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Mazda3

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Comments

  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    Question 2: has anyone noticed if the rear bumper length is the same on european models?

    Yes, I did noticed there is a discrepancy between the overall length of Canadian and European Mazda3 (5mm longer in favor of the later).

    Bruno

    PS: two of the most obvious errors in the Canadian site are corrected, but at least four are still there.
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    17-inch alloy (polished also available for JDM-spec):
    http://www.axela.mazda.co.jp/loption/AL002.JPG

    Thanks wongpres!

    If those are priced similar to the Mazda 6 17" wheels and are any lighter, and the size/offset (5x114.3 and 17x7.0 with 60 mm offset!) matches the M6 wheels, I'm getting those for my car!
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    I suspect the bolt patterns are same, i.e., 5x114.3mm (it's also same as P5's). But Mazda3 rims are 17x6.5J. Don't know about the offset (50mm for P5).

    Bruno
  • wongpreswongpres Member Posts: 422
    fowler3:

    The number of accessories for the Mazda3 are about the same as for other makes & cars. It seems like a ton of accesories to us, but that's the norm for JDM. And yeah, an air-scoop-like thing for the hood is another accessory (but I only posted those that I think will reach N. America, Bruno has posted others).

    creakid1:

    For Canada (and probably the US), the interior two-tone color combination will be chosen for us depending on exterior colour (e.g. in Canada, the titanium gray's two-tone combo will be blue/black whereas the Titanium Gray's in Frankfurt were red/black, and I think euro customers can choose for certain colors).

    Also, from the Axela website, only the beige and all black interiors (i.e. the black with a circular cloth pattern) will come to N. America. N. America's two-tone is different and we also don't get those 'V' patterned cloths.

    fdanna:

    N. American-spec regular bumper is longer than euro-spec (which in turn is different to JDM-spec, which is different to Australia/NZ, I think you get my drift, but I do have the lengths for all of them). Sport bumpers are standard across the globe because it's longer than the longest regular bumper anyway. One thing I noticed (though not confirmed until I actually see a pic), is that the N. American-spec sedan's regular bumper WILL have a side reflector (just like on the sport bumper).

    Initial specs say the yellow is going to the US (but it's not official).
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    I guess the same line of accessories of the Protegé5 will be carried over the Mazda3 in US:

    - floor mats
    - cargo tray
    - cargo net
    - rear bumper guard
    - polish alloys
    - roof racks
    - wheel locks
    For the body kits, may be all the items of the Sport Package and the regular front grill are available as accessories. Also many audio upgrades and probably the unavoidable front mask for US market (can't understand why someone could like it.)

    Bruno
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    http://www.mazda.nl/content/modellen/Mazda3/Sedan/10.jpg

    I don't like how the bumper is high up where you can see under the car. The Jetta's bumper seems to go down further and cover up more of the car.

    http://www.edmunds.com//pictures/VEHICLE/2003/Volkswagen/10016314- 3/010831-E.jpg
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    "A white Mazda3 will look too Saturn Ion-ish."

    No!! I've decided to go with white, unless the starlight green is offered then I'll consider that. I want a light colored exterior and the beige interior so my choices are limited. I don't care for the sand exterior color too much so that's out.

    I think a white Jetta looks great. I hope white looks good on the Mazda3 as well.
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    I suspect if yellow is offered that it'll only be offered on the hatchback. Since when does the US get every single color available? Plus they just got rid of yellow on the Mazda6 sedan and the Protege sedan doesn't have yellow so why start now?

    I doubt we'll get them all and some will only be reserved for either the sedan or hatchback exclusively. The RX-8 in Japan I believe is offered in all the colors we have plus white. All they had to do is give us white and we'd have all the colors as well, but they didn't. I don't see them starting now to give us all the colors while Japan doesn't seem to get starlight green and maybe some others. That's why I'm not sure we're getting starlight green or not.
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    From http://www.mazda.com.au/currentnews.asp?articleZoneID=2431

    Power and torque outputs from the 2.0-litre and 2.3-litre engines can be boosted when using premium unleaded fuel. Both engines meet the strict Euro Stage III emission standard.

