Mazda3 Hatchback

dinu01

Any news on the M3 from the French media? Do you have any favourite auto mags there? Something like CAR in the UK or Car and Driver in the US/Canada?

Dinu

bluong1

the media here doesn't have any exciting news beside what we already know. Frankfurt Motor Show will be held in two weeks, I don't think the media try too hard in getting any spy pictures, or news... to beat the official presentation by just two weeks. Here I read Auto Plus and Auto Journal.

dinu01

Just watched the Seat Leon video - 225HP, 18" alloys w/Brembos - and a 5Dr on top of that. That's what a hatch should be like!

Dinu

dinu01

Read the M6 review here:

http://www.autojournal.fr/aj/essais/essai.htm?fic=conclu&id1=- MAZ--60001VP&uid=9F9C908E60DA19F2C1256C3F0034CF68&marque=- Mazda&model=6

But I don't understand what "Tenue de cap" means. Any idea?

Qualités

Qualité de fabrication - Quality
Précision de conduite - Driving dynamics
Habitabilité/coffre - Interior/Cargo room

Défauts

Prix de vente - Price (too much)
Niveau sonore - Noisy
Tenue de cap - ???

Thanks Bruno!

Dinu

bluong1

Pro:
Qualité de fabrication -> build quality
Précision de conduite -> sharp handling
Habitabilité/coffre -> interior space/trunk

Con:
Prix de vente -> Price
Niveau sonore -> noisy
Tenue de cap -> instability (! I think this is an error, the detail text didn't mention at all about any instability)

prpnews

Looking at the few pictures floating around
of this car it seems kind of ugly (looks are
in the beholder). Reminds me of the Matrix.
I even had friends tell me if I bought a Matrix they couldn't be my friend anymore--no prob.
I got the P5 which is gorgeous. I just hope Mazda
returns to the P5 style in 8-9 years when I'm
ready for another one.

carguy58

The back of it isn't bad. The front of it doesn't look that good.

irnmdn

carguy58

The sides of both cars look the same. The back ends are way different though.

wongpres

Murano height mm(in.): 1,709 (67.3)
Mazda3 Sport height mm(in.): 1,465 (57.6)

They may look similar in pictures, but in real life they'll be completely different since they're completely different vehicles (SUV vs. sport hatch/wagon).

nippononly

3 will look somewhat like the Matrix, but without the "plumpness"...more sleek a la Pro5.

There needs to be a Mazdaspeed version! (please please)

In the end all these "crossovers" will wind uplooking the same, and merge with sport wagons like this one too...at least, if we continue along current styling vectors.

johnclineii

Opel Vectors?

(Sorry, I just had to!)

creakid1

They are coming. It already did before as the Saturn L-series. Now as the new Malibu & the available 4-dr hatch C-Maxx might make this mighty Global C-platform Mazda3 hatch seem cramped.

Nevertheless, these Vectras are still mediocre-dynamic cars.

icvci

An article in the Automotive News -

In a reversal of course, Ford Motor Co. will not use the new global C1 compact car platform for the North American Focus until at least 2007. While the rest of the world will get a redesigned C1-based Focus next year, North America may never get the vehicle, executives have confirmed.

Ford executives had said the North American Focus would shift to the C1 platform, which will accommodate the European Focus and several Ford, Mazda and Volvo models. Based on a standard vehicle cycle of four or five years, that shift could have come next year or in 2005.

So, the Mazda3 won't immediately share it's underpinnings with the Focus. Very nice.

boggse

As the PZEV Focus has in some US states.

baggs32

boggse,
Yes, the Focus is getting the 2.3L PZEV in all states for MY 2004. I can't find the exact link right now but it was confirmed on the Focus threads.

wongpres

OK, I've seen these for 2 weeks now but I didn't want to get in trouble like when I presented the specs/options packaging. However, it's now been leaked.

http://www.autoweek.nl/forum/read.php?f=4&i=56005&t=56005

iamz

Thanks wongpres.

IMO the sedan looks much better than the 5 door. Sort of BMW like in the rear. The front end is a little overstyled on both. The instrument cluster needs to be cleaned up along with the steering wheel. Overall it's not bad.

orangelebaron

Thank You for that great link. Too bad Altavista doesn't have Dutch to English translation. Do you know what VW interior was shown in the comparison photo?

