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Comments
An Elantra GT against a Mazda3? IMO, I'd go w/ the Mazda3.
http://www.theallnewmazda3.com/chd/common/images/gallery/gallery1- - _1024.jpg
is a lighter shade of Sepang Green. Maybe it's the same paint with a different name.
I don't think the Sepang Green is 28(A).
Their weight & poor aerodynamic waste gas & is still less roomy & harder to load heavy cargo than the minivans. To achieve the average-fuel-economy requirement for each car company, the domestics had to sell so many economy cars in order to balance out the large number fat-profit SUVs they want to sell. So the Escort/Focus has to be sold w/o profit or even below cost. So the Mazda3 has to keep the price down in order to compete in this country. There are already bunch of idiot complaining that the Camry is a better deal then the Mazda3. So a well equipped Mazda3 is even being sold in the 3rd-world.
I did compute the maxspeed of the first to fifth gear, Mazda3-MT 17" wheels (btw, creakid, 15" comes in 195/65R15 not 205) at the 6500 rpm (red line) and I get respectively 35.7, 64.1, 90.2, 121.8, 156.4mph (well going 30% straight downhill that is!). For the Protegé, the 2th gear reach 60.6mph. So it seems that the Mazda3 doesn't need to go in the third gear to reach 60mph.
In any case, I think the addition weight of the 6i will penalizes in the 0-60mph time. With a good driver, it takes probably 0.1-0.2 (?) second to shift gear, and as the car speed would be so close to 60mph, that it will take less than fraction of second to get there, regardless which gear are using.
Bruno
PS: I don't know why I get slightly different result than Gary but the results are close enough. I suspect it come a mile conversion (1609m rather than 1600m.)
Classy, that's two-tone leather wrapped dog! LOL
Preston, are you talking about the remote control? I suspect Mazda3 work like the Protegé(5).
- remote control: first press -> driver door unlocks; second press -> all doors and hatch unlock.
- Interior fob (next to the driver door handle) -> all door and hatch lock/unlock depending where you press them.
- "Mazda wants to move higher Mazda aims to be the No. 3 Asian brand in Europe, behind Toyota and Nissan but ahead of Suzuki and Honda..."
Seem like the chase is started. Though it's a little bit late for Honda. Not sure I like the fact that Mazda would become popular and many people will drive the same car than mine.
- Black Tail light in CA: available with Sedan GT with GFX package (a dealer told me all sedan GT would have, but then when I ask him to confirm he coudn't) and on both 5-door Sport trims.
- Front grill: coloured cheese-grater front grill is available with CA sedan GT with GFX package, CA 5-doors (both trims), US s-trim 4-door and 5-door. All other N/A trims have all black front grill.
http://www.caroftheyear.org/pages/Voting04.htm
Don't forget to read 58 judges's comments.
Bruno
So you can drop by or call them: 416-642-7777
Dinu
Not being mean, but one should be sporty while the other is just another appliance on the road. Different priorities for different people.
Dinu
PS: A trunk release button on the key fob is nice but if it eliminates the release lever from inside the passenger compartment like they did it on Cavaliers and your battery is weak, it's no fun trying to squeeze juice out of your remote
I still don't get it how the Panda of all cars got it. I mean the 3 or Golf should have...
Dinu
Lava.
I'm not really expecting the 6i to be faster than the 3s but stranger things have happened. For some reason I think they're going to be pretty close though.
Do we really think the 3s w/MT will do 0-60 under 8 seconds? Because that would just be the icing on the cake for me!
My ZX2 did 0-60 under 8 seconds but it didn't handle well. Having a car that handles well (hopefully it's similar or even better than the P5 I drove) and has some cajones would be like a dream come true.
I don't think I can express in words how much I hate our Civic.
Bruno
Lava.
Huummm, `strange' is just an adjective for something that we don't understand well.
Do we really think the 3s w/MT will do 0-60 under 8 seconds? Because that would just be the icing on the cake for me!
