Opportunity doesn’t always knock; sometimes it breaks down the door with a crash. When my daily driver became the caboose in a rush hour conga line gone bad, I found myself in that placeless place where car reviewers go when the press fleet is permanently out to sea. To the chagrin of Saturnistas everywhere, I passed on the Ion proffered by the perky rental car desk jockey. At the appropriate moment, I gratefully grabbed the keys to a 2006 Mazda3 sedan. The four-door filly had been ridden hard and put up wet, bearing 16k miles. Another TTAC road test had officially begun.
Mazda’s designers have done everything possible to rescue the Mazda3 from Generic Econoboxland. And I do mean everything: long nose, deep cut creases running fore and aft, flared wheel arches, perky antenna mast, high-booty rear end, wraparound taillights; the whole modern car identikit. The overall effect is sporty enough to please the college grads, yet sensible enough for mom and dads. Or, if you prefer, a zoom-zoom-tuned Nissan Versa.
Inside, the rental spec 3 served up a bizarre farrago of features: engine immobilizer, ICE wired for satellite (normally a $430 option) but not sound (this is not my beautiful Bose), AC, manual locks and mirrors and (gasp!) hand-cranked windows. Maybe some Dearborn bean counters took a Japanese junket (Escape? Expedition? Excursion?). If you feel like getting jiggy with the options list, the $1750 pop-up DVD nav makes an interesting conversation piece– provided you consider voice instructions a form of human intercourse.
The Mazda3's [cloth] driver’s seat is like your best friend after your dog dies: it gives you a nice, firm hug and then provides lots of short and long-term support. Once embraced, you’re free to rest your left elbow on the same plastic toymakers use to construct products able to withstand untamed toddlers’ force-ten tantrums. The only compliant horizontal surfaces (seats excluded): the uppermost center console and the door handle. The rest of the interior is about as haptically happening as an electric fence.
The Mazda3's 60/40 folding rear seat gives the car terrific cargo access and capacity. With the rears in place and passengers in situ, the rear seating section won’t trigger an Amnesty International investigation– provided you’re not schlepping two six-footers on a long drive or three passengers of any age, sex or national affiliation (but especially well-fed teenage Japanese sumo wrestlers). To say the four-door’s rear compartment is somewhat cloistered would be like saying Benedictine monks are a bit on the shy side.
Once underway, the well-used Mazda3 didn’t shake, rattle or squeak. With just 2700 pounds to motivate, the car's 2.0-liter, four-cylinder 150hp mill can sling the machine to sixty in a shade under nine seconds, or deliver excellent economy (26/34). Unfortunately, mashing the go-pedal yields precious little sonic satisfaction; it sounds like switching an electric fan from low to high. In relaxed use, the 16-valve VVT powerplant hums along quietly enough for government work.
When pressed, the autobox equipped sedan dips deeply into revs, wringing out all available torque (135 ft.-lbs.) before jumping down a gear. Having rowed gears for 30 years, I just don’t get these manumatics. Although the sedan’s computer controlled tranny makes for less hesitant gear choices, you can’t get anywhere near the car’s 6500rpm red line. Control freaks and speed demons should stick with the stick.
At speed, the Mazda3 feels a bit like an MX-5 with a booster seat. The platform’s fully independent chassis and electro-hydraulic helm don’t deliver all the delicious feedback of Mazda’s legendary Lotus Elan-a-like, but there’s enough precision in the system to inspire genuine confidence. And that’s all the reason a sporting driver really needs to drive the Mazda3, um, sportingly.
Should you press on towards the point of no-deposit (refunded) no return (except on the back of a recovery truck), the Mazda3 doesn’t betray its underpinnings until you’re close to eight-tenths. Then, finally, the beginnings of a nose-first understeer slide serve a not-so-subtle reminder that you’re piloting a front wheel-drive machine.
