My wife and are are getting near buying a new car. I had never considered buying a Mazda but when we went by the dealership we both fell in love with the looks of the Mazda3.

I have a few questions about what were are looking for because we are sadly trading in a 2001 xtra cab toyo prerunner due to gas mileage and more room. We'll miss the truck but it's time.

*) Is the backseat usable for normal size adults. This is the main reason we are looking because when people visit now we drive their cars because of the truck.

*) I know the car handles well and has power, but does it still have a good ride on the interstate and not so great roads?

*) How is wind noise? Another reason we are looking, truck is loud

*) Comfortable on long trips?

*) Finally, we can' decide between the sedan or 5 door, any pro's or cons between the two other than more storage room in the 5door?


thanks alot for the help.

 

yes - backseat ok for adults
yes - great, smooth ride on the interstate...rough roads are rough in any car
wind noise is low...IMO
yes - VERY comfortable
5-DOOR!! why, becasue it looks "sportier" (and thats what I have)!!

 

I've had several 6'+ friends ride in the backseat for around town stuff without any problems. If you're doing any long roadtrips then you'll probably want them to sit up front however. I'm 5'7" and if I set the driver's seat for myself I can very comfortably sit behind the driver's seat without touching it.

As for the ride I'd say it's pretty good. The suspension is designed to be sporty however, so it might be a little stiff for some tastes. The stock Goodyear RS-A tires can be a little noisy, so once those get replaced the road noise goes down some.

The wind noise isn't that bad. Granted I came from a '88 ranger, and I work in ambulances, so there are two noisy environments that I'm comparing to. It's not as quite as my friend's BMW though.

On the whole the car is very comfortable. Again the seats are designed to be sporty, so they can be a little stiff on long trips. My wife's Hyundai Elantra actually has more comfortable seats, and they also adjust more too. I still love my car and drive it every chance I get. Maybe someday I'll finally break down and retrofit some memory foam into the seat cushions.

The sedan vs. hatch debate can be a very hot issue. Personally I was only looking at hatchbacks/small wagons/small SUV's as I was coming from a truck with an enclosed bed. Our other car is a sedan, so we wanted to have some cargo space for bigger items. So that being said we didn't even consider the sedans. So far I think the biggest reason people go with the 5-door is cargo space. If you're concerned about what you can fit in either car then take whatever you want to fit in it with you to the dealer and see how well you can get it in the trunk/hatch space. The sedan does also come in the 2.0 engine, so if you're looking for thriftyness then that's the way to go.

When you went to the dealer did you take a test drive, or just look. If you haven't driven one then go take it out. Most of what you're asking about is very subjective to the user, so your opinion is the most important one. We didn't really have any intention of buying the 3 when we were looking, but the test drive sold the car completely.

Good luck on your purchase, and we're always open for more questions.

 

Thanks for all the input. I have not driven them yet so that will be the next step this weekend.

I think the only negative I've heard about the 5 door is someone said it was louder than the sedan, dunno how true that is.

 

I think the whole 5-door louder than the 4-door thing comes from the fact that in the 5-door there's a panel in the floor that is movable so that you can segment the cargo area, or us the storage tray. That rattles around a little bit, however with the cover in place I don't really mind it at all.

 

After looking again, I think we are going to get the 5door, i like the interior better and the rims. Any idea how much dealers will usually come off sticker?

 

You can get the same rims on the sedan, they just only come with the sport package, and they're standard on the 5-door. I'm not really sure where you'll be looking price-wise. My best advice is to go to Edmunds.com and see what the TMV for your area/options is.