I was going to buy a Mitsubishi Lancer wagon or Prius...but now.. maybe I will wait till December?
The 3 is HOT!

wongpres

orangelebaron:

There's an online dutch to english converter at:
http://www.freetranslation.com

And the Mazda3 will most likely be in N. America before December (November to be exact).

iamz:

Yep, I agree with you on the sedan. In fact the side shot of the sedan is exactly my car - titanium gray sedan without sport package (GFX in Canada). I'm getting the sport grille as an accessory though, gotta have that!

mazdafun

Sorry you got in trouble before. Don't want that.

Interesting copper color. Not for me, though I can imagine it looking really good in a decent sunset.

boggse

I wish I could see more of the rear of the sedan. In the pictures they show, it looks Corollaish on the back side. I think the concept's rear end looks better than the finished product. Not that I think it looks bad. I am just not a fan of all the heavy, dog-leg C-pillars that seem to be so popular these days. It is probably my biggest complaint about the styling of he RX-8. Perhaps when all sedans finally have them, I will be used to it.

ateixeira

Interesting, the Murano's D-pillar is so exaggerated that you notice it more. I didn't realize they had so much in common. The 3 is executed a little cleaner, though.

-juice

smasher

Wow. It looks GREAT!

They obviously took a page from VW in the interior design, at least vis a vis the dashboard and center stack. It's MUCH prettier than any Japanese interior I've seen lately. And VW is the right place to look for inspiration. (If they can pull it off and still maintain their build quality, it's a win-win-win.) It's an interior which works: all business, but with great attention to detail.

The front end looks a bit cleaner than earlier shots I've seen. I didn't like the horizontal slats in the grille; they looked too busy. The Mazda family look (simple black grille) is the right one, and it helps build the brand.

I agree: the sedan is much prettier than I would've expected, and it's more distinctive than the other leading Japanese subcompacts (Civic, Corolla, Sentra). Very well done!

The 5-door still looks too much like an microvan, but maybe it'll look better in person.

ateixeira

The sedan looks even better. Kinda tall 6-ish.

The mesh grille looks better than the one with the horizontal stripes.

-juice

creakid1

"The 5-door still looks too much like an microvan..."

It's a new class of vehicle. & this Mazda sure makes the new Daimer-Chrysler Pacifica look unsophisticated & crude. I'm sure that styling had no input from Mercedes Benz. & I don't even think such dorky-styled car deserves the name, as cars style around the Pacific regions, even from the descendants of prisoners down under, are much more interesting & tasteful, whether it's the Ford Falcon, etc.

wongpres

US-spec Mazda3 has the following as available options:

- HID
- NAV
- tire-pressure monitoring (this one I'm not surprised, cause there's apparantly a US law saying something like 10% of a company's 04 models must have this system)

Where did I get this info? Go to MazdaUSA->Upcoming Vehicles->Mazda3. They've got a new Flash presentation.

Oh yeah, Hofu plant I assembled 744 Mazda3's for the entire month of July (so obviously they're not up to full production yet).

pzev

The copper Mazda3 hatchback looks pretty good. I'm really starting to like the hatchback more and more. The red taillights look a lot better than the smoked ones. It might not be a Protege5 but it looks pretty good. Hopefully it'll look even better in person. The Mazda symbol high up on the grill still bothers me but otherwise great looking car. Those 17" wheels are awesome.

nippononly

are required to have some kind of tire monitoring system by MY 2005, I believe it was...

johnclineii

..subject to potential litigation being discussed if not already filed...

carguy58

on the front end of both the the sedan and hatch I think.

boxfan

include side and side-curtain airbags. New data from the IIHS says they save lives, so I think they're worth the money. Unfortunately, they'll probably only be on the top-of-the line model, which will no doubt include the ugly striped grill and the hideous side skirts. Those things just make the car look busy. I really like the look of the bronze hatchback in the Euro pictures, with the mesh grill and cleaner lines.

wongpres--thanks for all the info!

johnclineii

On both the Mazda3 and Mazda6, Mazda North America needs to be more responsible and NOT require a ton of other optional equipment just to get these worthwhile safety options. To do otherwise is morally reprehensible, at least in my book.

mdaffron

I just hope you'll be able to buy the top-model U.S. version WITHOUT all that ugly, boy-racerish airdam and side-sill plastic cladding that mucks up the otherwise sleek lines of the current Protege5 ... believe me, it's more than just aesthetics I'm talking about. My wife drives a white 2002 Protege5 and it's my self-appointed job to keep it and my 2000 Protege ES clean ... and getting in all those cracks and crannies where plastic meets sheet metal is a chore and a half! Plus, those plastic doorsills make her front wheels look pitifully small when you view the car from the side. In my opinion that plastic cladding detracts from the car's otherwise graceful lines.