The Mazda3's four-wheel disc brakes are feelsome, fearsome binders; with optional ABS, I might not have needed a rental car in the first place. Road ruts don’t rock, though rough surfaces generate plenty of noise. Of course, I’d expect a deeper sense of happiness riding on the optional 17” wheels, instead of the stuck-pig-when-pushed 15” all season shoes.
When it comes to driving pleasure, the Mazda3 owns the Toyota Corolla and more than holds its own against the increasingly bloated, visually challenged Honda Civic. While you can laud the Mazda3's price, design, build quality, practicality and economy, the best bit is that the Japanese sedan lives up to its brand’s performance-oriented promise. Sigh. If only we hadn’t met under such difficult circumstances.
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I own this car’s predecessor, the Protege5. While the Mazda3 is certainly a superior car on a technical level and in nearly every way that can be objectively measured, the Protege remains more fun to drive, with a livelier personality. Also, for reasons I don’t grasp, the rear seat is significantly tighter in the newer car.
I’m seeing low repair rates for the Mazda3 so far in my reliability survey.
My price comparison and reliability site’s page for the Mazda3:
http://www.truedelta.com/Mazda3.php
I own an ‘06 GS, and this review is pretty much spot on. This car is head and shoulders more fun to drive than any Corolla or Civic (save possibly the Si).
The GS brings a lot of improvements to the base rental model, such as a more powerful 2.3L engine and the aformentioned 17″ wheels.
You can also get a bunch of luxury equipment unavailable in most other econoboxes, such as HID Headlamps, Navigation System, Bose, rain-sensing wipers, and automatic climate control.
In fact, a fully loaded 3 with everything should set you back less than $22K, which is a real bargain to me.
“Having rowed gears for 30 years, I just don’t get these manumatics.”
AMEN.
Question: How Japanese is this car?
Question: How Japanese is this car?
The C1 chassis was designed by equal numbers of Mazda, Ford, and Volvo engineers. The rest of the car is all Japanese, good and bad – MZR motor, rock-hard interior plastics.
I’m a big fan of the styling of this car. Also a fan of the engineering. I’ve owned three Mazdas in my life, and driven many more, and lauded them all the while.
To me, Mazda is a company that doesn’t lose focus (okay, sometimes, a little). Affordable cars that are fun to drive, and reasonably reliable. They rarely lose sight of that (even the badge engineered Tribute seems like it has firmer damper settings than an Escape – that could just be me).
The Mazda 3 isn’t a home run, but it does so well is so many categories, and for me, the styling (which I know is subjective) doesn’t make it embarrassing to drive – which is tough to say about some of it’s competition.
Why doesn’t some of this rub off on Ford?
I owned a Protege5 and fell in love with the handling, the nice looks, and utility of the car. It had some niggling problems and interior cloth wore out in spots way too early. The engine was very adequate as it would shake rattle & roll in the winter and sound loud when cold with tapping. I did get to take it to the track and push it through it’s paces and was able to keep up with some faster cars.
I think the new Protege has a Ford sourced engine now and that precluded me from considering a Mazda3 as a replacement. I just don’t trust a Ford with my family’s safety.
The wife and I have owned our 3 for three years now – she loved the looks and interior, I got turned on that the handling was as close as you were going to get to my former E36 M3 for under 20 grand. It’s been fun, reliability has been great, and yeah the manumatic is more advertising copy than mechanical breakthrough. Patti doesn’t do manuals, and I get enough control for the rare occasional when I do put it in ‘M’ mode.
As to those who might pass on the car because it might have (horrors!) and American-branded part or two in it – get over it. You’re missing one heck of a car through your personal bigotry.
I believe it is Ford using Mazda sourced engines, not the other way around. Ford started using the MZR engine a couple of years ago as their Duratec. I could be wrong of course, but I seem to remember when I looked at the Mazda3 initially to replace my Protege finding this out.
Just out of curiousity, will the “Stars” section of this article be published and posted?