    When you look at the spec of the Australian engines, they have the same compression ratios than the US's, but the power and torque are lower: the power and torque of the Canadian MZR 2.0L/2.3L engines are 148/160 hp and 135/151 ft-lb respectively, and in Australia 2.0/2.3L the power and torque are stated even lower 140/155 hp and 131/147 ft-lb respectively. I suspect that the Canadian numbers are correct when using premium fuel and the Australia numbers are for regular fuel. That makes sense because the Canadian hp/torque numbers in the spec are same as Europe, which is too good to be true.

    Any comments?

    Bruno

    PS: Also in the same article, they say the 2.3L needs 8.5s for 0-60mph. It's close to my previous estimation of 8.3s.
  • gromit45gromit45 Member Posts: 26
    fowler3 wrote:

    Also, I noticed the 5-door hatch production model doesn't have the turn signal blinkers on the outside mirrors, which were on the Sportif show car. Good thing, since they would be very expensive to replace if knocked off or damaged on posts at drive-through windows.

    I agree. Those mirror turn signals are a lousy design. Gimicky, unnecessarily complicated and expensive. (Side blinkers in general are such a simple, inexpensive yet effective safety feature. It should be required equipment, I feel.)

    re: stability control. BTW, I emailed Mazda US and they confirmed that US will not be getting it (at least not in MY2004). They did say they're gauging customer feedback, so do let them know. Maybe we'll get in in MY2005?
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    If this is true then is Mazda really this stupid? Manipulating the hp/torque numbers to show what they are using premium fuel but recommending regular fuel? You think they learned from the RX-8, Miata HP problems.

    Honda claims their V6 in the Accord can make more HP by using premium fuel, but they use the lower numbers and recommend regular fuel.

    Personally I don't think Mazda is this stupid. Either the numbers on one of the sites is wrong or Australia uses even lower quality fuel than the US and Canada uses.

    The Mazda6 2.3 is rated at 160/155 and uses regular fuel so 160/151 is possible with regular. They aren't overstating it for the Mazda6 are they? Plus it's built in Mexico so maybe it's different from the 2.3 made in Japan.
  • wongpreswongpres Member Posts: 422
    Both the Australian (in kW) and Canadian numbers are right. Your difference could be in the kW to hp conversion. But I can say this, because of the different emissions standards, fuel standards, and compression ratios, there are differences in engine performance with the same engine in the various markets. For example, I have the Mazda3 2.3l torque/hp curves for the JDM and N. American-spec, and the torque curves between them is quite different (considering that it's the same engine on the same car with identical gear ratios but just tuned for a different market), even the max. torque figure occurs at a different rpm. And of course, that same engine could require regular or premium fuel depending on the market, so all these add up to quite different performance numbers.
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    I'm pretty sure I do not make mistake in the conversion. Let's take an example of the MZR 2.0L engine and convert everything in SI units:

    - Mazda Canadian site states 148 horsepower SAE net (i.e. American hp, not Dyn PS) and 135 SAE net lb. ft. After conversion it's 110.37 kW and 186.7 Nm.

    - Mazda Australia gives the specification directly in SI: 104 kW and 181 Nm.

    - Mazda European also gives the specification directly in SI: 110 kW and 187 Nm (which is exactly the roundoff of Canadian numbers, strange coincidence? Could it be possible when we *know* that the European compression ratio is higher and premium fuel is required?)

    I do believe the Australian and European numbers, because they are coherence with each other. However I suspect Mazda NA would play the game of overstating the horsepower. Big number would sale cars, but they need not to forget the recent lesson with RX-8.

    Bruno

    PS: here is a cool site to convert conveniently car units http://www.flash.net/~lorint/lorin/convert.htm
  • wongpreswongpres Member Posts: 422
    Your numbers for Australia, Canada, and Euro are all confirmed my by documentation.

    I think there's 2 questions you're probably asking:

    1. why is the euro-spec (which has higher compression ratio and requires premium) only getting the same performance as N. American-spec?

    2. Why is N. American-spec performing better than Australian-spec (even though both have the same compression ratio and use regular)?

