We're looking at buying a Mazda, in particular a Mazda 3 (something small), that will spend a lot of time parallel parked on a big-city street. The concern I have is the grill-forward design. It seems the grill is the bumper and it's going to get bumped and damaged. On our old Honda Accord the grill is a good distance back from the bumper.

What do you think? Thank you.

 

I have never had a problem with that.

I will add that Mazdas are incredibly easy to parallel park. I can park in 1/4 the time it took me in the Sonata I had previously. After 135,000 in the Sonata I struggled to get it where I wanted it. In the 15 Mazda3 and now the 19 Mazda3, I can park in seconds, which is extremely valuable in city traffic.

When I was teaching my daughter to parallel park (with the camera covered) she did so well that I moved the trash cans to 12 inches away front and back. She got in and out first try without hitting the cans. (I did it in my second try)