I, as well, own the previous generation econobox gone wild, the Protege5. It’s a 2002.5 and so far (nearing 50K miles) I’ve not had a single mechanical failure of any kind (knocking wood). Yes there are a few squeaks present and yes the engine is a little weaker than I’d like, but so far it’s been a great car. If the 3 inherited any of the reliability from it’s relative, then it should be a very good value. However, I don’t recall anything that carried over from the Protege to the 3. Mazda has been offering products for quite some time that are exciting, reliable and affordable. But it seems their association with Ford has hurt their perceived value. I also have a Ford Freestar which has to be the biggest piece of crap I’ve ever owned. The extended warranty is the only redeeming quality about that vehicle. How can two companies under the same umbrella be so vastly different?
In Jaje’s defense -
I purchased a 1990 Ford Probe GT new. Awesome car, very underrated 2.2l turbocharged motor. But I digress. Clearly not 100% Ford – it was more Mazda than Ford. But still, those weasels sold it to me.
Anyway, it made a few trips to the Ford dealer for issues. Three times (2 different Ford dealers) ended up towing it to a Mazda dealer to fix a problem they couldn’t. And the Ford service writers would do two things to piss me off even further – one told me “that’s what you get for not buying a real Ford” and one tried to tell me I had to take it to Mazda directly, which I actually tried once, but Mazda told me they couldn’t service the car under warranty unless the Ford dealer brought it to them.
So I understand the hesitation. It left a bad taste in my mouth (not for Mazda, so much, but for Ford) that won’t allow me to purchase a Ford branded vehicle.
John:
The bad news: the stars feature’s broken.
The good news: I’ve raised some dough. The new new new new new (more like the old) TTAC design is coming!
And all that was rent asunder shall be repaired.
Amen.
My mom has a Mazda6 and it has that black-rubber-elephant-hide stuff in a lot of interior places. Does that come on any higher-end 3 models, or do all the models have rental car cheapy hard plastic?
Never driven a 3, but her 6 is a blast for a mainstream sedan, as far as steering and handling go. However, I wish they would have put the 2.3 Miller Cycle V6 in it (from her old Millenia S), which was fast, made great sounds, and got the same gas mileage as her 3.0.
Sounds like we’re shifting from one star to another – glad to hear it!
Joe – excellent article. I’ve been a big fan of the 3 since its arrival to the US in ‘04, and needed a “push” to get me committed to buying it. I think I may need to schedule a test drive. :)
I came away disappointed from a Mazda 3 Sport test drive after I had discovered the wonderful little piece of sheetmetal that was the Protégé 5. The biggest problem I had was with the drive-by-wire throttle calibration, and upon noticing that the 3 shared it’s engine with the Focus I concluded that it was Ford’s fault. Which, aside from the fact that I was wrong, made perfect sense.
“Why doesn’t some of this rub off on Ford?”
Because Ford is a truck company, silly.
i6:
Was it a manual tranny? Was throttle overrun a problem?
I test drove a Nissan Versa with the 6-Speed manual, and I felt like an idiot (even with my last 25 years of driving manuals) because I couldn’t modulate the throttle properly to keep the engine from scraming like a banshee when pushing the clutch in. A deal-breaker for sure! I hear other horror stories about FBW throttles (mostly with auto trannies) about huge delays in acceleration, also.
Hi guys…Wow, I can’t believe this is posting!
Anyway, long time reader, first time poster.
So Karesh drives a Protege? How very economical and reliable. I guess I was hoping for something cooler. That’s what I get for hanging out in my Audi forum with a bunch of other guys who dump their paychecks into beautiful German money-pits. You really practice what you preach brother. I may never outgrow my sexy car phase, but I hope I’ll have friends like you to give me a ride back from the shop.
Would anybody else be interested in finding out the daily drivers of the illustrious TTAC staff?
