2014 Mazda MAZDA3 S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2014 Mazda MAZDA3 S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds conducts a long-term test of a 2014 Mazda 3 and discovers that its head-up display cannot be stowed during driving and defaults to on.

Read the full story here

boff_

I wonder if the motor to flip the thing up is on its own circuit? I'd pull the fuse if it is.

blueprint1

I would avoid this car only for the screen that looks duct-taped to the IP, and the ADD is just the cherry on the lame sundae.

camrydriver69

It probably defaults to on after key cycle so somebody new to the car doesn't get in and think it's broken.

shindig4

Could the dealer change this setting to default to off?

metalmania

The fact that it's available is fine with me, but not being able to control whether the display is up or down or be able to turn it off permanently if I want to would piss me off in a hurry.

And I know that it works better than the touch screen in the CX-5 and Mazda6, but I HATE the way it looks like a small tablet that's just stuck on top of the center stack. I know other brands, even luxury brands, are starting to do this, and I hate them there too. Seems like it's just asking to be broken, and looks like an afterthought. If they do the same thing in the CX-5 and 6, it could take them out of contention for my next car. I tend to keep my cars for 7-10 years and I couldn't stand looking at that every day. Why can't they just make it look like it's still integrated into the dashboard, but just work better?

legacygt

We can debate the merits of having the system turn on every time you start the car. I would prefer it retain the setting but others may not. Having the thing motorized but not go down when you turn the system is simply silly. Having it move up and down when you turn the car on and off is pointless. It's a gimmick. But it would be redeemed if they used the motor to move the thing down when you shut it off.

allthingshonda

I hate when things are done half assed. The 3's HUD on the plastic thing instead of directly on the windshield is half assed and so is the touch screen nav unit on top of the dash. I bet a lot of those tacked on nav units are going to be ripped off when a purse or back pack strap catches it as some one exits the car. If you're not going to display HUD info on the windshield then don't even bother. I like HUD's and I think they will project a lot more info on the windshield as self driving cars are rolled out. Imagine having a Skype phone call as the car drives you home.

arktctr

This is about the worst implementation of a heads up display I can recall...I currently drive a 2014 Mazda 6 and although I am jealous that the new Mazda 3 has a FAR superior nav/radio interface I am completely thankful it doesn't have this horrible heads-up display piece that will no doubt fail at some point down the line...