2023 Mazda 3 rental review - loved it.
- Thread starter JeffKeryk
- Start date
Mazda is the only automaker from Japan that gets their front end designs right. Honda, Toyota, Subaru, all have excessive plastics, crowded trim prices, wild geometries, and flamboyant expressions. Modern front ends look like manufacturers are competing to see how much stuff they can cram on the bumper. Only Mazda keeps their profiles simple and elegant. I hope they stay that way.
The other Japanese automakers employ a design strategy just as Mazda does but somewhere along the line it gets confused or exaggerated. Subaru has a simple design as well.
Mazda’s thinking seems to be to keep things simple yet subtle. As you look closer you see design elements that surprise you. A simpler design is also cheaper to employ.
The interior was what blew me away. Loved it.
The paint was a Midnight Blue; very pretty.
The paint was a Midnight Blue; very pretty.
I like Mazda a lot, my parents have 2. The US ones are simply compare to Honda and Toyota and they are more reliable than Nissan IMO. Whatever they did with Skyactiv they didn't take chances on reliability, and they pick the low hanging fruits of improvement making it simpler to repair and less to go wrong. The fuel economy is probably not as much as a CVT with small turbo, but the reliability more than make up for it.
I don't see as many of their sedans as I used to, but I could throw a rock in the work parking lot and probably hit 10 CX-5's.
That really highlights a problem. Yes, beautiful San Diego - my home for nearly 50 years. You rented an ICE you liked, but didn't drive an EV from Los Gatos. You have multiple cars, most drivers have one car and need to buy the car that fits all their needs.
You have stated on multiple occasions that an EV is not good for you to drive long distances. Well the I 5/101 corridor, indeed most of CA has plenty of charging stations. How about the one car owner in an area with few stations? Will they buy an EV?
I did not expect this thread to go to EVs, but I will do my best to answer your questions. We do several 1 day trips from San Jose to San Diego each year; via Southwest Airlines. We visit my wife's parents at Mt. Hope cemetery; she (and I) respect and miss them. Her favorite aunt lives north. On Saturday we hit Tony's Jacal for a wonderful lunch, around La Jolla and such and then back to the airport.
Driving our Tesla to SD would be a lot cheaper than gas.
I've said many times EVs are not for everyone. It depends on your use case and your wants. Of course you can say this about many cars, right? As you point out, much of CA has Tesla Superchargers, so we are in a bit of a bubble. We have a home in Petaluma; there is a nice set of Superchargers at a shopping center but no other places to charge. Quite different then Silicon Valley...
You do raise a key point about charging scenarios. By far, the #1 reason owners go back to ICE from EV is charging issues. When prospective buyers ask me about the car, the 1st thing I ask them is, "How you gonna charge?" I would not own an EV if I could not charge at home. I know of a few people who do; they are able to charge at work for a subsidized rate. But this is truly a secondary car.
My sister/brother in law recently bought their daughter a 2016 IA a couple of months ago. I went for a ride in it and while it's a small car it rode well and has plenty of power for a 16 y/o. No squeaks/rattles with a 123,000 miles on it.
Salamanca is the gangster in Breaking Bad!
I agree with your observation. However, one thing all of the Asian OEMs need to fix is get the infotainment screens more integrated into the dash. Most all of them look like they added it on as an after thought and just stuck on top of the dash.
Attachments
My sons 5 year old unit has been rock solid and is still tight and fun to drive. It's closing in on 60K.
He commutes from Culver City Ca to Universal in Burbank daily in awful stop and go LA traffic.
Has needed nothing but oil changes.
I dont know of a nicer better handling small car right now.
Would recommend.
If they integrate the screen in the dash it will be too low for quick glances. I like mine just like that. It’s on to and slightly canted towards me.
I’m old school. I like NO screen.
I’m old school. I like NO screen.
The screen is the lesser of two evils.
Picking the wrong route or simply guessing in a city can cost you an incredible amount of time.
Sometimes in places like LA you have three parallel routes to choose from - They arent broadcasting traffic radio like they used to.
Ive seen worse screen implementations than the little mazdas, It does have a nice livable set of analog gauges.
Yeah, that was one of the reasons I didn't buy a new 3 when I was shopping in 2014 to replace my much more space-efficient old Mazda (listed below).
Both of my vehicles integrate the screen at the same level as the gauge cluster without it looking like a 2 year old just threw it up on the dash. It can be done, but many don't spend the time to design it in. The MDX is less seamless than the VW and now showing its age but still a pretty clean design. The VW also cants the entire center stack towards the driver which I agree is a nice feature:
That red interior is stunning.
Burger has a JB-4 for this that might scratch your power itch. I highly recommend.
