Just bought my first brand new car over the weekend, a 2011 Mazda3 i Touring. It's a nice car however I'm having a bit of buyers remorse. The engine (it's and automatic BTW) seems very loud and there is so much road noise. This morning when I started the car it wasn't quiet like I would expect from a brand new car (no where near as quite at my 2003 Suzuki with 130K miles on it). Is this just the Mazda 3 or should I be concerned?

 

Concerned? No.

The thing is, the Mazda3 has never been known for being a quiet boulevard cruiser, the trade off is that in the small econobox class, it provides the best driving dynamics this side of say a VW Golf.

 

I have the 2010 Mazda3i Sport. Yes there is road noise, and yes the engine is a little buzzy when revved hard, but...what you do get is the best handling, sportiest, and economical sedan under $26K.

The road noise is the same or less than the Ford Focus, Chevy Cruz, Kia Forte, and Hundy Elantra, Kia Reo, and Honda Fit. All in about the same price range. What you do get is better handling, four wheel disk brakes, and an automatic transmission with a manual shift choice (if you chose an automatic).

Now, of course, if you really want and expect a quiet, fun to drive small car, you might consider a nice BMW 3 series or small Mercedes or Auto Union, at the mid thirties on up.

I expect I will be able to reduce the tire noise with a better choice of tires when the time comes. In the meantime, I'm enjoying all the "fun to drive" features along with over 26mpg in town and over 35mpg on the highway.

I sold my 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis which was a great trouble free car, but this Mazda is a lot more fun and a hell of lot more economical. Besides, I no longer need the excess space of the Mercury along with 13mpg in town.

Good luck,
Virg

 

Thanks for the input. My first thought was better tires would help out. I see others have recommended Continental DWS all seasons and Michelin Riken Raptor so I may give those a try.

I'm hearing some buzzing but it doesn't happen when revving or driving. When I start the car there's a slight buzz and it just doesn't sound right. It's been cold so maybe that's the reason. If no one else has experienced this I'll take it to the dealership and have it checked out.

I looked for several months before deciding to purchase. I also own a 2003 Suzuki Grand Vitara 4x4. I've owned a lot of cars in my life and the best cars I've owned have been foreign (Asian specifically). I hope Mazda doesn't let me down.

 

A new gen mazda is likely to do that, as with most new cars

 

If general noise is an issue for you then consider stripping the interior and adding some sound deadening. If you put enough effort into deadening you could make your 3 quieter than a Mercedes.

 

You may want to test drive a second one at the dealer just to make sure it's a 'normal' sound instead of something bad on yours.

 

I have a 09 I touring and the son has a sport, both had the Goodyear tires on them and they are pretty much junk. Changed over to the Continental tires and it made a big difference on the handling on snow and ice and a noticeable difference in road noise. I only had 17000 on my tires and they would hardly function on the snow and ice we had and I don't drive hard either.

 

I have a 2006 3 Touring manual tranny, and it's been the best newer car I've driven for the price range. I drive it like I stole it, and it's still going strong. I understand yours is a different generation, and I couldn't comment on that, nor do I know what they changed, but as far as vouching for the 3 in general, it's a great fun car, that does come with some road noise. Dynomat inside/sound deadening seems like the best idea besides changing the tires. Maybe some sound deadening spray on the suspension parts, lol. All in all, I haven't had any major repairs needed on my 3, and I'm not exactly easy on it.
God bless,
Dennis.