    And here's the answers to them:

    1. The Euro-spec 2.0l meets Euro4 emissions, which is different than the N. American T2B5 emissions (and of course I'm not even going to go into the N. American PZEV engine here). Hence, the N. American 2.0l engine can be close in performance to the Euro-spec.

    2. The N. American-spec 2.0l actually has higher displacement than the Australian version (1999cc vs 1998cc). And the N. American and Australian versions also have different emissions. Finally, I've heard that Australian gas is poorer than N. American-gas.

    Again, because of different compression ratios, emissions packages, displacement, fuel requirements, and so on, one cannot compare Mazda3's with the same engine around the world because they'll be different.

    Heck, even politics come into play. The Australian press release says that the Mazda3 can get even more power with premium, so you're probably wondering why they don't make premium a requirement and advertise a higher hp number? One of the reasons for this is political, the 2.3l Mazda6 in Australian-spec requires premium, and as I've said before, the Mazda3 can't have better numbers than the Mazda6.
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    Thanks Preston for your detailed answer. Forgive me to insist on this topic, but I would like to fully understand and I would like to ask one more question:

    Between the Euro4 and T2B5 emission standards, which one is stricter? As the NA engine performs more efficiently (given the regular-fuel constraint), thus my guess is T2B5 is less strict than Euro4. We have the following relationship:

    PZEV > Euro4 > T2B5 (where ">" means "stricter").

    Am I correct?
  • fdannafdanna Member Posts: 263
    I'm assuming that a motor must be designed to take advantage of premium fuel or else it's wasted on regular motors that specifically recommend regular (and some go so far as to warn against putting in high octane).

    Personally, I would never buy a "premium fuel" only vehicle because I'm not paying 1.95 to $2/gallon for gas and I drive 70 miles a day. If it's premium fuel "optional," that's fine. I don't care about 8hp.
  • wongpreswongpres Member Posts: 422
    'PZEV > Euro4 > T2B5'

    Good question, unfortunately, I don't know the answer.

    But if you're going to look into it, the other Mazda3 emissions packages for the various global markets also include U-LEV and Euro3.
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    Well what's weird is the PZEV 2.0 engine will have 144hp and 132 torque while the Australian 2.0 will have 140hp and 131 torque. I seriously doubt the Australian 2.0 engine is on par with PZEV emissions so what's going on? I would suspect they have even lower quality fuel there. And I thought the US was bad.

    By the way the US is suppose to clean up it's fuel in 2007, both regular gasoline and diesel fuel. The sulfur content of diesel fuel is now at 3400 parts per million and will be lowered to 500 ppm in 2007, and lowered again in 2010 to 15 ppm. This is great news because hopefully we'll see an increase in available diesel engines in cars sold here. Great low-end torque and great fuel mileage. Make a diesel hybrid and you'll have even better fuel mileage.

    With the cleaned up fuel and the cost of emissions equipment going down, PZEV will be much more common in 5-10 years on most cars.
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    I've seen some questions about color availability...This is for the US market, I don't know about canada.

    MZ3 H/B
    black, sunlight silver, solar yellow, strato blue, velocity red, winning blue, lava orange, titanium gray and rally white.

    MZ3 sedan
    black, shimmering sand, sunlight silver, strato blue, velocity red, nordic green, starlight green and tally white.
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/365c6883/bc/Interior/__hr_/Beige3.- jpg?BCGqvj_AaWbpIQZI

    That beige interior is sweet. That looks so much better than having the dash in some other color like gray. Black and beige go well together.
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    Thanks for the info. That sounds right on. No yellow on sedan. No starlight green on hatchback. No merlot pearl anywhere.
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    Do you have any pics of the non-sport sedan with 16" wheels with a side view? I don't think I've seen one yet. The pictures I've seen are always at an angle. I was wondering if there is one with it sitting still that isn't at an angle.
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    I see the colors availability for the sedan has greatly changed since your last post #1285.

