"nostradimas" (nostradimas1)
06/16/2015 at 00:50 • Filed to: None
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"nostradimas" (nostradimas1)
06/16/2015 at 00:50 • Filed to: None | 1
| 20 |
Mazda 3 2.0 sedan vs Mini cooper Hardtop 2 door ? Drove the Mazda around a neighborhood, didn’t have the chance to hustle it around corners and really work it, but the experience was alright. Heard the Mini was great and I would love the smaller size (for parallel parking in Manhattan), haven’t driven it. Assuming the Mini is about 30 more dollars a month for a lease, is it worth it? Also assuming both cars are brand new.
Have my wallpaper for your troubles
HammerheadFistpunch
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 00:57 |
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Cooper, not “S”right?
Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 01:05 |
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Both are great. Mini will probably be more expensive to run though, but it’s a hoot to drive.
boxrocket
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 01:13 |
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The mini isn’t much smaller than the 3 anymore. The old new-Mini’s feel like a skateboard or go-kart, in good and bad ways, and suffer BMW electronics in a premium-compact price point. The new ones are apparently bigger and heavier and have lost a lot of character.
I’d recommend the Mazda. Not much difference in size, more practical (and more doors), looks better, handles and drives well. The 2.0 is probably OK in a city like Manhattan, though here in the Midwest I recommend the 2.5.
TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 01:59 |
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The MINI, is it an S?
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nostradimas
> HammerheadFistpunch
06/16/2015 at 02:36 |
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Nope, just a base model 1.5L
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nostradimas
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
06/16/2015 at 02:36 |
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Nope just a 1.5
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nostradimas
> boxrocket
06/16/2015 at 02:37 |
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Exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
Mike
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 04:38 |
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I drive a 2010 Mazda 3 s hatch (with the 2.5L engine). It has a few flaws - mostly with the interior - but it’s mostly a great car. Certainly handles beautifully for a cheap FWD econobox on shitty rubber. Fun little car, all things considered.
ReaperChief
> Mike
06/16/2015 at 05:58 |
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Econobox? It’s a compact car and 2,5 liters is a lot on a car..
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Mike
> ReaperChief
06/16/2015 at 07:12 |
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I don’t use it as a derogatory term. It’s a small, cheap hatchback whose primary purpose in life is getting one around while spending as little as possible to do so. And I have to say, it sorta sucks at that bit. It’s reliable enough, and it sure as hell was cheap, but that *big* 2.5L absolutely guzzles gas for what’s still a little I4. I average 24 MPG, while my late FG2 Civic could do 41 MPG with the same driver under the same conditions.
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ReaperChief
> Mike
06/16/2015 at 07:25 |
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That’s why for our friend here a 2.0 or even a 1.6, if there is one for sale in America, might be a better choice..
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 07:28 |
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My 3 was pretty fun for what it was. 2010 5 speed 2.0. The rear calipers siezed at about 60k miles, which is apparently somewhat common with these, but it was a pretty good little car.
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boxrocket
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 08:13 |
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Not a problem!
If it helps, my sister - who makes double what I do and has the freedom to choose almost any “normal” car to buy - bought her first brand new car this year, a 2015 Mazda3 Touring. She would have gotten the Grand Touring but doesn’t like leather (which I find a bit odd, but it’s her car, not mine). She quite literally was deciding between a Tesla Model S, the Mazda 3, and something else that she loathed, I think the Lexus CT200h or HS200. But she opted to go for the Mazda, in light of fuel economy and the lack of a comprehensive Supercharger network for the Tesla (she drives a lot for work, when they aren’t flying her around the world).
Nicole
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 10:46 |
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Just recently bought a mazda3 hatch and pretty much recommend them now to anyone who asks. Handles wonderfully, good acceleration, wicked fun to drive (even in Boston traffic), good on road trips and good amount of cargo space.
I've never driven a mini to compare but I absolutely love the Mazda.
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nostradimas
> boxrocket
06/16/2015 at 13:43 |
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Jeez! Can’t say I would make the same choice she made, but to each their own! I’m really just looking at any car in that compact class that is fun to drive and has an affordable lease rate
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nostradimas
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 13:47 |
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Thanks guys!
I just got a letter in the mail from Honda, as I am a current lessee of a 2012 Accord Lx-P, they are offering to waive my remaining two payments, waive the security deposit, wave all excessive wear (which i do have a bit of).
Is there a Honda that will make me not hate the act of driving? I think my Accord might’ve been the last of the double wishbones and hydraulic steering so it’s not absolutely awful but I drove the new Accord and it was the definition of meh (although faster meh), and the 2013 Civic I drove had steering that felt like my broken PS3 joystick.
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nostradimas
> Nicole
06/16/2015 at 13:54 |
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95% sure I’m going this route, thank you!
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boxrocket
> nostradimas
06/16/2015 at 21:20 |
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Yeah, but she’s happy with it, and she paid cash for it, and is saving money for a house and eventual wedding. I would have been tempted to go for the Tesla, and get a rental - tax-deductible for work, if not comped - for any trips outside the Supercharger network. Then again, the Tesla is worth almost as much as the house she's renting, so the Mazda blends in there better.
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nostradimas
> boxrocket
06/17/2015 at 01:41 |
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Ahhh okay didn’t have the context to judge that decision, in that case she sounds well prepared to live a prosperous and responsible life
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boxrocket
> nostradimas
06/17/2015 at 11:00 |
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Yep, we’re pretty proud of her. She’s the youngest, so she was able to take advantage of my parents having more disposable income to help her finish university, hence the better-paying (although much more mathematically-intense) job.