Still Loving it at 20,000 Miles - 2014 Mazda Mazda3 S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited December 2014 in Mazda
imageStill Loving it at 20,000 Miles - 2014 Mazda Mazda3 S Long-Term Road Test

Today I went for a long drive in our 2014 Mazda 3 and reminded myself just how good this car is while it ticked past 20,000 miles.

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  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    That instrument panel is just so plain, I think it would be a deal breaker for me. I don't mind digital gauges, actually i like it, but that monochromatic black and white is so cheap looking. The 80's green digital gauges would be better than this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP5hmP_A4yg
  • quadricyclequadricycle Member Posts: 827
    @allthingshonda, it just goes to show how subjective these things are, I don't mind the design at all. Heck, the could even lose that red ring and almost only have floating numbers for all I care.
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    @quadricycle, I agree. I want information from the dash, not entertainment. Concise, clean and well laid out so I can see what I want in a fraction of a second and keep my eyes on the road, that is where the entertainment is.

  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Unless one lives in a major metro area with a really comprehensive mass transit system (thinking like Boston, Toronto, NYC or any European city), the idea that one can get by without a driver's license in the U.S. is a "childish thought" to be put away ASAP, kinda like the idea that one can get by on a minimum wage job, or that one is surely good enough at shooting hoops in the driveway to make it in the NBA.

    If you are living under my roof, yes, you will be getting your high school diploma, yes, you will learn to ace a job interview and yes you will be getting your driver's license. Yep - you'll thank me later.
  • quadricyclequadricycle Member Posts: 827
    @fordson1, I'm not sure. I live in a medium sized (or slightly smaller) city that has a great, and expanding, walking and bicycling trail system, as well as a free city-wide bus system. I don't even own a vehicle anymore. I commute by bicycle, take the bus if I'm lazy that day, or occasionally get a ride with friends if we're going somewhere particular.

    Don't get me wrong, I still have a driver's license, and I'm still young, only need to get to school, don't have family obligations, great friends, etc... But I still don't think that you necessarily have to own a car or get your license. Even though you might as well get you license now.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited December 2014
    My brother-in-law is visiting this week from Seattle. He goes all over King County for work and doesn't drive. He got a license when he was 16 but never drove again after getting the license and just got an ID card after that. He's 58 now.

    He's a bit unique, but I've met quite a few parents in the last three or four years who have kids with little interest in getting a license. And if it came down to a car or a smartphone, the phone will win most of the time.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Many, many parents out there with kids with little interest in getting a license. Many studies out there on the teen mind...and the age of maturity seems to be creeping ever upward, well into the 20s.

    That's why they still seem to need parents to make them do things that are smart and keep them from doing things that are dumb. That's where the you'll-thank-me-later part comes in. My job is to equip my son for life on the outside, and I still think making him (not a chance I'll have to make him) get his license is an essential part of that equipment.
  • quadricyclequadricycle Member Posts: 827
    @fordson1, I understand what you're saying about parenting, but what does having a driver's license specifically have to do with maturity?

    You sound like you live in an area where getting about with a car is the only option, so it makes sense that you feel the need to equip your son with a license, but what does that have to do with Dan's daughter? There's a very real possibility that she doesn't need it. It's not necessarily a "childish thought".

    For example, I lived most of my early life in places were vehicle ownership is very expensive and not necessary, see francophone European countries and the U.K. I didn't see myself owning a car until my mid-twenties. We then moved to the rural southern U.S. where everything is at least ten miles away and requires a car. I worked a lot and bought one. Now that I'm in a college town where I don't need one, I don't have one, and I enjoy not having to pay insurance, gas, upkeep, and so on. I get to live my life instead of working a good amount while in college to pay for my vehicle ownership.

    My point is that some places require you have a license, some don't. I don't see a license like I do a high school diploma.
  • jerryf18jerryf18 Member Posts: 2
    Awesome long-term review! I'm wondering if you have any thoughts about why you were never able to achieve close to the EPA mileage. It's a big factor in my decision about buying a Mazda3, and I've noticed several other reviewers also haven't gotten close to the EPA mileage. If the real world mileage is this far off, it subtracts a significant feature from this premium priced compact vehicle. Thanks (Mr.) Edmunds!
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