Mazda 3

"yitznewton" (yitznewton)
08/08/2016 at 10:08 • Filed to: daily drivers

Started looking into a job that would require 120 highway miles per day, and not wanting to put that kind of mileage on the S2000, or spend that much time in a wind tunnel. After scratching my head for a while, seems like the Mazda 3 s Grand Touring with manual is one of the best possibilities. Anyone here have the 2.5?

Deep Crystal Blue with this two-tone leather looks pretty snazzy.

Other stuff I was thinking about:

Acura TL (used)

GTI 4-door S 6MT with PP (similar price point)

Camaro V6 RS, 370Z Sport (a bit more)

230i with M-Sport (more still)

DISCUSSION (41)

Your boy, BJR > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:13

Camarooooo

jjhats > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:14

I don’t recommend a new car for commuting unless your company is paying for it. bigger issue for me is how you are driving so much for work every day. why not just find a place closer to work?

yitznewton > Your boy, BJR
08/08/2016 at 10:14

Heh. From all the reviews it sounds like Camaro is one of the most yitznewton cars currently being made, from an engineering point of view. It also happens to shoot way wide of my preferred aesthetic. But I wouldn’t not buy it because of that, if it turned out to be as good as people are saying.

yitznewton > jjhats
08/08/2016 at 10:16

Metro New York problems maybe? It’s a director-level position, and it doesn’t seem unreasonable when I compare to what my friends are doing.

Agreed about the new car thing, I would most likely be seeking a few-years-old copy.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:19

Do not get those seats, unless you’re willing to put a lot of maintenance and cleaning in them, or never wear dark trousers again.

Your boy, BJR > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:20

The others are just a couple of hatchbacks (yawn) and a small BMW (double yawn)

For Sweden > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:20

Used Acura tbqpfhf

Where have all the lightweights gone? > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:21

I have a ‘13 3 with the Skyactiv motor. It’s peppy enough to make onramp acceleration fun, and I average around 34mpg on both highway and city driving.

yitznewton > For Sweden
08/08/2016 at 10:21

to be quite... perfectly... hufflepuff?

yitznewton > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
08/08/2016 at 10:22

I always drive nekkid

yitznewton > Out, but with a W - has found the answer
08/08/2016 at 10:23

C&D likes it at least

http://blog.caranddriver.com/the-best-car-i…

Rico > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:27

I’d say if your goal is gas mileage then shoot for the Mazda.

For Sweden > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:27

to be quite perfectly frankly honest fam

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:28

It is a great interior, but I’ve seen it in a CX-3 at an auto show (great way to see a couple of months/years worth of wear and tear in a few days), and it was blue instead of white.

P5guy now GTIguy > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:28

There is someone on here who just bought the exact car you have pictured, I even thought you were him at first.

yitznewton > P5guy now GTIguy
08/08/2016 at 10:29

To the searches!

crowmolly > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:33

How I’d narrow it down:

1.) Which one has the best seats/best interior?

2.) Which one will give you the most trouble-free miles?

3.) Which one gets the most fuel economy?

I do about 80 miles a day and to be blunt I could give two shits if the car is “fun”, it has to get me to work and not beat me up too bad doing so.

yitznewton > crowmolly
08/08/2016 at 10:38

Yeah, the trouble-free miles is a big one and has me skeptically eyeing the BMW. That, and the fact that it’s the most expensive, makes it kind of an afterthought.

Nerd-Vol > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:38

I have the 2016 2.0 with a 6mt. I love it. I’ve also spent extensive time in the 2.5 and the extra umph is nice but not enough to regret my choice.

I will say that the 2.5L car is a bit thirsty and tougher to get the epa figures out of.

Buy it!

Also, good luck finding a used one. The MT has only been an option on the 2015 and 2016 thus far and they did not build a whole bunch.

crowmolly > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:41

I have to replace my Passat TDI (turning in this fall) and I am not sure what to go with at this point. Haven’t really run the numbers yet, but I may go back to gas if the savings aren’t there over the course of a year.