I don't know, tests by C&D seem to get often much better time than anybody else. Most of the reviews I saw state the 2.0L time from 8.8 to 9.2 second (Mazda gives the median number of 9.0s)
I don't think I can express in words how much I hate our Civic.
I know, I know. I use to own one. When I have just arrived in the States, I need a car, I take the CR's words and ran out buying a Civic without doing much my own research. I'll never do that again.
I noticed some reviewers didn't like the 1.6L engine (they thought it was a diesel???), some complained about the lack of room for its size and others about the lack of "ESP" although one reviewer commented on it.
It seems some were confused if the car had or not "ESP". Now is "ESP" a type of Dynamic Stability Control or does it stand for something else?
You can notice how some countries didn't like it, whole others did.
It's tough for a Japanese car to get praise in Europe...
Dinu
Dinu
Bruno, yes, I was referring to the keyless remote (not the interior power lock switch for the front passengers).
The Mazda3 sedan does have a trunk opener inside the car. My beef with no trunk release on the keyless is this: whenever I have groceries or something, I need to unlock and open the driver's door, use the trunk opener, and then go to the trunk. Or alternatively, I'd have to manually open the trunk with the key (haven't done that for years).
September 1991: New 1992 Protege LX
August 1992: Car totaled in hydroplaning accident
September 1992: Another new 1992 Protege LX
May 2000: New 2000 Protege ES
January 2002: New 2002 Protege5 for wife
A few things that were left off of the 2000 Protege (which now has 66,800 completely trouble-free miles on it, I must add), which were standard on the top-of-the-line '92 LX, were lockable fold-down rear seats, rear center armrest, rear ashtray, and -- last but not least -- that wonderful pocket behind the front passenger's seat where you could store maps and other flat items by simply reaching around from the driver's seat and grabbing/stowing them. That pocket was absolutely fantastic for storing my big U.S. Road Atlas, which couldn't fit anywhere else in the car, and keeping it handy as I was driving down the road. I could reach around and grab it while keeping my eyes on the road.
Seems the Mazda3, which, as I said, I'm in love with, has brought most of these standard features back.
HOWEVER ...
In those pics posted a few days ago of the North American Mazda3, I couldn't help but notice that the wonderful back-of-seat pocket is ... ON THE BACK OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT ONLY???!!!
http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/Mazda3/Images/RearSeat.jpg
I took that photo and lightened it up in Photoshop, and sure enough, there is no pocket on the back of the passenger seat!
I sure hope Mazda didn't accidentally keep the seats in the Euro configuration for North America! For us, what good is the pocket on the back of the driver's seat???
Meade
No, because in Europe we get the pocket only in passenger side! Euro pocket! You know why they don't have the pocket to store your maps? Because they want you to buy the GPS Nav.
btw Meade, you won't get either the centre rear armrest and headrest.
That is SO true! My cousins in Italy think it's rediculous when I say that the Japanese make the best cars in the world. They're not the best looking (which is maybe what they're going by), but I'll take a Toyota over a FIAT any day.
EPS=DSP (electronic/dynamic stability control). In many european countries, the DSP is available only with the Mazda3 2.0L engine. Most of the C-segment cars in Europe (Golf, Mégane, 307, Alfa 147, Focus) offer the DSP as standard feature. That's why there is many complains among the reviewers.
They said end of December. I was in the area just an hour ago and dropped by. When I told them other dealers received theirs yesterday, the receptionist said she only knows that Etobicoke (Dave Wood I'm assuming) and Scarborough (Scarboro and/or Morningside) have none.
Seems they need to get rid of the PROs
Dinu
Interesting reading, though difficult for a N.A. person to understand context, as a lot of those cars are unfamiliar to us.
Seems as if most liked the 3, but many commented that it's large exterior (compared to the rest) really didn't pay off when it comes to interior, especially trunk, capacity. Noise seems to be another complaint, but since it was tested with the smallest engine (and I would assume loudest), that didn't concern me much.
