As some of you may know I have been thinking about changing things up lately. I currently drive an 06 STI with around 86xxx miles. I love it but honestly all I use it for is commuting to and from work. It's nice but something inside of me wants a new car. (I have never owned a new car before)

I have been looking at the BRZ, and the 2014 wrx 5 door. All of a sudden I saw an ad for a Mazda and checked out the Mazda3 5 door and it looks pretty promising. Seems like great fuel economy, 30/40 mpg, good base price and interior and exterior looks pretty good in my opinion. I think i'm going to test drive one.

Side note, my girlfriend drives a e92 m3, and we're looking to get our own place in the near future so possibly something more mature and family oriented would be nice.

Any opinions on this car?

Heres a pic of my car and the mazda3 in question...

 

Always been a fan of the first generation Mazda 3. Which took over the Protege 5, which I also really like. I didn't like the last generation, but feel this new one looks pretty good.

If you're looking for a family vehicle, look into the Toyota Highlander... I am a tall guy, and my friend's dad bought one. It's not big enough to be boat, but man is it comfortable inside. If you plan on having multiple kids you will undoubtedly need a car bigger than a wagon.

As far as wagons, Lexus CT200h is real nice. Mazda 3. You can look into a 04-05 Forester. Audi has some mean wagons (but I would never but Euro). Or if you want to stay in the Subaru family, get a non turbo subaru, they are even more reliable and get great mileage even for being AWD.

Glad you got your car fixed. Looks great!

 

i have a friend who was in the market for a wrx for sooo long and last minute picked one of these up and he loves it in all honesty

 

I think Mazda has been killing it ever since they broke off from Ford.

The CX-5 looks fantastic and seems like the best small SUV right now.

The Mazda 6 and 3 are both great looking too and compete really well in their classes, in not the class leaders.

 

i really like the looks of the interior and the rear end. i was thinking it would be nice not having to pump premium anymore and a lower insurance premium. i figure i can get another sport bike and anytime i get an itch for speed i can do a track day!

any other comparable vehicles in its class?

 

Honestly I think the only other one worth looking at is the Ford Focus hatch.

Not quite as nice looking though, in my opinion. Also doesn't have a more powerful engine option like the 3.

The only other hatch in that price range is a Diesel Golf/Jetta Sportwagen, but those start at 26k...

 

This. This is the first real redesign from Mazda since the end of the relationship, and the styling cues are definitely a lot better than the previous models, imo

 

The focus has the ST hatch which is pretty ****ing fast stock. Was playing keep away from one on 101 in redwood city and he shot into the slow lane and stabbed it and lost me lol.
Same thing with those civic si's

 

Trust me when I say this...

1)You do not want a new car, you get KILLED in the depreciation, and the newness wears off fast. Your just let with a payment you regret and that's it.

2)Stay the hell away from the 3, every person I know with one (I know 8 people now) have all had the same problem, transmissions go *BOOM* at about 60k and it ends up being a $2000-$3000 fix by the time everything is done. (computers have to be replaced, the transmission, other parts)

 

For sure. I just figured since he was looking at a Mazda3 for 40mpg that he wouldn't be interested in an ST. Even though it does get close to 30.

 

There's also the Fiesta ST. It's smaller, lighter, and more fun to toss around corners (according to some friends that have autocrossed both the ST cars).

To the OP, the new Mazda 3 is a good looking car with great driving dynamics and will get you really good mileage if you're using it for commuting. It's worth testing out.

 

Are you talking about the MazdaSPEED3 or regular Mazda3?

I only know one data point... my buddy who has a 2004 Mazda3. 100k+, no problems. He's only taken it on the track once, and the rest he's easy on the commute.

 

Aesthetically each generation Mazda 3 has been uglier than the last. The 1st ones were the only good looking ones to me.

 

Was this the 2014 mazda3?... also manual or auto transmission?

 

i've got a 2005 with 76k and it runs just fine and the tranny still feels great. Never had a single problem.

Even the new 2014 sedan? I think the hatch looks a little weird. The sedan looks killer though. Especially compared to what it replaced.