I’m with Curtis, tell us what you guys drive personally (except the WRX, J.L., we’ve heard enough about that ;)
I drive a beat up old Saab 9000 Aero and love every minute of it…
mazda has always wanted to nudge to avantgarde. and to move that cloud aside with velvet chrome rim. and they always shone. shone in quality, even failing to bring to market Amati brand as a luxury mazda offspring.mazda has grat engineers, and mazda 3 platform was competely constructed by mazda. the same like your ford escape.mazda 3 is worldwide player today- it is beneath volvo s40 , many fords ,Edge as well.lincolns, mercurys etc.i own a ford probe 2,5 liter v6 1995. and it is a pure mazda car. good fit and finish, lovely revving sweet engine.ford doesn`t do a single engineering move, if it can be done by mazda.and todays ford of europe that is bragging so much about driving pleasure in the latest focus, has to thank to mazda, because all the suspension is from mazda. and here you can see how patriotism shows your vanity. mazda ,having designed the beautiful suspension, and outstanding engines, couldn`t get the title ` car of the year`, while ford got it. because it was associated at least with germany. while americans of course imagine that focus has something to do with USA.focus is the best because it is mazda based. so you should give standing ovations to mazda. not the badge gurus. the same way mazda nagare didn`t become the greatest concept in NAIAS-2007, while jaguar got it. being a designer myself, I don`t see a single reason jag was better than nagare/ryuga concept. i think if you slapped jag logo on tata it could also become the greatest concept.by the way mazda had narrower gap tolerances in their millenia/xedos9 cars than any merc or bmw by that time.god bless people and nations with hands of blisters, and heads of talents.
And horizon is just a narrow line of a doubt, an illusion,
that one day will be erased by a dreamers solution.
and there is no day, when a glory page you couldn`t dare,
I bow forward with a book of history,
So full of conquests, commenced in a dreamer`s glare. jurisb, lunatics@inbox.lv
i6 – “…and upon noticing that the 3 shared it’s engine with the Focus I concluded that it was Ford’s fault. Which, aside from the fact that I was wrong, made perfect sense.”
That’s the funniest thing I’ve read here in a while. I laugh every time I read this statement.
I own an 06 Mazda3 Sport (the 5 door). The thing that amazed me most about this car was the number of “luxury” features on the car – the rain sensing wipers, E. Brake force distribution, ABS/4 wheel disc/HEPA Air filtration, and a plethora of other options, all for what I considered to be an amazing deal.
What really blew me away, though, was the ride. the 2.3 MZR is quite a beast, and I absolutely *love* the handling of this car. I haven’t been “excited” b a vehicle in a long, long time, but I’m excited every time I step into this car, a year later.
the problem with Ford is that it forgets its models “constant improvement?” hell no. However while Mazda make neat engines, Ford actually has some great chassis engineers. Focus, for example, great chassis, now Harry, what about the rest of it.
I’m an ‘04 Mazda 3S 5-door owner and I think it’s a fabulous car.
For under $17k (+tax+licensce+fees), I have power everything, a moonroof, a 6-CD changer and amazing handling.
Yes, the interior plastics are on the hard side, but they’re durable and my car has no squeaks/rattles after 2.5 years and 40k miles.
The 2.3L engine in the S models is a definite step up from the 2.0 (despite similar HP numbers on paper), and I got 32 mpg on my last fill-up.
I think most of the shortcomings Joe C. encountered were due to the car’s rental-fleet equipment level and previous abuse, not faults of the car itself.
I own an 06 3GX and a Protege..in fact my 4th and 5th Mazda.
Until my car was delivered I was driving an automatic 3 loaner from the dealership. It was nice but night and day compared to the manual tranny on the car I bought. It’s a hoot to drive.
The only drawbacks so far are the underpadded rear seats which are already fraying despite minimal usage and the paint which chips far too easily.
I had been waiting for the new Civic before buying a commuter car but was really disappointed when I finally test drove one.
The 3 was thousands cheaper on the road when compared to either the Civic or Corolla (gag) as you aren’t forced to buy an upgrade package to get something as simple as a/c.
I own an 05 GT hatch (we Canadians got the rain sensing wipers while the Americans got HID lights). With the sunroof and automanubox (wifey doesn’t drive manual) it costs $25000.
