Mazda3 vs. 0'4+ civic coupe
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Mazda3 vs. 0'4+ civic coupe
I am Looking into a new car soon, (hardly used, not NEW) I'm a big guy (6'6 34 inseam) I sat in the mazda, and it had enough leg room. I wasn't cramped, but i definitely wasn't satisfied to my limit.. I know the civic coupe has 43.1 inches of leg room, that's more than a full inch on the Mazda. I am just wondering what you guys think are reasons for buying the mazda over the civic.
So far I got
Mazda- - -
-More fun to drive (handling and power wise)
-Neat lights
-could be better looking sometimes
Civic- - -
-Gas mileage
-Looks (<3 coupes <3)
-Interior room
-Easier to find used
Keep adding to both lists If you would please.
So far I got
Mazda- - -
-More fun to drive (handling and power wise)
-Neat lights
-could be better looking sometimes
Civic- - -
-Gas mileage
-Looks (<3 coupes <3)
-Interior room
-Easier to find used
Keep adding to both lists If you would please.
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you cant beat honda reliability/resale value.....although i just drove a mazda 3 three nights ago (the 2.3 litre) and i liked it a lot. interior looks better, more stylish, little more power than my Si and lighter. if i wasnt a bigger kid, i would consider buying it, honestly. i just posted about the 3 the other day on here but removed it cause its just a little too small for me and i heard that ford had their hand in it but it turns out that mazda runs the show and the motor in the 3 was completely developed by mazda themselves. i say go with the 3 even though ive been in love with honda for 5 years now....
im actually getting out of my Si and moving onto something bigger....something that i thought could be the 3....might consider the 6 now as its a little more roomy.
there's my .02
im actually getting out of my Si and moving onto something bigger....something that i thought could be the 3....might consider the 6 now as its a little more roomy.
there's my .02
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Originally Posted by scatman
you cant beat honda reliability/resale value.....although i just drove a mazda 3 three nights ago (the 2.3 litre) and i liked it a lot. interior looks better, more stylish, little more power than my Si and lighter. if i wasnt a bigger kid, i would consider buying it, honestly. i just posted about the 3 the other day on here but removed it cause its just a little too small for me and i heard that ford had their hand in it but it turns out that mazda runs the show and the motor in the 3 was completely developed by mazda themselves. i say go with the 3 even though ive been in love with honda for 5 years now....
im actually getting out of my Si and moving onto something bigger....something that i thought could be the 3....might consider the 6 now as its a little more roomy.
there's my .02
im actually getting out of my Si and moving onto something bigger....something that i thought could be the 3....might consider the 6 now as its a little more roomy.
there's my .02
Just a question, does the SI's rally shifter give you more knee room, since theres no real "full" console to rub/rest your knee on?
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Originally Posted by phish117
You say, your bigger, I assume you mean height?
Just a question, does the SI's rally shifter give you more knee room, since theres no real "full" console to rub/rest your knee on?
Just a question, does the SI's rally shifter give you more knee room, since theres no real "full" console to rub/rest your knee on?
and i didnt notice a huge difference in knee room in this car compared to my 01 EX....kinda the same
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Rep Power: 0 Well im used to driving my Dad's saab 9-5 which has a FULL console, so my knee is always rubbing against the console.
BTW, I posted the same thing on the mazda3 forums to get both sides of the story.
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.ph...3495#msg363495
BTW, I posted the same thing on the mazda3 forums to get both sides of the story.
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.ph...3495#msg363495
Although I think the Mazda has better performance, I personally can't stand the interior. Don't get me wrong, its good quality, I just don't dig the styling. My opinion is that the civic is a bit classier, while the Mazda has a bit of tacky zoom zoom.
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Originally Posted by RangerMan
Ummm where did I read the life of the 3 engine is bad..like an on the mazda3 forum. There was a posting on this recently..last couple weeks, do a search.
Show me a thread or something if you can.
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From: Elk Grove/Sacramento/Davis, California, US
Rep Power: 0 I don't know about the reliability, but i've driven the mazda 3 hatchback (s-type?) before, and you can feel the power difference. I would go for the mazda.
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From: georgia
Rep Power: 336 id put my money on the civic. but thats cause i own one, and my sister owns one, and my dad owns one, and my uncle owns one. but hey to each his own. good luck figuring it all out. and yeah the mazda 3 has the ford motor in it. 2.3 thats in the focus also.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestb...rs%E2%80%A63.*
try edmunds.com
it will help alot.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestb...rs%E2%80%A63.*
try edmunds.com
it will help alot.
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From: Spokane, Washington
Rep Power: 330 dont worry about that thread on the mazda forum, that happens to at least someone with every kind of car. im sure people on here in the past have had major problems like that.
i personally would get the civic coupe though, i like the styling (looks more classy/agressive, while the 3 is too radical of a design. the mpg advantage rules too.
i personally would get the civic coupe though, i like the styling (looks more classy/agressive, while the 3 is too radical of a design. the mpg advantage rules too.
