Having owned my Mazda now for about a week I believe I can safely say that I am extremely please with all aspects of the car. lets take you through a few areas...
EXTERIOR
From the outside the Mazda 3 is a Marmite effort. People either love the look, or you hate it! I for one think it ... Read review
Advantages: build quality, looks, dash materials, road noise, bose sound system,engine power, rarity, Disadvantages: suspension may be harsh for some, stupid parcel shelf. traction can be poor
Having owned my Mazda now for about a week I believe I can safely say that I am extremely please with all aspects of the car. lets take you through a few areas...
EXTERIOR
From the outside the Mazda 3 is a Marmite effort. People either love the look, or you hate it! I for one think it is gorgeous, loosely Represrnting the Unique Mazda RX8 it has pround arches, cat like tail lights (get it TAIL lights "meow" ... .../>
This model comes with 17" 5 spoke wheels as standard, and they are alot more attractive than most factory fit wheels. Also being 5 spoke they show of the all round Disc brakes and make the alloys very easy to clean.
BOOT SPACE
Like the Albert hall, this car boast a ginourmous boot space. however the extended bumper on the sport model (longer by 2cm than ts2 etc) can cause problems when trying to put heavy items ... more
Having owned my Mazda now for about a week I believe I can safely say that I am extremely please with all aspects of the car. lets take you through a few areas...
EXTERIOR
From the outside the Mazda 3 is a Marmite effort. People either love the look, or you hate it! I for one think it is gorgeous, loosely Represrnting the Unique Mazda RX8 it has pround arches, cat like tail lights (get it TAIL lights "meow" he he, oh nevermind) and a sweeping smiling grill. This model comes with 17" 5 spoke wheels as standard, and they are alot more attractive than most factory fit wheels. Also being 5 spoke they show of the all round Disc brakes and make the alloys very easy to clean.
BOOT SPACE
Like the Albert hall, this car boast a ginourmous boot space. however the extended bumper on the sport model (longer by 2cm than ts2 etc) can cause problems when trying to put heavy items in boot, this puts strain on the back. The parcel shelf is a pain only half lifts with the boot, and it is awkward to remove, however a small and insignificant gripe this is when weighed up against the cars + points. Under the boot floor is a space saver spare wheel, (rare on cars nowadays I'm led to beleive, apparently they normally have that tyre gunk and a pump!) A jack in the side and a bag for first aid kit, (supply your own bandages!).
COCKPIT
This car has the perfect driving position for any person: tall, short, fat, or thin, due to a reach and rake steering column, height agustable seat, and dead centre pedals. also a handy footrest for long journeys. (the latest models also boast cruise control! standard on the sport)
The only gripe i have is no inner door handles, not so much for the driver but the passenger, the door just has a ledge to put your forearm on rather than a handle to grab.
The dials are extremely attractive and large with a deep red glow, they are sunk well into the dash, preventing any sunlight glare.
The centre console is well laid out and smart, very Volkswagen Golf look about it actually. A turn of the key lights it up a deep shade of orange and then gives you a little reminder of whats at the centre of this control panel, BOSE SOUND! I shudder everytime I read it. BOSE SOUND *shudders* "sorry about that!" The car is equipped with 7 Bose speakers in all, tweeter and woofer in each door, front and back, and a small but effective subwoofer mounted under the passenger seat. The amp that runs this equipment is located under the driver seat. Also it has a six disc dash monted multichanger, and steering contols (all Bose equipment is standard on sport) I will say no more about the sound, im sure you can imagine what I think of it.....
Also in the centre console is the user friendly Climate control (Standard on sport) very effective, and doesnt seem to make any difference to cars performance when on.
The only bad thing I have to say about the centre console is its all a bit too orange. needs another colour in there i think to break it up.
REAR ROOM
Rear leg room is excellent, however the car is particuarly long in my opinion, the rear passengers are treated to a centre arm rest, and a three point seat belt for the middle seat.
ENGINE
The 2 litre 147ps engine is torquey and powerful, getting to 60 in approx 8.7 seconds. It is also extremely smooth and quiet, infact I kind of wish it was a bit less quiet so I could hear it roar as I bounce it off the limiter at 7500 revs! whoops! maybe thats just me?
The car seems to be very good on fuel (for a 2000cc) I am yet to do a proper test but so far so good. Mazda claim 40mpg on a long run. It is also good that the car is primed to run on the cheaper 95ron fuel, unlike German automobiles, making it cheaper to run again.
RIDE/HANDLING
I personally love the Ride of this car, its quite stiff which is how I like it, however I can see how this may put some buyers off, saying that though, not many people buy a car with "sport" in the name and want a wallowy ride, do they? Corner handling is very good and predictable, the only gripe I have is I can find it hard to put the power down in first gear in a straight line. however this could be the weather? Or cheap standard fit tyres?
OVERALL
Overall this is a fantastic car, comfortable yet sporty, cheap yet well equipped (well mine was)
Great for the family man who just doesn't want to leave his car interest in the past. I would reccommend it to anyone aged 23-50!
Advantages: Roomy, attractive look, quiet drive Disadvantages: drive is a little dull
When you have a look at the Mazda 3 it reminds you a bit of Marmite. You either love it or hate it. I hate Marmite, but the look of this car instantly attracted me. It reminded me of a good woman. Curves in all the right places but ample of it to make it comfortable. It looks modern but at the same time there is something quite retro about it. I have heard it described as a grandad car too, though not so sure about that.
When you get inside it has ... ...3 people in the back and as the driver you can move your chair back a good distance without impeding the passenger behind you. There is plenty of storage room, with two compartments in the middle and one of the largest glove compartments I have ever seen. The boot is large but not very wide. I have to put my golf clubs in at an angle which is strange for a car of it's obvious size. You feel safe due to it's size, but for a hatchback I have found ...
redahmeid 19.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mazda3 2.0 Hatchback
Advantages: drives beautifully Disadvantages: tyre problems
It's nice to drive, very fast and has just a moderate amount of space in the boot . Not any use for 4 people's luggage. Mine has been fairly reliable over 2 years - problems with the automatic wipers and headlight levellers - apart from one serious fault - it grinds up the inside edge of the rear tyres! How can that be? - my dealer says he can't help so I'm off to beard Mazda in their den. I wouldn't have thought it was a boy-racer's car. Insurance ... ...wonderfully low, at least for this female pensioner. (Yes, just because we've lived a bit we haven't given up on nice cars). On the other hand the mpg is horribly low at speed so I'm thinking of getting something a bit more economical but can't budge my head actually to do it. I obviously do like this car. ...
sheepfold 13.01.2008
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Mazda3 2.0 Hatchback
Advantages: Nice leather interiour, runs well, had no problems with the car. Disadvantages: Scratches easy, always looks mucky
Had this car since september 2006 and is therefore a 56 plate.
This car is a good looker, i have it in matalic black which looked really nice but we didnt realise how mucky it gets. We are constantly washing the car to make it look presentable, scratches show up really bad on this car. I have a black leather interiour which is really nice got no hastle with it, best way to clean inside is to get some leather polish from a car shop this makes everything ... ...sound system in the car best sound system i have ever had it a car it has an amplifyer under the passenger seat and a bass under the drivers (i think not sure which was round it is)
but all in all this car is deffinatley worth all of its money and i would deffinatley reccomend this car to anyone lookin for a new car! ...
kenworthy20 02.11.2008
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Mazda3 2.0 Hatchback