Two Js > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:46

I was in a similar situation last Summer, and I wound up buying a new 2015 Mazda 3 iSport hatch. I wish I stepped up to an s trim because the 2.0 has very little low-end torque, and the gauge cluster in the the s trims is an even bigger deal than the extra power the engine has.

Heres the s trim cluster, notice the big center tachometer and easy to read digital speedometer:

Kinja'd!!!

The i trim’s cluster, note the lame digital tachometer off to the left, and the center analog speedometer that is hard to read when its between the numbers if you take a quick glance while driving.

Kinja'd!!!

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:50

What kind of traffic will you be driving in? No stop & go?

I'd pick the Acura.

yitznewton > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
08/08/2016 at 10:52

I haven’t dry-run it yet; it’s a “reverse” commute and from the time estimates, doesn’t look like full stop-and-go. Good point, though.

jjhats > Two Js
08/08/2016 at 10:53

this would bug the crap out of me. that tach is tiny

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 10:55

Acura TL seems like a great choice for that task! Honda reliability and some luxury comfort. Definitely go used though with a bunch of miles on anything you get for that purpose. No point in buying something expensive with low miles and depreciating the hell out of it by commuting. It doesn’t really have to be reliable either since you could take the s2k in a pinch if needed. Comfort and maybe gas mileage are the only concerns to care about.

Best option is probably like a mid 2000s Japanese car (Acura is a good choice I think). Although finding a manual could prove more difficult if that is something you care about.

pjhusa > crowmolly
08/08/2016 at 11:01

Off the top of my head, how about a 328d?

bhtooefr > crowmolly
08/08/2016 at 11:17

Which makes me wonder if I should recommend my choice of daily driver as an option.

2016 Prius.

Comfortable, mindblowing fuel economy, and Toyota reliability. And, the handling is even pretty decent. (Keep in mind that my other car is a Miata, so I know what good handling is.) It ain’t fast, but it gets off the line decently in city traffic, and the faux CVT responds quickly.

And, as yitznewton mentioned metro New York... the hybrid will help a lot with stop and go.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 11:23

I got the 2014 Mazda3 s (2.5) auto Grand Touring sedan for my wife. I really enjoy driving it, and we had very good reliability from our previous Mazda3. I recommend it. The 2.0 was fine, but not as responsive, as would be expected, and the 2.5 seems to still return good fuel economy. I don’t like how the hatchback looks, and we already had one, but I still seriously considered getting another for myself.

Even now that I have my 2016 GTI, when it was getting bumper repair work done, driving the Mazda3 was very enjoyable . . . but not quite as fun as the GTI with PP. Of course, I have rolled the dice on reliability with the GTI.

crowmolly > pjhusa
08/08/2016 at 11:43

That is actually #1 on the list. Just need to find one!

crowmolly > bhtooefr
08/08/2016 at 11:44

The Prius is on my list as well. Just wasn’t sure how they were for long-term ownership as I haven’t really researched them yet.

bhtooefr > crowmolly
08/08/2016 at 11:58

As far as I’m aware, the big failure point to worry about is the battery, and especially in high mileage applications, they seem to do quite well long term - time is the bigger killer than mileage. Use the AC in summer, because if you’re not comfortable, the battery’s not comfortable. (It uses cabin air for cooling from Gen 2 on.)

I’ve heard of a couple of cases of the 2ZR-FXE engine in the Gen 3 Prius (Gen 4 uses a new version of the 2ZR-FXE) having head gasket failures, but it doesn’t seem that common.

The transmissions, ever since Gen 2, seem to be pretty bulletproof - and, I mean, there’s nothing in there that’s designed to slip, so wear doesn’t really happen. (Gen 1s had problems where they’d burn up the MG2 stator, although even that’s not bad to fix nowadays.) Mechanically, I’d say the Prius transmission (and other single-speed power split gearboxes like the rest of the Toyota line, the FWD Lexus hybrids, the rest-of-world IS/RC/GS 300h (the GS 450h and LS 600h are two-speed power splits), and the Ford hybrids) is the simplest transmission out there, actually. That said, consensus on PriusChat is that it’s not a bad idea to change the transmission fluid after 15,000 miles or so, to clear the manufacturing debris.

