Guess most of you have compared Civic vs Mazda 3 before purchasing. Maybe this is the right place to ask why!

I and my wife am almost set on buying a 06sGT except she brought up one issue.
She felt the Mazda is noisier than my Accord EX-V6 (deh) and maybe Civic EX is quiter than the 3. Before we go back to test drive Civic again, I would like to hear your comments. It seems tha 3's engine and cabin does not isolate the wind and other stuff well enough.
There are a lot of performance advantage favored 3 but the quietness of highway drive may stop us from considering it...

We really love the leather, power, Xenon light and other toys that Civic does not come with...

Thank you for sharing your extended real world experiences. She will be dricing mostly local and I will be using it mainly on HWY.

 

that is a good question, but I think the only way to solve that question is by your own personal opinion between driving the two car. As far as I know, I dont think there is a stat for that, if I am wrong,someone correct me. Personally, i never drove a Civic, it was not even a thought in my mind if I would buy the 3 or not. i would say for the money, the 3 cant be beat, i would just deal with the noise, no one has complained about it riding in my car at all. Try driving another 3 on the lot, maybe the seals in the windows are not seated right in the one you drove. again, i think its just a matter or personal opinion, but like i said, no one has complained about it in my car. hope this helps you out a little bit.

 

alot of people have complained of the 3 being quite noisy. I test drove one, and I noticed it was quite loud. It is a combination of tires and lack of insulation. But I would buy it before the Civic in a instant. It is so peppy and it is good looking car.

 

In consumer reports there were only two complaints about the car, trunk space and wind noise. I dont carry big things so the trunk space for me is adequate but there is a lot of wind noise but i drive with the music loud so i dont hear the wind noise. Dont go with civic because they are so generic,everybody has a civic and the mazda 3 GT is a way better deal then a boring civic. I wouldnt give up a great car just because of the noise, you will get used to it. Dont get stuck driving a "Me Too" car. You have a civic Me Too.

 

man jus buy the civic so i dont see 3's everywhere ....haha no seriously trunk space is huge for the sedan in my opinion and the road noise is pretty loud compared to the civics, but having all the extra perks is nice, you can turn up the radio, or jus open the window to drown out wind noise

 

Ok ok...i bought the hatchback..and i ended up putting aftermarket rims on my car..so let me tell you how my 2006 Mazda 3 GT hatchback is on "trunk" space.....i fit all four stock rims AND tires (mounted) into the back...and the tires NEVER rubbed the sides of my interior or the back of my seats. Oh and that was with the back seats folded down by the way,..but just goes to show you how much available back space you have when needed,..and the thing i like about the hatchback is,..when the seats are folded down .it's a straight shot in when ya gotta load something...where with a coupe you have to kinda load down, then in. Anyways,...i'm very pleased with my trunk space...*ahem* that could have been taken the wrong way.....i'm very pleased with my CARS trunk space
Oh and about the noise...not really a problem for me personnally...i ussually have the radio going or something anyways....
Hope i was of alittle help.

 

Well, I persoanlly drove the Civic and the Mazda 3 yesterday (March 1st)

The new Honda 5 speed automatic, kinda stinks. Honestly the 123 hp 2005 civic that I drove to the dealership had more ***** than the 2006 with 140 hp.

The 150 hp mazda was a nice little engine, it didn't have the ***** of my 150 hp stock grand am....but it was nice. I was able to find extra power with the tiptronic shifter though ^^

Neither car exhibited much body roll in the corners but the Mazda 3 felt more stable. Despite the similar numbers, the honda feels like a long narrow car. While the Mazda 3 feels like a wide car, built for twisty roads.

Stopping power went to the Mazda 3 also, the standard 4 wheel disk (non ABS) out preformed the disk/drum + ABS set up of the Civic.

The Civic also seems like it was designed by kids. There is a single gauge that you see through the steering wheel which is the Tachometer. The speedometer is located just below the beginning of the windshield and is displayed in digital numbers. The controls seemed cluttered and confusing also.

Unless your main concerns are Fuel Economy and Resale Value the Mazda 3 is the clear cut winner over the civic. You need to keep in mind that fun to drive is a real sense, while gas mileage and resale value are just estimates.

I bought the Mazda 3 ^^ Pick her up on Saturday Monrning

The amount of options you get on the Mazda 3 at the same price point versus the civic is just insane. I pretty much got a loaded Mazda 3 for about 3k less than a Civic LX

As for road noise.....I didn't really notice a difference. That's what stereo's are for

 

I can speak from experience as well. I was in the market for a second vehicle and I was looking hard between the 06 Civic EX and the 06 Mazda 3s GT. The Mazda 3 hands down wins in EVERY category! More standard features, better brakes, better engine, more acceleration with the VVT (Variable Valve Timing...allows for more lower to mid-range torque or "peppiness" as some have affectionately called it), better handling, and a MUCH better design. I would also like to point out the following:

I've been in the Civic forums before I made my purchase and they are all complaining about only getting 25-28 mpg...much less than the 30-40 ratings (City/HWY). Also, if you actually compare resale...the Civic and the M3 are both rated in the "Good" category and are pretty equal.

I purchased a 06 Titanium Metallic Mazda 3s GT with a lot of accessories a few days ago and the installation will be done either today or tomorrow so then I'll have her...can't wait! GET THE 3!!!

Thanks,
Jason

 

the 3 doesnt have a 150 hp engine does it? in the U. S. I thought it had the same 2.3 liter that is in the 6!?

 

The Mazda 3i has 2l 150hp, 3s has 2.3l 160hp