The quality difference between the Mazda3 models is somewhat of a puzzle to me. The GT interior seems quite nice compared to the other econoboxes on the market. When I had the car in for service at 24000 KM service, the dealer gave me a GX model that barely had 5000 KMs on it. The interior of the GX was quite nasty. It looked the same as my GT, but the panels didn’t even match in colour and there were some huge gaps between them. The plastic steering wheel and gearshift were just aweful. Also the 2.0 engine felt quite dull.
I only have two complaints with the GT. First, if you sink your foot on the gas pedal, the engine just seems to die, but if you gradually (but quickly) depress the gas pedal, you’ll get quite a kick out of the 2.3 engine. Mazda claims it’s a feature, not a bug in the electronic throttle control. Second, as the reviewer noted, real seat leg room is quite small. Luckily, we’re small people.
I agree with pretty much everything else in the review. The handling is quite nice, but the Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires don’t do this car justice.
I own an 04 Mazda6s, and it has been reliable and is still enjoyable after over 2 years of ownership. The seat upholstery is starting to show some wear and a light cover on the door unsnapped itself. Other than that no complaints. I also test drove a Mazda3 while I was looking for a new car and I thought it was nice as did my wife. While I went with the Mazda6 in the end, my overall number 2 choice taking into account price, practicallity, predicted reliability, styling, and fun was the Mazda3. I’m sure that Joe C. would have enjoyed the sport version with the 2.3L and a manual transmission much more, I did. Now that my wife is thinking of a new car, she has three real possibilities on her list: the Mazdaspeed3, Mazda3 (2.3 L), or a Ford Mustang GT (she’s a big Mustang fan and has a 95 Cobra Mustang now). glad to hear from yet more people that they like the Mazda3.
Good review, too bad it had to be a rental car, although I guess that is the ultimate test of durability. Two of my friends have new Mazda3’s and we all think they are great cars. The only real problem that they both have is that they have both managed to crack their windshields. Since there is a rain sensor embedded in the windshield a replacement runs north of $600. The only other problem comes from the more anal of the two, who says that it squeaks when he is in 3rd gear going up a hill at 3,000 RPM when it is 4 degrees outside on a Sunday. He brought it to Mazda who apparently fixed something under warranty, and now he only hears it sometimes on Thursdays. Yes he’s an engineer. I found no problems with the back seat at all; my friends and I found it quite roomy during our commute to work, especially compared to my Paseo. I like Mazda and am considering upgrading the Paseo to a Speed6 in the near future.
Just a few followups to some issues raised in prior comments:
The Mazda3 shares only engineering with other Ford Vehicles, no hard parts. And the other vehicles is shares engineering with are quite good: The Volvo S40 and the European (not American) Focus. The Mazda 3 is completely assembled in Japan of almost entirely Japanese made components. The association with Ford is unfortunate, and largely incorrect.
Some of the interior pieces are on the hard side, but, as was pointed out earlier, they are durable. However, the leather seats and trim in the GT package does help soften things somewhat.
A friend of mine just got rid of his 04 Mazda3. He loved the car, but in the end he couldn’t handle the poor air conditioning. Here in D.C. you’ve got to have good AC. I’ve heard this is an problem on the 3s. Anyone else have this issue?
shaker:
The 3 I tested didn’t have a throttle overrun problem, more like a throttle inversion problem. Yes, it was as scary as it sounds.
Throttle overrun is not unique to DBW throttles, and I’ve experienced it on a cabled ‘98 Prelude.
thalter:
The C1 triplets (3/EU Focus/S40) can theoretically be built on the same assembly line, not that Mazda/Ford EU/Volvo actually do such a thing. I don’t know if there are actually any interchangeable chassis parts. Given how well it’s turned out, I would say the Ford (EU) & Volvo association is a good thing.