    Sedan: Yellow, Winning Blue, Lava Orange, Merlo Pearl, and Titanium are deleted from the list (I regret the Titanium disappears, as it's suitable with the Sedan, too bad).
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    Humm, I can't possibly tell for sure which wheel diameters are on all my pictures. But what about the red and blue sedan (their tires seem to be thick) in the bellow link ?

    http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brunoluong/vwp?.dir=/Album+02&am- p;am- p;am- p;am- p;am- p;.dnm=Four_sedans.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t

    Bellow in a picture of an Japanese Axela 20C. The rims seem to be 15" however the japanese page indicates the 20C comes with 16" wheels, strange!

    http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/brunoluong/vwp?.dir=/Album+02&am- p;am- p;.dnm=Axela+20C.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t&.hires=t
  • stickguystickguy Member Posts: 50,382
    any better idea on when they will actually arrive, or will you be surprised when the truck just shows up one day?

    Bruno or Wong etter dispatch an operative to Vancouver or Seattle to stake out the docks, like when the RX-8 showed up and some guy shot video of them unloading.

    2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.

  • wongpreswongpres Member Posts: 422
    Funny you mention that, and YES, I was thinking of that. So yeah, who here lives near the following ports?

    - Vancouver, BC, CAN (Richmond area, I don't have the exact port name at the moment)
    - Port Hueneme, CA
    - Port of Tacoma, Washington
    - Port Midlothian, TX
    - Port Jersey, NJ
    - Port Jacksonville, FL

    I'm pretty sure I can find out when they're going to arrive at some of these ports (if not, we can always ask audia8q).

    I live in Toronto, so nowhere near any of those areas, and I did my investigative operation last month already

    As for Bruno, he can just about go to the dealership already, the euro-launch is any of the following few days (e.g. Austria is in two days, Oct 18).
  • audia8qaudia8q Member Posts: 3,138
    bluong....the color list I had then wasnt model specific....I got the most recent list right off the vehicle order screen.

    stickguy....Mazda is still telling me december. I am in charge of the Connecticut auto show in Hartford for mazda which is nov 20-23 and mazda could not get me a "retailable" MZ3 for the show...but they are sending me a "pre-production" MZ3 for our mazda display...This leads me to believe they won't show up early, but we can always hope...
    Last year they sent me a pre-production european spec MZ6 (headlight squirters, rear headrests, german owners manual) for the auto show and the car was less than perfect...but having one on display was the important part. I suspect the MZ3 will be a big hit this year...
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    As for Bruno, he can just about go to the dealership already

    The dealer in my small town is very slow. They salesman told me they will receive the car in about a week, and I'll be the first in the area to be informed (!) and to take a test drive (of course, I did ask for a 2.0L, so your trully's experience can be shared by most people here).

    Bruno
  • creakid1creakid1 Member Posts: 2,032
    No titanium gray for the sedan in the U.S.! Mazda's got to be kidding. That's like false advertisement! ;-) Like how the output of the RX-8 in the U.S. disappeared.
  • creakid1creakid1 Member Posts: 2,032
    "That beige interior is sweet. That looks so much better than having the dash in some other color like gray. Black and beige go well together."

    Congrats, PZEV! I'm jealous. I'll be happy even with the less upscale-looking grey interior just to stay away from the oven-like black interior. So you have the choice of light-green exterior, too. I'm just wondering if the 2.3 will also get the light green.
  • creakid1creakid1 Member Posts: 2,032
    "I'm assuming that a motor must be designed to take advantage of premium fuel or else it's wasted on regular motors that specifically recommend regular (and some go so far as to warn against putting in high octane)."

    If a motor performs better w/ premium, that means when using regular the motor is doing a stupid thing of compressing all the way high & then the knock sensor inhibits the ignition from firing until the piston drops. This is a waste of energy!

    So either run regular on motors that don't gain output by running on premium, or put premium in motors that do gain output.

    When cramping a bigger engine in limited space(i.e., restricted exhaust flow), you lose both output AND fuel economy. Take a look at the Lexus IS300. That same engine has higher output & better fuel economy in the heavier GS300! The IS300 even gets slightly worse fuel economy than the GS400/LS400!

    The Mazda3 2.3 vs Mazda6 2.3 output...
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    If a motor performs better w/ premium, that means when using regular the motor is doing a stupid thing of compressing all the way high & then the knock sensor inhibits the ignition from firing until the piston drops. This is a waste of energy!

