Mazda 3s in stock at Milwaukee, WI dealer

[3fan]

Last night I stopped by Russ Darrow Mazda on 108th St. in Greenfield (Milwaukee), WI.
They had 6 or 7 Mazda 3s! They had 2 silver and 1 yellow hatchback and several sedans, such as a titanium, indigo blue and black one on the showroom floor.

My impressions:

The sedan and hatchback look better in person than they do in photos! They are more european looking than the Protege. The body shape reminds me of an Audi A4 designed by a Japanese designer, with a little attitude. They look pumped up and muscular. The 17 in. wheels look really good!


The interior is definitely nicer in design than the Corolla, Matrix, Civic, or Sentra. I like the all-black interior. The Hatchback seemed to sit lower than a Matrix while the Sedan seemed to be taller than a Civic and Sentra. The sedan reminds me of a Jetta, but with a Japanese flavor, not as plain.

The fit and finish was really good. The silver and titanium were my favorites. The doors closed with a satisfying "thunk". Underneath the hood, there was plenty of room for a turbo at the back of the engine bay of the sedan.

Dissapointments? Few: The room behind the rear seat of the hatchback was less than I expected. The driver's seat in the sedan seemed small. My right shin hit the center of the dashboard sooner than I expected. I adjusted the seat back a little and telescoped the wheel and it was better.

The salesman I talked to only had an automatic sedan ready to drive, but a silver hatchback will be ready on Wednesday so I made an appointment to drive it on Thursday night! I'll try to post a driving review after my test drive.

The salesman said no Madison, WI dealers had Mazda 3s and the dealer in Racine didn't have any either. They had all of the 3s parked in the back parking lot of the dealership, except the one on the showroom floor. I mentioned that and asked if the dealership was trying to sell the remaining Protege5s and the salesman smiled and confirmed that and told me about the incentives for the existing Proteges.

I commented on the room for a turbo and referred to the Mazda 323GTX and the salesman smiled and said he was surprised I remembered that car. When I asked the salesman about the Mazdaspeed version, he told me he was told it would be a turbocharged, all wheel drive version with over 200 hp! I may consider waiting for that one! Even the hatchback is worth the wait until my tax return arrives.

Bottom line: The MZ3 is a nice car, in both sedan and hatchback versions. They are better than I expected.

3fan