New Mazda5 owner here, the Mazda3’s inexpensive big brother on the same C1 platform but with more weight, seats, and hard nasty plastic. Handling is wonderful despite
3300+lbs and the 64″ height. I’ll find out the hard way how bad the AC is this summer, as I live in the VA suburbs of DC.
Lumbergh21 – exactly, the 2.3L, a manual and 17″ wheels is what I’d rather have driven for two weeks! If I were purchasing, that’s what I’d consider.
Regarding the stars, here’s what I’d sent RF:
Design – 3 – What the Graduate might drive in 2007; “One word: Plastics!”
Performance – 2 – “Adequate” is such faint praise, after all; needs the HP bump of the 2.3
Ride – 3 – Smooth and compliant over heaves; transmits road noise like a cheap walkie-talkie
Handling – 4 – Adding six inches in height to the MX-5 still results in confidence, until you dare go too far
Overall – 3 – best in class handling; too many hard surfaces inside
This car has nicer lines than it direct competitors.
I read on various boards that early 3’s had problems with A/C, which were supposedly fixed somewhat in later models (and available as a retrofit to older models).
That said, I am a huge A/C junkie, and I have no complaints with the A/C in my 06. Granted I have the automatic climate control, and most of the complaints have been with the manual A/C.
I convinced my fiance to get an ‘06 Mazda3 5-door, vicariously living out my hot hatch fantasies through her. It’s an auto (no stick for her) with only the roof/6 CD combo.
After returning my lemon MINI and using the refund as a down payment on an apartment, we are down to one car, the 3. I am the one who has to drive it 20 miles to work, relegating my lady to the bus/subway. I feel guilty enough about it already, okay guys?
Despite being up on weight and down on power v. the MCS, the 3 is still a blast to drive. It’s got the perfect sporty yet forgiving handling the average commuter can enjoy. I think that this car is definitely the best value in its class in terms of the right balance of looks, handling and feel, utility (hatch only), and price.
Two complaints:
1. I’m surprised at the unbelievably bad fuel economy considering the EPA numbers for the 2.3. I know the EPA is skewed too high, but I rarely reach their city mileage (25) on an average commute of 70% hiway driving, and that’s without rush hour traffic, and using the manumatic wisely to conserve fuel.
2. The manual AC seems to blow out of all vents no matter where I set the dial. This is a new occurance and will be dealt with at the next oil change in ~500 miles.
Now that I think about it, the bad mileage may have to do with the 10% ethanol requirement put into effect around the same time we got the car.
I used to work for Enterprise, so I’ve driven numerous 3s and 6s. Regarding the 2.3L, the gearing on the 3’s automatic seems light years better than that on the 6’s 2.3L. The 6’s I4 is not smooth when shifting and seems to shift at the wrong times. Has anyone else driven both vehicles and noticed this difference?
I give the 3 a thumbs up, but I agree with the above posters that the fuel economy on the 2.3L is unimpressive for a 4 cylinder.
pdub – I drove a Mazda6 with an auto tranny at the ZoomZoom Live thingy last fall, and I noticed a BIG lag between mashing the pedal and actually having the engine pay attention. Even the 2.0’s auto linkage seemed more lively.
Pdub- I totally agree with you there. I have rented a 6 to drive from Philly back to Ontario and found that the gearing seemed off, but I figured that the rental had been abused. The biggest problem I had with the 6 (it was a manumatic) was that the manual +/- were opposite to what was intuitive. On more than a couple of occasions I would pull out to pass someone and would downshift accidentally rather than up-shift. I assumed that many a renter had done the same thing and that was why, in Auto mode, it shifted so rough and so sporadically.
A friend threw me the keys to his Mazda3 5 door Manual and I had a blast. What a great car – shifting, handling, steering, ride, brakes. Very impressive. Can only imagine how much fun the MazdaSpeed3 is. I guess this is as close as us North Americans will get to a Euro Focus.
Re mileage: during week two, while staying conscious about fuel (80% freeway driving, 75-80 mph), I averaged 33.2 MPG. Not bad, better than my Miata, but that probably pales in comparison to a Civic under similar driving conditions.