And, I mean, now that they don’t suck to drive, with the Gen 4...

Oh, and so far, I’m averaging 54 MPG via the pen and paper method, based on my first two tanks, that’s mixed between 10 mile round trip commutes and longer trips. It’s rare that the display shows less than 50 mpg on a trip (typically short hops on a hot day will do it, though - cooling down the cabin kills fuel economy, but once it’s cool, it stays cool). The current tank is looking to be a good one so far, though.

crowmolly > bhtooefr
08/08/2016 at 12:03

Thanks so much for a well thought-out post!

If I may, what do you figure the maintenance costs to look like over time? Are there any big expenses?

As an example, my DSG service is not cheap right now so I make sure to plan for it.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 12:04

I have a 2006 (much older) Mazda 3 2.0i. Frankly it’s the best car I’ve ever had. Still over 30 mpg and a hoot to drive when the road gets twisty. The Acura/Accord would also be nice but maybe not as tossible as the Mazda.

pjhusa > crowmolly
08/08/2016 at 12:19

Or you can also try the 330e. It’s a plug-in hybrid and gets around 72 MPGe, IIRC. I'm pretty sure that it's cheaper than the 328d, as the plug-in hybrid status makes it eligible for a $4000 federal tax credit, and it can travel for 22 miles on electric power alone.

bhtooefr > crowmolly
08/08/2016 at 12:44

For standard service (basically, that means not regularly on dirt roads, towing, using a rooftop carrier, heavily loading the car, short tripping (sub-5 mi) below freezing, or heavy stop and go like in police, taxi, or delivery service), it looks like this:

Change oil (0W20 synthetic) every 10,000 miles (5,000 under the severe conditions)

Change filters every 30,000

Change coolant every 100,000

Change spark plugs every 120,000 (edit: actually, I think this might be 150,000, as the Prius is a PZEV vehicle, and PZEV gets to go to 150,000 before spark plugs are replaced - this maintenance schedule is for all 2016 Toyotas, not just the Prius, I believe)

If you do tow (which Toyota doesn’t even allow in the US...), use a rooftop carrier, or heavily load the vehicle regularly, change the transmission fluid every 60,000.

Really, pretty simple. Everything else is inspections or things like rotating tires. And, Toyota ATF WS (the spec fluid) is cheaper than DSG fluid, I believe, if you do need to change it.

yitznewton > jjhats
08/08/2016 at 13:11

Yeah, savagegeese on YouTube had this car for a couple years with that tach, brought it up as an annoyance in his farewell review.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 13:21

I would not buy a Mazda3 for that commute without trying it on a test drive. I’ve had a 3 as a rental and found those seats uncomfortable for anything more than short trips. You know what other hatchback has roughly 200 hp, gets around 30 mpg, has super comfy seats, is available with a manual, and costs pretty much the same? Juke Nismo. You owe it to yourself to check one out if you're considering a 3. I've driven both and find the Juke more fun and more comfortable.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/08/2016 at 14:59

There was a definite difference in the seats between the i and the s (or at least, there was in 2014). Both me and my wife could tell the difference when shopping. I have driven the s for multiple hours straight with no issues. Do you know if your rental was an i (as I would assume)?

Since we are on the topic, and elsewhere someone recommended a Prius, I hated my 2011 Prius seats after the first 1000 miles, would not recommend. Big reason why it is already replaced.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/08/2016 at 15:18

Good point - it was an i Sport. Hopefully the seats in the s would be better. In photos they appear to have the same thickness & bolstering, but always hard to tell from a distance what differences there are between trims... some manufacturers use totally different seats and others just stick different upholstery on the same seats.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
08/08/2016 at 15:27

Supposedly the only difference was the material, but it certainly felt like different cushioning. Maybe better tension in the leather versus the faux-leather.

Long Live the Longdoor > yitznewton
08/08/2016 at 17:57

Honda Accord Coupe.

Great seats, plenty of room (actual humans with legs fit comfortably the back), reliable, still fun to toss into a corner. I have a 2015 with the CVT and I like it a lot; though the manual in both the I4 and the V6 is sublime.

Kinja'd!!!