I'm looking to buy my first Mazda 3, possibly a 2010 or 2011. I'm looking at the S Grand Touring models. A good friend who had a 2009 complained of horrific handling in the snow and constant issues with hydroplaning. Any feedback? Looking to purchase soon, so advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

The tires that Mazda puts on their cars aren't exactly state-of-the-art; I have a 2009 and I yanked the factory tires after a whopping 714 miles and replaced them with a much higher quality set. No issues with driving in snow and no hydroplaning.

 

+1. The stock tires had a very hard rubber compound. That means when it gets cold it turns into something with the handling characteristics of a rock. Again, with the hard compound the tires wore out very quickly so it was easy to hydroplane.

If you live in an are with frequent heavy snow then get an extra set of steel wheels and put winter tires on them for the cold months and snow. Then get either a better set of all seasons for the rest of the year or summer tires (depending on your area).

 

Hi Teresa,
I see you live in northern Connecticut?
If I was U, I would get a second set of dedicated WINTER snow tires for whatever I bought.
That said, for everything else I can tell you that I have had good luck over the last year using Continental DWS (All-Season) series tires. They are not the cheapest, but not the most expensive either (+/-$120), rate very high, are not noisy, ride well, and are the best set out of four sets I've had on my Mazda in 7 years.
This is the first winter that we've had snow that I made it into work. I also don't hydroplane in the wet, not even in fairly deep puddles.