Joe and cgraham,
Thanks for your responses. This may explain then why so many people buy the 3 with the 2.3L when they could get the larger 6 for the same price (or cheaper). Then again, maybe it’s an appearance thing. When selling these vehicles, the 3 was a much easier sell than the 6.
Re: fuel economy. The 2.0 Liter is much more fuel efficient and from your review and a review from a friend who owns one, apparently it’s the engine that Ford should drop in their 2008 model Focus. Too bad they’re not. At least Fusion is getting the 3.5 for 2008.
Syke – I don’t trust Ford for safety b/c they do many a thing that is dangerous. Every 5 years there’s some major safety issue that Ford knew about during development and then stalls on recalling that defective design or part. Right now it’s those 16m Ford cruise control devices that can catch fire regardless of the vehicles operation (on or off). Ford is slowly recalling them but this device has been used since the early 90’s and nothing was changed until 2003. Ford may make some good cars (when the bean counters didn’t have to refer to actuarial tables as often) but you can’t argue that it incites distrust for that automaker.
If you want to then label me as a domestic hater note that I also own a Chevy Silverado and am very happy with it. I can park it by my house without the worry it will catch on fire overnight.
Ejacobs, the plastics in the Mazda3 are just as hard as those in the 6, but are finer-grained, so they don’t feel as “pebbly.” I personally prefer them.
I’ve recommended this car to several recent-college-grad friends, who have invariably fallen in love with the things. There are several $35K compact execs that don’t drive as well as a 5-speed 3s hatch.
I share Michael’s preference for the outgoing Protege, though. What the 3 gained in power, refinement, and shift action, it lost in agility, clutch feel, driving position, and a general rambunctiousness that the Protege had in spades.
The weak A/C is a common complaint in Consumer Reports owner reviews. I wonder if the pollen filter is too restrictive, and that removing it might help…
First time poster here – been reading the site for a while now and along w/Autoblog are my 2 daily reads.
I own a 2001 Protege and a 2004 3 GS.
In 2004 when I was looking for a car, I found great deals on remaining P5s. After driving the 3, I quickly realized the 3 wasn’t as tossable as the Pro but a lot more refined. I have the 2.0L engine on both Mazdas but the 3’s makes a deeper exhaust noise at low RPMs, and revs more freely. The Pro is “harsh” as far as its ride goes… The 3 is quieter and the interior and features are impossible to compare.
I love driving the Pro b/c it responds quickly and it has better steering feel than the 3, but the 3 is an overall better car. I get b/w 8.2 and 8.6L/100 kms. The 2.3L is even more fun to drive than the 2.0L but thirstier.
I will likely wait until the new generation 3 comes out in 2008 as a 2009 MY, but if I had to buy a car today I would not hesitate taking the 2.3L w.Luxury Pkg which is new for 2007 here in Canada and finally gives us features that have been available in small cars in Europe for years (ACC, HIDs, 6 airbags, leather seats w.heaters, etc).
RE: A/C
The car blows ice cold A/C but somehow the interior temperature does not cool down as much as expected. With the A/C on after a few minutes even on the hottest summer days, if I put my hand over the vents my fingers will be frozen. Inexplicably, unlike in the Protege I must leave the fan at 3-4 instead of the Protege’s 1 setting to keep the temperature cool…
I have an 06′ hatch, it’s very different from the 4 door i model, bigger breaks, 17” wheels, stiffer suspension, 5 speed AT (only 4 on the 2.0l) and the 2.3l engine.
Take a look at the front, the fenders and hood are different too, making the car look more aggressive, so this is where the difference in price come from.
I just love this car, it’s also a joy to look at!
BTW, the images above are not the rental i model, looks like S model 2.3l and 17” wheels.
There’s a TSB about the A/C on 04 and 05s.
The main reason I find the Protege has sportier handling is the 195 55 15 v rated tires. Put some stiff rubber on your 3 and you’ll see a big difference.