    Right on!
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    Wow, I didn't notice that the first time I looked at it. Isn't that sport-package sedan they keep showing on MazdaUSA titanium gray? That's very surprising they aren't offering it. I'm sure a lot of people would want that color on the sedan.
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    What are you guys saying? That if I put premium fuel in the 2.0 that not only would power increase but fuel mileage would increase as well?

    I've heard this before but the gain in power would be negligible as would the fuel economy right? Maybe a gain of 3-4 horsepower and maybe 1 mpg difference, if even that much? The horsepower I certainly don't care about because if I did care I definetly wouldn't be getting a 2.0 with automatic. And the fuel mileage increase would be very small I would think.
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    That if I put premium fuel in the 2.0 that not only would power increase but fuel mileage would increase as well?

    It depends what kind of 2.0L! If you buy the premium gas for the NA 2.0L (which is designed to run with regular gas) then you don't win anything in hp or in mileage. Just a wait of money. Well almost, because some oil companies advertise that their premium gas has more amount of detergent, which prevent better the phenomenon of carbon build up in the engine.

    Bruno
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    "Congrats, PZEV! I'm jealous. I'll be happy even with the less upscale-looking grey interior just to stay away from the oven-like black interior. So you have the choice of light-green exterior, too. I'm just wondering if the 2.3 will also get the light green."

    Don't tell me you would take that terrible looking blue/gray combo. The all gray interior isn't too bad but the blue/gray is really low rent looking, and ugly on top of that. I'd rather roast inside the car than have to look at that blue/gray interior.

    I'm glad starlight green is being offered. It gives me another choice besides white. White tends to make cars look even bigger than they are though which might not work too well on the Mazda3.
  • pzevpzev Member Posts: 807
    Ok, thanks for clarifying.

    And about the pictures. Yeah that second one looks like 15" wheels. The other ones look like 16", but again are at a slight angle. I guess what matters the most is what it looks like in person. Another couple of months and hopefully I'll be able to see one.
  • jxtjxt Member Posts: 9
    audi8aq,

    I lived in CT (south windsor)and am planing to replace my 94 Integra with a M3 Titanium color when the car arrives in Nov. I already talked to Morande Mazda about the purchase. I appreciate it very much if you could tell Mazda not to force me to go look for another make by not supplying the Titanium color choice. Thanks. JXT.
  • jxtjxt Member Posts: 9
    I wonder if there is a way to confirm that the Titanium M3 sedan will not be offered by Mazda. I just want to make sure before getting rid of my M3 files, picture, specs, etc. and start researching another make ! But since audi8aq confirmed it from the availability list, I guess it's official. This is a nice forum with nice people researching, promoting the M3 and helping each other. I hope Mazda Marketing did not miss the mark deleting the Titanium sedan M3 ! How many manufacturer out there who is not offering some sort of light gray, charcoal or Titanium color choice ? This color is perfect for people who wants a sporty vehicle but in a more subdue and sophisticated presentation package. I admit that I am disappointed with Mazda's decision. Also feel bad for the sales person too. He worked hard to keep me as a customer away from the Toyota dealership next door and the Honda not too far from the Mazda dealership. I wanted to wait but my car is over 100,000 miles and I would like to replace it this winter. jxt.
  • birdman579birdman579 Member Posts: 151
    As several of you have said, not offering titanium gray in the sedan is a huge mistake by Mazda. Its the best color! It also seems to be quite popular as many new cars are now available in a titanium gray. I don't know if I would buy a 3 if its not offered in gray.
  • wongpreswongpres Member Posts: 422
    I completely trust audia8q, but I think the deletion of titanium gray for the sedan is either an error on the system, or Rich just didn't write it down in the post, or maybe it's unavailable for ordering in the first batch or something.

    Reasons why I think the titanium sedan will be available for the US:

    1. It's available for Canada (unless it recently got deleted from Canada as well, which I doubt). Whatever Canada gets, US always gets (and more).
    2. MazdaUSA has been very smart with the pics on their Mazda3 site in that they've put as many US-available specs/options on their website as possible (and they've explicitly noted the exceptions)
    3. Finally, and probably the biggest hint. All the original official pics released by Mazda of the titanium gray sedan are US-spec (my press release clearly says it's N. American-spec).