OK, I'm opening my platinum umbrella ... let the fallout commence!

Meade

knhill

Amen on that cladding and boy-racer-nonsense. That garbage would be enough to keep me out of a P5 if I needed a car now and will be enough to keep me out of an M3 if they tack it on. Fortunately, the pictures I have seen of the M3 and M6 wagons look pretty clean.

bluong1

MZR 2.0l engine
compression ration 10.8 (vs 9.1 for P5)
fuel: 95 RON (premium!)
hp: 150hp @ 6000 rpm
torque: 135 @ 4500 rpm
acceleration: 0-62mph: 9s (vs 9.3 for P5)
top speed: 125 mph (same as P5's)
TSCV+VIS (curiously the 1.6l has SVT but not the 2.0l)

The manual transmission seems to be very short (even shorter than P5's!)

Steering: electro-hydrolic power assisted (better than P5's engine power assisted)

Chassis: triple-H and Advanced Impact Distribution and Absorption System

Brake: 4 disks (big rotors of 11.8" fr & 11" rr), ABS+EBD

Front suspension: Mc-Pherson with strut
Rear: Multi-link

fowler3

black leather, black/red cloth, or black/blue cloth. Which would Mazda put in the copper colored MZ3 Sport/Hatch?

In the late 1970s early 1980s, when all Accords were two-door hatchbacks Honda had a copper color option, which didn't sell well. Then Toyota introduced a small station wagon with a copper color option, that too, didn't sell well. The station wagon became sort of a cult car because of its odd styling -- the rear license plate was positioned off-center towards the left side with an ugly black plastic surround bezel.

The Mazda3's "bar" grille is the optional Sport Grille, which many buyers like on the MZ6 @ $145 extra.

Carguy58, what do you want the grille to look like, a 1949 Packard?

fowler3

boggse

One page article on Mazda3. Page 43.

wongpres

the black/red cloth with black leather optional.

qbrozen

yup... check the other mazda3 sedan board for a couple of quotes. I don't wanna double-post.

johnclineii

Whatever, some of us don't read the "other" board, though, whatever that is...

qbrozen

i just told you what it is, its the sedan board. there are 2 here on edmunds. One is the mazda3 5-dr and the other is the mazda3.

johnclineii

Ahhh. Okay, I thought you meant some secret handshakey non-Edmunds board.

You are forgiven!

qbrozen

nah, no handshake, but you'd better know the password.

carguy58

The grille just looks out of place to me. It just doesn't look right to me. The sport grille make the front look awkward. Without the sport grille it looks like something is missing from the front end of the 3.

dinu01

Looks great on the grey sedan though, MUCH better than on the blue wagon/HB.

I actually like the sedan's styling better, I of all people that am a HUGE HB fan.

Dinu

groovypippin

I agree with you. I'm a current P5 owner who thought it would be a no-brainer to repalce my current car with the Mazda3 Sport. However, I am quite taken with the sedan and am much more interested in seeing it firsthand than I thought I would be.

dinu01

If the sedan offers the 2.3L engine w/all the good safety stuff and a sunroof minus NAV and HIDs (don't wanna pay for features I won't use), even though a HB is more practical, right now th sedan gets my nod - especially if they'll have some neat colours for it - that titanium grey, some shade of bright red, the blue from the M6, etc...

Dinu

groovypippin

Doesn't look like you have to worry about NAV and HID's in Canada. I don't think we will be getting those options. However, Mazda Canada has been great about including all the important safety features as standard equipment, especially on upper model level cars.

The folks at Mazda Canada did a great job putting option packages together for the Mazda6 and deserve kudos for that.

dinu01

Fairly decent options on the M6 here.

Frankfurt is just a week or so away - more pics of the sedan should be available.

I just can't believe how good that grey sedan w/sports package from AutoWeek.NL looks.

Dinu