There was a little conflict of opinion when it came to driving/suspension comfort. Some made negative comments, others positive or none at all.
2. If the Germans like it, it should be at least a decent car for us NA folks.
3. Read twice what the French say: they seem to be the most balanced out there b/w driving fun, quality, styling, comfort, value, etc.
4. Anything coming out of the former Eastern block is usually positive (after Ladas, Dacias and Trabants no wonder!), so don't stress too much about what they say.
5. Read Car and Driver - if they like it, it'll be most likely MY type of car
Dinu
Maybe the Nav system will incorporate a more sophisticated version of that feature, albeit, at a hefty cost increase.
I see from one of the interior close-up pictures that there are at least 3 settings for the wipers that I can see: "INT", "1" and "2".
Not sure what this means though. Wouldn't "1" and "2" represent different speed settings? If so, what is the distinction between those two and the "INT" setting?
come to think of it, I believe that was a Canadian dash close-up, and therefore doesn't necessarily have implications for US specs.
1 - wipes/wipes/wipes/wipes/wipes
2 - wwiippeess/wwiippeess <- faster than 1
Dinu
Everybody please listen to Dinu. LOL.
My impressions: first and foremost, the car is far and away the best looking in its class. Unlike the P5, which looked like two boxes joined together, the 3 looks like an integrated whole. The design is perfectly realized. Sizewise, the 3 isn't a huge improvement over the P5. In fact, the trunk seemed smaller and the seat height is still a little low relative to other cars in its class.
Beauty wins out, however, and I am dying to get my hands on one!
Dinu
No, 'strange' is when you're 200 HP/200 lb-ft Escape (or Tribute for that matter) is slower to 60 than a 160 HP/~160 lb-ft CR-V w/MT. Many factors come into play (tire size, gearing, aero, tranny type, etc.) for all that to happen but boy do we take a ragging for that over in the other threads. Fortunately the twins catch up and win out in the 1/4 mile so not all is lost.
I try not to get too techincal around here unless someone asks.
I sure hope the Mazda3 hatch is big enough for my needs. If it isn't, I may well be driving a most honorable Subaru wagon! The Impala now has 141,000 miles on it, with no major repairs. I don't want to push this thing much longer.
But the salesguy took me and another customer on a ride. Unlike my last ride which only lasted going between two parking lots, this was a 20min ride and mainly freeway driving.
Here's some of my thoughts (both good and bad):
- the car confirmed that Canadian-spec GT sedan has red taillights (so only sedan with GFX package has black taillights)
- the car had auto wipers and auto lights (just about the only things Canada gets that US doesn't)
- because of the car's height, the tires look 1 inch smaller than they really are (i.e. the car I saw had the 16's but looked like 15's)
- interior was of BP5/BP6-type. The blue part of the cloth was quite nice, soft yet durable. The black cloth felt similar to the Mazda6, rougher but durable
- this car handles amazing, the salesguy pushed like mad on the on/off ramps and the car took everything with zero tire screeching!
- however, there is quite a bit of tire/suspension noise, so much so that I'm seriously questioning how bad the 17's must be. It was so bad that I'm now debating whether or not I'm going to get the GFX (which is the package that includes the 17's). I'm going to need a back-to-back with the two wheel sizes. One caveat though, the car hasn't been PDI'd yet, so it could have been the tire pressures being way too high causing all the suspension noise.
- the car had optitron gauges, but the blue back-lighting was so faint that I couldn't see it (the other customer was in the driver's seat and had to cover the gauges with his hands just to report seeing a bit of blue). And yes, we played with the gauges quite a bit (they're very cool)
- no comments on the centre info display and radio because the car wasn't PDI'd yet so those fuses weren't in
- although the car had the 2.3l, it NOT have 2.3 stickers on the front doors (maybe these show-off stickers only come with the GFX package)
- tires in the 16-inch alloys were: Toyo Proxes A05. No time to research these, I'm sure someone else can comment on them. Their treadwear was 300
That's all I can think of so far, except to add that my productivity this afternoon is shot. Oh yeah, sorry, no pictures, didn't have my camera.