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Originally Posted by MajinB
id put my money on the civic. but thats cause i own one, and my sister owns one, and my dad owns one, and my uncle owns one. but hey to each his own. good luck figuring it all out. and yeah the mazda 3 has the ford motor in it. 2.3 thats in the focus also.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestb...rs%E2%80%A63.*
try edmunds.com
it will help alot.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestb...rs%E2%80%A63.*
try edmunds.com
it will help alot.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Mazda-Mazda3
The car is based on Ford's global C1 Platform, which is shared with the new Ford Focus and Volvo S40. Chassis development was carried out by the Japanese side of the project, and will also be practically unaltered for the Focus. The Mazda3/Axela is available in two different bodyworks, a four-door sedan, marketed as "coupé style" in Europe, and a five-door hatchback, branded the Sport version in America and Japan. In America, the Mazda3 only has two trim levels, "i" for the 2-litre engine and "s" for the 2.3-litre. Both trim levels with the stronger engine add such items as air conditioning, cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, remote keyless entry, height-adjustable driver's seat and power windows, door locks and mirrors. Wheel size for the s sedan moves up to a 16 inch tyre, and its 55-series tires are wider for crisper handling. The hatchback gets even larger 17 inch wheels and wider (50-series) tires.
Mazda3 is a global car, sharing technology and components with the Volvo S40 (and the European-market Ford Focus). It's like a talent co-op. People say component sharing makes cars all the same but it's not so. Mazda developed the engines and transmissions, Volvo did the chassis and safety, and Ford of Europe did the basic suspension design. The tuning of the suspension was in Mazda's hands, worked out at its Hiroshima test track. Each manufacturer did what it does best, and the result is the best of three worlds.
As for the problem described in the other thread. Every manufacturer has a few lemons. My 2001 civic EX coupe was a huge POS, and I was the original owner. Needed a new tranny, engine mounts, the interior fell apart, and the seats wouldn't quit rocking. I never raced the car and it was stock. The 2004 civic I gave to my mom has had zero issues. Go google "new civic lemon problems" and see how many results you get. What you need to do is go to the mazda 3 website and read in the problems/issues sections as well as the faqs. The Mazda 3 has an amazing reputation and follows in the footsteps of the Protege who has always received accolades for being more fun to drive as the civic and corolla while being less expensive and equally reliable. There are plenty of high mileage 3's out there with no issues. Check their forums.
Last edited by nookiemonster; Aug 6, 2005 at 03:10 AM.
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Rep Power: 0 Go drive a 3 then go drive a 7th gen Civic. After driving my 01 EX daily since the summer of 01, the 3 is a breath of fresh air. It's seriously a better car in nearly every way. The only things I didn't like about it were the tacky lights on the radio and the fact that the automatic was only a 4 speed (although I'm told it will be a 5AT for 06). It handles better, rides better, its quicker, it looks better, and I'm sure it will be at least as reliable as a 7th gen Civic, if not more so. Oh, and the gas mileage could be better on the Mazda, but I'd pay a little more in gas to have a car without a rocking drivers seat that can get out of its own way.
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From: pineville
Rep Power: 0 i know someone who's got a mazda 3, and the car has already left her on the side of the road 3 different times, i would go with a honda, if you want a little more power and room concider an accord
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Rep Power: 0 Actually I sat in a coupe today and didnt Fit nicely at all, My knee pretty much blocked the shifter, and im not about to drive an auto. However I sat in the SI and that was probably the best i've ever fit in a car because my knee had plenty of room because there was no console and also the shifter wasnt being blocked by my knee! I've always liked the new SI's anyways.
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From: Western MA
Rep Power: 348 i have an si with 9600 miles on it for sale. where do u live.......my car is imacculate, its an 04...click the link in my sig if interested and pm me if you want
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Originally Posted by scatman
i have an si with 9600 miles on it for sale. where do u live.......my car is imacculate, its an 04...click the link in my sig if interested and pm me if you want
Plus I am not a fan of silver =\
It's very clean though, whoever buys it should def be happy
P.S. I live in PA, bout 5 hours form MA
I wish I was asian
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Originally Posted by MajinB
id put my money on the civic. but thats cause i own one, and my sister owns one, and my dad owns one, and my uncle owns one. but hey to each his own. good luck figuring it all out. and yeah the mazda 3 has the ford motor in it. 2.3 thats in the focus also.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestb...rs%E2%80%A63.*
try edmunds.com
it will help alot.
http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/bestb...rs%E2%80%A63.*
try edmunds.com
it will help alot.
I wish I was asian
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Originally Posted by phish117
Thats nuts, that definately worries me, especially since Im going to be buying used...
It was an isolated incident and is not the norm. Its also a dealership problem, rather than a manufactuer problem. Yes its a mazda, but it was a lemon and the guy even said it was.
Sometimes people on these boards read and remember 1 thing and then over generalize a whole car or manufactuer.
I wish I was asian
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Originally Posted by CuRiOuSfIsH
Mazda 3 is a Ford.................
People need to stop over generalizing everything. Yes, Ford does own a 33% stake in Mazda. What does that mean? Ford pumps money into Mazda in order to use some of their R&D and parts.
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Rep Power: 0 Owned a Mazda3 since mid-December, when I traded in my 2K3 Civic. Not a single problem to date. Transmission is nice and smooth and kept getting better and better the more I broke it in. Fuel economy has improved about 15% or so in the last 15,000km or so that I've put on it. Feel a bit more solid than the Civic, quieter and more refined, and doesn't need the revs quite as much. Altogether, a step above, but as has been said, a newer car too, so its to be expected.