    Because of these reasons, I'm pretty sure US will get the titanium gray sedan.
  • wongpreswongpres Member Posts: 422
    One of the pictures from the link PZEV provided shows the 16-inch wheels on Michelin-shod tires:

    http://car.nifty.com/as/newcar/express/img/0310155328_2_14_l.jpg

    I have now seen Bridgestones on one 16-inch wheeled Mazda3 and Michelins on two 16-inch wheeled Mazda3's. It'll be interesting to see what N. America-spec gets.
  • fowler3fowler3 Member Posts: 1,919
    That's the newest and BEST color! I would NEVER buy a 3 sedan if it isn't offered. I hate black interiors, but would take BLACK/red with Titanium.

    Bruno wrote:
    "Also many audio upgrades and probably the unavoidable front mask for US market (can't
    understand why someone could like it.)"

    I hope they do have audio upgrades!

    Bruno, some Americans like to play they are the Lone Ranger. ;) He wore a black mask in the TV series and movies. It was before you were in Houston.

    Thanks for posting the options on Yahoo for me, Bruno. After seeing the Cargo Net, I still think for grocery shopping a large, plastic ice chest works better. The Cargo Net looks better suited for holding down camping equipment.

    fowler3

    P.S. And No! the 3 in my nick doen't mean I'm a 3 driver.
  • bluong1bluong1 Member Posts: 1,927
    Judging by the reaction here, it seems the deletion of the Titanium Sedan is not a good thing for Mazda and its costumers. Could you please do us a favor and try to report ASAP the problem to whoever making this decision.

    I'm not sure it's wise for us to write directly to Mazda US about this simply because the spec is not yet officially released.

    Many thanks,

    Bruno
  • creakid1creakid1 Member Posts: 2,032
    "I've heard this before but the gain in power would be negligible as would the fuel economy right? Maybe a gain of 3-4 horsepower and maybe 1 mpg difference, if even that much?"

    That's right, it might not worth 20-cents more per gallon to gain so little, but running regular on engines design for regular sure is more efficient than running regular on engines that will increase output on premium.

    When engines get old & the valves go out of shape, even regular-fuel engines will need premium to perform normally. For example, my 190k-mile '90 Protege LX would lose power if I run on regular. It wasn't like that before.
  • creakid1creakid1 Member Posts: 2,032
    http://groups.msn.com/2003SydneyMotorShow/mazda3.msnw?action=Show- - - - Photo&PhotoID=30
    Did you see that sedan sport's front-end viewed directly from a low position? It looks like an insect. Whether or not I'm getting the sport package, I'm gonna get rid of that grill. Mazda just love to produce insects. My sister said the MX-3 looks like a bug. I think it's totally a house fly w/ these eyes!
  • creakid1creakid1 Member Posts: 2,032
     http://car.nifty.com/as/column/car_2/article_0310155328_2.htm?ref- - - - - - =08020

    The sedan's rear deck is too short to have its flowing line disrupted by the raised rear spoiler, which is also too narrow to match the taillight styling.

    The sedan sure looks too tall even in silver, let alone in white. Looks like the titanium grey is in high demand. Hey, even if it's available, I'd still prefer the light green over the titanium if they both have to end up w/ red/blk fabric anyway. I still find having red/blk interior disgusting, though. Which exterior colors will come w/ blue/blk?

    A dark blue Corolla S also looks good, upscale & expensive looking, too.

    "Don't tell me you would take that terrible looking blue/gray combo. The all gray interior isn't too bad but the blue/gray is really low rent looking, and ugly on top of that. I'd rather roast inside the car than have to look at that blue/gray interior."

    Yeah, that toddler-toy quality feeling. But I like that patch of "blue ocean" so I can feel like I'm on vacation or on the way to the beach. It does look pretty good as a seat cover, though.

    Either beige or grey, Mazda3's light-color interior looks too flat & lacks the tone change found in the cars like the '98-02 Accord.

    We are getting the BP5/6 w/ the big blue(or red) center patch in a black interior. The BP7/8 has this subtle side color accents suitable for these steering-side, shift-knob & door-handle color kits. The steering-top color kit looks stupid, though.
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