix them and now tell me that there is nothing wrong with them (as they cant fix them) they beep almost every time you stop at traffic lights for no reason, totally useless and a waste of money…

By: ZoomZoom

ZoomZoom — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:14:07 +0000

Sure it may not have those features, (although the MPS has those and a lot more) but it comes with useful features that the other don’t have, such as sat nav standard on half the models. The other cars in this class have to pay at least $2000 for this and some don’t even offer it as an option. Auto wipers, auto lights, are these features that make you wanna buy a car? You can do all of these manually.

By: my1stgolf

my1stgolf — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:59:13 +0000

just out of curiosity….have you actually driven both cars in question?
I have just spent over a month deciding between the Mazda sp25 and the Golf 118 TSI and while it was not an easy decision as both cars have their + & -, I ended up choosing the Golf because it was a more refined car to drive, more powerful in low range especially with 240Nm torque, hugged the road nicely and evenly weighted in the steering due to speed sensitive power steering.
I am not knocking the Mazda 3 as it certainly is more eye candy in the looks department, well I am not totally in love with the front lower half, but I figured once I was inside the car, the driving experience was more important to me
and the “heated” leather seats are what I already had so wasnt prepared to go with the option of leather un-heated as in the case of Mazda, real shame this wasnt an option with Mazda.
I also felt the steering to be very light in the Mazda, but no doubt you would get used to this.
I believe the Mazda to be more of a fun drive and the Golf more of a refined drive…this is my personal opinion after test driving them both 5 times a piece.
If I did not have the new Golf to choose from, I would have definitely brought the sp 25

Oh and by the way….the Golf 118 TSI gets to 100km/h in 8 seconds, not 9.5 as you reported

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:07:51 +0000

Correct me if i’m wrong but when are mazda going to get the toys in the high end models that most other manufacturers have? Smart key start and entry, auto wipers, auto lights, electro-chromatic rear view mirror. Even the corolla has all these in the ZR

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:48:45 +0000

Always liked the look of the old SP23, they look great on the road .. but this new SP25 I think looks pretty aweful from any angle especially that ridiculous “smiley” front end! .. maybe it’s just laughing at itself?

I just couldn’t bring myself to drive one of these, they look terrible!

Come to think of it I’m struggling to think of any Jap built car these days that doesn’t look disastrous!

By: Neo Utopia

Neo Utopia — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:40:13 +0000

The Volkswagen Golf with the 1.4 twin charged engine used 26% less fuel and emits 27% less carbon dioxide while providing a similar 0 to 100 time (9.5 seconds versus the 3’s 8.? time. But I aggree, the 3 looks more interesting than the Golf, it is probably a bit more dynamic to drive as well. People who like a more conservative looking car and car more about climate change should look at a Golf, while people who are less conservative and don’t care about climate change as much should be happy with the 3.

By: No to Smiley

No to Smiley — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:11:53 +0000

Like the old one better. That front end is a big turn off. I laugh when I see one on the road. I think it’s better than the Corolla though. I class Corollas as whitegoods on wheels. The interiors on Toyotas are boring as.
As for the comments on the child safety points, the KIA Cerato Hatch has all 3 located behind the seats. Therefore, you don’t loose boot space while placing your baby capsule in the safest spot in the car. And you can pick one of them up for less than $18,000 drive away if you shop around. Save your money and your kid at the same time.

By: Unhappy 3

Unhappy 3 — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:10:24 +0000

Have had an SP25 for a month.
It sucks petrol like it going out of fashion 12.6l (our other car a BMW325i E90 9.6l)
Main gripe THE FRONT PARKING SENSORS ARE USELESS they only have 2 sensors & only work “on objects on the kerb” (Mazda Australia quote)and the use of that is? Pretty poor Mazda!
On servicing our BMW has cost $1200 over 4 years 2 year 30K – $600, 4 year 60K – $600 at a BMW Dealer.
Maybe Mazda’s are like Inkjet Printers – pay nothing for the printer & then sting you on the consumables!

By: Fred says

Fred says — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:02:15 +0000

My wifes Mazda 3 40 k service was $600 + . Way over priced. My 1997 80 series diesel majors were a similar cost ,admittedly that was 12 years ago. Apart from that and the road noise on rough roads ,the Mazda 3 diesel is a gem. Drove the latest 3 with that face ,an auto, and cannot compare the 2 cars. The new petrol engined 3 needed a bag full of revs to move off the line with any speed,the steering was way too light and the interior styling was below par. The turbo diesel would eat it for breakfast Why has Mazda been so quiet about the diesel 3?

By: Devil's Advocate

Devil's Advocate — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:54:13 +0000

Correct Ted. However the review was of the SP25, so when comparing it to the previous version of the equivalent model, the review is still incorrect saying the 6 speed manual in the test car replaces the old 5 speed. On a side note, the 3 Diesel also had a 6 speed manual. :-)

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:05:49 +0000

The 3 always, including last year had a 4 speed auto, withnthe exception of the SP23.

By: Ron

Ron — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:45:56 +0000

When the Corolla is released towards the end of this year with the 2 litre and 5 speed Auto, this will be a better car than what it is now, however will it be able to match the Maxx Sport 2 litre. The KW would have to be somewhere near 115 and NM would have to be around 200 – a better car than the ’slow’ current 1.8 Corolla.

By: Martin

Martin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:30:05 +0000

ANTI-SPAM: Mazda

I think I would rather the KIA Cerato Koup, 129kw on the 2.4L. I just can’t get past the big smiley grille on the 3.

By: crouchy

crouchy — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:56:00 +0000

¡puɐʇs pɐǝɥ pǝpuǝʇxǝ sıɥʇ ɯoɹɟ punoɹɐ uɹnʇ ǝɯ ʇǝl ʍou ¡ǝlqıɹɹǝʇ sʞool ɹǝɥʇɐǝl ʇɐɥʇ puɐ ǝɯ ɹoɟ ɥƃnouǝ ƃuıʞɐǝɹqpunoɹƃ ʇusı ʇsnɾ ɹoıɹǝʇuı ǝɥʇ ɯɯɯɥ