Test Drove A 3s Sedan

[dja0323]

I test drove a Mazda3s Sedan on Tuesday and I was just looking for feedback from others who have also had the privilege of driving this wonderful car. The spedo having 0 at 6 o'clock makes it easy to go faster than you intend, it'll just take some getting used to, but i was doing 55 in a 35 before i knew it! That's not really a problem I have with the car. I was just wondering if other people have noticed this as well.

The only issue i had with the car after my test drive was the breaking. i'm not sure if it's because i'm used to driving my current car and how the breaks work on it, but it seemed like you had to press on the pedal pretty good to get the car to stop. Just wondering what others experience with the breaking was... like i said, it could have just been me.

A final note is how fast this car gets off the line... i was driving the auto tranny and i was amazed at how peppy it was. Definitely makes driving this care more fun than my current Cavalier!

[pheare]

I just took a Sport GT with a 5 speed for a test drive yesterday.

Very nice car. The braking seemed spot on to me. I couldn't believe how easy the clutch was to depress, especially compared to my current vehicle, a 1992 5.0L Mustang.

I found it to be fairly quick, and very smooth shifting. It sure feels different driving something that doesn't have the torque of a V8, not necessarily bad, but different.

Very solid car over the bumps and I can't believe the quality of the interior. Except for the sun visors, did you notice how cheap they are? Made of vinyl and there is no vanity mirror light; I found that very surprising given all the other 'extras' this car seems to have.

I will most likely get one of these once I sell my mustang. I am going to try sell it now, but I suspect I won't have many bites until spring time. Though I will probably get the sedan with the gfx package, as I much prefer its looks over the hatch.

I've also been eyeing the new Dodge SRT4s, they are bloody fast, but they are also almost 5 grand cdn. more than the 3. They have the advantage in the engine and handling, maybe braking, but can't compare with build quality, interior finish and options of the 3.

Yes, for the price, I don't think anything compares to the 3.

Darren.

[3fan]

From your description ("breaking"), it sounds like there was something wrong with the car's brakes, or maybe you just misspelled "braking". ;-)

[dja0323]

I knew i was going to spell something wrong! oh well!

I did find the visors to be pretty "cheap" looking compared to the rest of the interior.. no idea why they went the vinyl direction. Glad to hear that others found the braking to be fine.

[indabahamas]

Yes, for the price, I don't think anything compares to the 3.

I agree 100%, you won't find another car in this class with all of these standard features for this price.

I did find the visors to be pretty "cheap" looking compared to the rest of the interior

The visors do seem kind of cheap, but I don't really care, I hardly use sun visors and I love my 3s sedan.

The only issue i had with the car after my test drive was the breaking. i'm not sure if it's because i'm used to driving my current car and how the breaks work on it, but it seemed like you had to press on the pedal pretty good to get the car to stop. Just wondering what others experience with the breaking was... like i said, it could have just been me.

Must have been just you, I have to becareful not to press on the brakes too hard because I'm not used to how quick they stop the car. I also think this car has the best 70-0mph time in it's class.

[pheare]

Originally posted by indabahamas@Dec 6 2003, 12:08 PM
...I love my 3s sedan.

I am looking at a sedan as well. They look much sharper than the hatchs imo.

Would go with the orange or the grey.

Darren.

[Cowtown]

I drove a 3 Sport today for the second time (My dealership had a open house on Thursday). Welp after the second drive (a long one some 35kms to Airdrie from Calgary and back) my wife was impressed enough (as am I) and we put our deposit down on a Red full load M3 Sport without leather. I should hopefully pick it up Monday barring any finance issues but considering I am already a Mazda leasee and the payments are only $28 more per month I should be driving my new baby home Monday.

I am currently a Protege 5 owner (red also) having bought one shortly after they came out in 2001. My thoughts on the two cars...

Mazda fixed the two issues I had with the first car, HP and NVH. The new Maz3 is so much more stable, mature and comfortable to drive it's a dramatic improvement. The extra performance is appreciated and if anyone saw the numbers in the latest C&D mag (January issue) you'll see this car beats the Focus SVT in 0-60 and is within a .10 in the 1/4 mile.

The car I drove (and bought) had the sport automatic shifter, something I have wanted for a long while since my wife forced me to go automatic a while back. Shifts with it are by and large quick and fun 95% of the time (sometimes a slight lag). Tranny shifts otherwise are very good, a marked improvement over the Auto in my current Pro 5.

Interior and build quality of the 02 Pro was one of the things that drew me to the car in the first place (and 2 of my buddies) and this new car doesn't dissapoint. I really like the new interior with my only quibble being the HVAC controls being a bit spongy, but that's a minor one. The steering wheel controls are great, guage visibility is good and the telescoping steering wheel is something I've wanted for a long time (long legs, just not as long arms)

Other little things I liked.

- Bottle holders in the rear doors
- Faster power window up and down
- Rear windows actually go ALL the way down into the door
- No "lock nubs" on the top of the door panel, I can now put my arm out the window without hurting my arm or locking the door unnecessarily.
- The storage! Did anyone look in the glove box? Holy crap!

Anyways, hopefully I'll be back on here Monday with a Pic or a happy smile on the face, I have having to wait even 2 days to get a new car but hey that's what happens when you don't make up your mind and sign the papers until mid afternoon on Saturday. Any questions, let me know.

[pheare]

Originally posted by Cowtown@Dec 6 2003, 05:45 PM
- The storage! Did anyone look in the glove box? Holy crap!

I took a test drive last wednesday and just found my way out of the glove box today. It is freaking huge!

Which dealership you buying from, I took a test drive at kramer on macleod.

[Teklis]

About the 0 mph needle being in the south position instead of the "/" position yes....I used to own a RSX type S ...one of the first to feature this | needle position, yea it takes awhile to get used to.......but who cares about speeding??? LOL seriously tho it does take some getting used too, and makes as a great excuse to the traffic officer......."I was going 90?? ohhh yea....I was ...<grin>"

[Cowtown]

Hi Pheare, I test drove (and likely picking up tomorrow) from Sunridge. Funny story about Kramer, back when the Pro5 first came out I had saw the car there and stopped in for a test drive and liked it (of course). I told the sales guy that when they actually got some in to sell to call me. (this was a car that Mazda send around to each dealer for a week or so to drum up interest).

Of course he never bothered to call and two months later I just got fed up when I saw other people driving them around so I went to North hill (hated the dealership) and ended up at Sunridge where we were treated pretty well overall (certainly better than the other places). Fast forward 6 months and I'm due for my first oil change on the Pro5 and since at the time I lived down at 17th and 14th SW I went to Kramer. The a$$klowns there in the shop made such a mess of my meticulously detailed car when doing the lube job that I just about went in there and rung his neck. There was grease on the rear quarter and all through the door jamb areas. I didn't see the stuff until dirt started collecting on it so it was almost too late to take care of it. They obviously felt it really needed some good greasing because I actually had it running out of the door jamb area and on the rocker panels!

So needless to say I never went back, if they can't be bothered to treat my car with respect when servicing there's no point in buying anything from them in the future and Sunridge has provided good service the whole way through.