Edit: And the build date was Oct. 2003
Dinu: OK!
Fair enough with both of you.
Sorry, no time to write down the VIN, but I'm 95% sure both sedan and hatch are assembled in Hofu 1.
Bruno said: "Classy, that's two-tone leather wrapped dog! LOL "
Actually, she's tri-tone, tan around the ears and mouth. In a car with black seats I would only see the white parts.
Good reports today and lots of pictures.
What??? No center armrest in the back seat, sheesh, that kills it for me.
Maybe Wongpres should buy the Prius, its remote not only unlocks the car but it starts the engine for you. In a car with both an electric motor and a gas engine, when it breaks down do you call a mechanic or an electrician?
fowler3
There's no question about that, what I want to know is will it be comparable to a 2.0 auto Protege or will the Mazda3 2.0 auto be significantly slower? Keep in mind I'm not going to rev the engine like crazy to try and get the additional power that seems to only be had by reving it. With the gear ratios the way they are and additional weight the 2.0 auto is just going to be downright slow isn't it?
This is an issue for me because I'd like to be able to merge on highways safely instead of struggling to get up to speed. The Mazda Protege I test drove was adequate in this regard, but much slower than that then it becomes a concern. This car may even be slower than the new Toyota Prius the way it sounds.
I guess that's why Mazdas are always so loud, to give you that "sporty" feeling. Thanks Mazda.
"because of the car's height, the tires look 1 inch smaller than they really are (i.e. the car I saw had the 16's but looked like 15's)"
Oh great, another Corolla. Hopefully the car being wide will give it a better look. The Corolla has better rear styling though.
Could you please take a look at a tach and speedo and report back the RPM and speed. If you could read the tach at 60mph (100km/h) or greater it would be great. Thanks.
Just get a car that avoids accidents well & drive responsibly."
Me having a Volvo wouldn't change my driving style. I drive both a 2300 pound underpowered car and 3100 pound high low-end torque car and drive basically the same. Only difference is that extra power is nice in a situation where I feel passing someone is better than staying near them. Otherwise I'm very cautious and leave plenty of room between me and other cars (never tailgate) and drive very conservatively (a 2.0 auto Protege has plenty of power for me).
Having a Volvo wouldn't make me run it into a brick wall or fly out in front of people in intersections to test out the "superior" safety of the Volvo. Even in the 2300 pound car I hardly ever think about while I'm driving that I wish it weighed more to give me a better chance in a wreck. It's actually kind of fun being that light, feels like a go-kart.
I would just like to have good passive safety along with good active safety. Neither of these would I consider at the very top of my list as far as priorities in buying a new car go, but having both is very appealing. The Volvo's braking is 124.7 feet 0-62 and supposedly has good handling. May not be as good as a Mazda3 (especially since it weighs more) but I'm sure it's much better than most cars and suvs on the road. Having a good combination of both is the best of both worlds.
Nothing wrong with trying to put the odds in someone's favor in a wreck if it ever came to that. And nothing wrong with buying a car because it has shorter braking distances and better handling. That handling and braking could save your life, or the passive safety could as well. Avoiding the accident is important but life isn't always so nice. That's why I'm willing to spend $800 on ABS and side curtains.
I'm simply looking for the best of both worlds. The Volvo S40 offers both reasonably well. Price, reliability, etc. is a whole different story though.
My other reason is more practical. Mazda or whoever, I refuse to buy a car in its first model year. There are just too many complicated systems in today's cars -- especially a complete redesign like the 3 (hey, look at the first runs of the Mazda6). No, I'll be buying somewhere in the first or second quarter of 2005.
A little time to drool and plan my package ... heck, there may even be some incentives by then!
Meade