The New Mazda 3 continues to the offer excellent all round ability - Fun to drive yet practical, well equipped and solidly built, and being a Mazda customers can expect superb reliability
Write a review on the Mazda 3 Overall Review Rating: 8.7
4 Reviews Found
5Dr Hat 1.6 Ts2
I took delivery of my new Mazda 3 in October 2009 and was extremely pleased. I used to have a 2.0 litre car before but with the Vehicle tax increases I decided to get a smaller car. The excelleration on the Mazda is every bit as good as the 2.0 litre. The petrol consumption has almost saved me 1/3 as well as the saving on tax. I was used to really comfortable seats in the large luxury car previously and the fairly solid bucket seats took a bit of getting used to. I chose the black Mica paint for the colour which looks great but it means you are constantly having to clean it. The trim inside is a bit plasticy but with nice metal features on the TS2. The boot space is sufficient with a ski hole in the back seat for long items. I got an excellent scrappage deal worth over £2500 against my old Vauxhall Omega and the finance deal with Mazda was only 5.9%. I understand they have extended the scrappage allowance themselves now that the government deal has run out. I hadn't considered Mazda before but one of my friends bought one and I was impressed. I am very happy I went and took a test drive because it is a great car and good looking.
In the TS2 the instrument panel is like a planes cockpit. There are more buttons and lights than I have ever seen before on a car. There is a bluetooth mobile phone handsfree system which is voice controlled. The 8 speaker in car music system is fab. It has a 6 disc player without having a box in the boot, you just load them into the slot one at a time. All the electrics are automatic - the windscreen wipers, the lights. The wing mirrors are electric and close up to the door so no one can hit them.
The TS2 is top of the range and I think the inside and trim are not as plush as I expected, there is too much plastic. There was no negotiating with the dealer, the price you see is the price you pay, not even a set of mats included. There are lots of lights and buttons which will impress tech people, but are a bit daunting when you first see them. I was reading instruction manuals for days to find out what some buttons did. The voice recognition for the hands free phone doesn't always recognise who you are trying to call and sometimes takes several attempts.
5Dr Hat 2.3 Mps
We started off with the sedan Sport Mazda 3, it was an excellent car in itself and we loved it. When we looked around for a new car, we immediately looked at the other cars in the Mazda range. We went to a VIP event and they showed us this car, the car itself is very sporty yet still practical for a family. It is a 5 door hatchback which still has plenty of room and a good sized boot for a sports car. It is 260bhp as standard and although earlier models do not have it the later models also have the Aero bodykit as standard which is a stylish feature in itself, however the mirrors seem a bit impractical. The performance of the car is great, we have never had any problems with the car and its runs soundly, its is quite nippy and it handles well around the corners. It also have a great sounds system from BOSE and a 6 CD changer. For an extra £60 you can buy a Ipod connector which goes into the system, you can find intrustions on how to do it online, it is actually really simple and easy to do. For better performance I must say that you WILL have to keep either buying the tyres it comes with to start off with, or high performance tyres. Yes they are expensive but this car it just to fast to have the cheaper tyres on and you will notice a difference in preformance immediately. The price for the older models (ours in a 57 plate) has dropped down to about 12.5K and the newer ones are in the range of 19-22K. Fuel economy wise it will eat a bit of petrol, however for those who dont keep their foot planted you are looking at a realistic 30-35mpg. This is an excellent car with great reliability and performance, we plan on having this car for many many years.
We love the music system, which has a great sound quaility, then there is the bodykit which makes the car look better then it already did. The performance, the sound of the engine (it makes great noises), the way the car handles when it has good tyres on. Of course there is the speed of the car itself, which is great for trackdays.
To be honest, there is not much I can say to improve the vehicle. The Blow of valve in plastic and would preform better if it was metal, but you can do this yourself. The the Mirrors on the Aero kit are a bit small however they are still usable. Other then that, a better colour range would be nice as currently there are only a few colours to choose from.
5Dr Hat 2.3 Mps
Chose this car as it looked good, is very sporty and has 5 doors. The aero dynamics package gives it lowered suspension which means it not a smooth ride but is built for speed. It is a dream to drive on motorways as you can still pull away in 6th gear.
-Its speed (0-60 in 6.1 seconds)
- A sporty car with 5 doors
- Nice interior with leather/ fabric seats
- Good sized boot
I would prefer a smoother ride but realise it is a sporty car. More interior storage space and MP3 connectivity.
5Dr Hat 1.6 Ts
I've been delighted with my Mazda 3 TS. As an owner of the marque for over 2 years it has caused me very little trouble in terms of reliability and general faults. The car was purchased when it was around a year old and since then has never caused me any real difficulty, apart from a small stone that managed to score one of the brake discs. Think I was just unlucky although it was quite costly to get repaired. The car holds the road reasonably well although it's performance in the wet in my view (with decent branded tyres) is ok, but not just as sharp as I've experienced with other cars. It feels solid to drive and has good "visual awareness" I feel in terms of visibility from a drivers perspective. From my experience I'd highly recommend it and would be likely to be another Mazda in the future I think.
I like the overall look of the car and the way the dash has been designed. All very clear and straightforward. The gearbox glides nicely and it's a very comfortable car to drive. Good legroom I feel at the front and in the TS has a lot of useful and thoughtful features and design points. From a routine servicing point of view my mechanic tells me it's fine and it's a car that he likes to work on.
Overall it's a car that I've become increasingly attached to!
Leg room at the rear seems a little limited and some of the materials used in the car could perhaps be made of a better quality. The bumpers for example seem to pick up light scratches all the time, but this seems to be a problem with a lot of modern cars. Fuel economy in my 1.6 I don't think is that great - some improvements here would certainly be helpful.
The improvements I have suggested are all minor though. I do like this car but it's fairly expensive I think to purchase even as a used car - that's worked fine for me though because of the reliability and limited issues I have had with it.
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