Hey Folks,
Looking for some real owner opinions on whether or not a Mazda 3 should be my next ride. I've posted this question in one other forum so far (Toronto based Mazda forum), but thought I'd throw the net a little wider.

I am a high mileage driver. Between my wife and I, we drive about 75,000km per year - 95% highway. So - good mileage and longevity are important to me. I intend to buy it new (or newish) and drive it until it won't drive any more - somewhere in the 500,000km range. Will a Mazda 3 do that?

I have owned 2 diesel VW Jettas (still own the one). The first one self retired at 480,000km. My current 2010 Jetta is just topping 400,000km and still going strong. My commute generally averages out below 5.5L/100km, often settling at 5.3. Winter gets a bit worse, but is consistently below 6.1L/100km. These numbers are with the cruise set at 122kph, so not exactly babying it...

So my first and most important question is - will a Mazda 3 go a half million kilometers without massive maintenance? I'm aware of Mazda's new unlimited warranty (5yr), which is what has me considering the vehicle in the first place.

My second question is with respect to fuel economy. Can I expect to get anywhere close to the manufacturer claims of 5.7L/100km on the highway? I know it won't beat my Jetta, but anything under 6.0 is reasonable.

Thoughts and opinions?

Sean.

 

My opinions on living long-term with Mazda:
I've owned mine since new in 2004. It currently has 95,000 miles on the odometer. I have changed the oil religiously at 10k miles since converting to synthetic at around 20k miles.
On average my 3 HB, with the 2.3L naturally aspirated engine and 5-speed manual transmission has averaged around 26 (w-A/C on) to 30mpg (a best) city.
With both my wife and I driving, we managed to average a little over 32mpg on the longest trip we've taken the car on, but my wife is not the most steady, consistent driver either. I feel we could have done better.
The only real issues I have experienced was a faulty MAF sensor while the car was still under warranty. The other was a fuel purge check valve under the hood that cost me $350 USD at a dealer to repair.
I installed lowering spring, and sport shocks, along with adjustable rear "camber" arms to remove some of the wild negative camber they allow from the factory. Tire wear has been much better since.
I am on my forth set of tires, though the first three sets lasted less than 20k, and two even less than that. The Continentals I have on the car now have lasted nearly half its life, 45,000 miles SO FAR, so the problem was obviously the tires and suspension set-up as it came from the factory.
It is not the most comfortable riding car I have ever owned, and wouldn't recommend it if, 1. you live on and near a lot of broken pavement, and 2. you are beginning to age and/or have back issues.
It is fun to drive, especially on "driving" roads. With a seriously heavy rear anti-sway bar installed (I replaced the factory 19mm with a 27mm along with heavier links) you can all but remove any evidence of factory induced understeer, and steer using mostly the throttle alone.
The car is smallish inside and is not the best for carrying tall people (my neighbor is 6'5" and his knees are nearly in the dashboard when he's ridden with me) or adults in the back for extended periods of time.

I don't know if this completely answers your question(s,) but I'd say if you were looking for the kind of life you might expect to get from a diesel in a gasoline engine, you may be disappointed in the end.

 

It depends on what kind of car you want. I have a 5 year old 2010 (2nd gen) 3. So far zero problem, only thing I ever did was oil change and air filter and recently replace a new set of tires. Personally I don't doubt the reliability of Mazda these days, their reliability is up there with Subaru and Toyota. I used to have a 1999 Mazda Protégé that I passed it down to my in-laws which they are still driving and is probably around 200,000 miles now. I gave it up cuz I got lazy with keeping up with the tune-up and maintenance.

If I understand you correctly, you plan to do a lot of long distance driving? If so Mazda3 may not be the car for you. Don't get me wrong, I love my Mazda3 for local commute because is fun to drive. But if you are doing lots of highway for long distance travel, the harsher suspension and loud road noise of this car will only bring you discomfort after half a day or even a full day of trip in it. I have a done a few 500 miles drive in my Mazda3 before and truly did not enjoy it. At the end of the trip you feel like you have been in a go-kart for hrs. Butt and back sored and stiff neck, you name it.

Gas mileage wise, my usual daily commute (freeway & local combined) about 26-28 mpg, but I also like to blast my AC and drive aggressive. Pure highway driving around say 70mph speed, I have seen mpg as high 40 mpg on my Mazda3 which is only rated about 35mpg for highway by EPA.

Hope all these help answer some of your question.

Personally I also own an Acura that I much rather drive for longer distance trips for comfort.

 

Not looking for long trips, so much as a daily commute. I'm about 75km (47m) from work, so a round trip each day is 150km (94m). My wife works part time, so there are several days where the vehicle makes another round trip (about the same distance) for her after I get home - so 300km round trip (188m) on those days. Multiply that out along with some longer distance trips in between and you rapidly get to the 75,000km (47,000m) per year.

Sean.

 

I'm wondering the same thing... I'm retiring my 2001 Corolla soon with 200K trouble free miles, and looking at the M3 hatch. The new CVTs in the Corolla give great mileage, but I'm not sold on their durability. I like that Mazda stuck with 6-sp trannys, lot more fun to drive.

It mainly comes down to the powertrain, engine and tranny, all the other peripherals, water pump, alternator, etc are made by the same companies (Aisin, etc).

 

Well in that case, I think you might enjoy having a Mazda3. As I stated before, they will easily go up to 200k miles, if you really keep up with maintenance you might even be able to push it further. In my opinion, if you are used to European cars like your VM, Mazda is probably the only Japanese car company that build cars that had the feel of European cars.

 

If you are used to Corolla, the biggest differences you will notice are more road nice and stiff suspension. If you can live with that then you might enjoy M3. M3 probably has the biggest and most powerful engine of all compact cars and MPG is just as good as other compact cars.

I am the same about CVT, Nissan, Subaru, Honda, all going towards CVT to get better MPG. No thank you for me. That just take all the fun out of driving all together, but that is me. Anyways, good luck with your car shopping, and you probably already test drive one but if you are seriously considering one, I think is not a bad idea to try get a M3 rental for a day or weekend for a little trip to see if really like the car or not. They seems to be fairly common from Hertz around where I am.

 

Getting a rental car for a road test is a absolutely brilliant idea. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned before.

Also take a few test drives from the dealer with different spec level Mazda 3s to see how you like the different size tyres they offer. As the spec levels go up so do the rim sizes and down goes the sidewall & cushioning.

 

HI, EVERY MAZDA OWNER. ALL owner should check a system SKYACTIVE problem on your NEW Mazda car. I HAVE A 2014 MAZDA3. WHEN I BOUGHT MY MAZDA3 IN 2014,I HAD FELT THE CAR WAS NOT ENOUGH POWERFUL BECAUSE IT IS SKYACTIVE SYSTEM WHAT I THOUGHT AND I DISCOVERED THE CAR HAS NOT ENOUGH POWER TO CLIMB THE STEEP HILL, BUT I DID NOT PAY ATTENTION ON IT. THEN THE TERRIBLE THING HAPPENED, WHEN I DROVE MY CAR AND WENT UP THE VERY STEEP ROAD. IF I STOPED ON THE MIDDLE OF THE VERY STEEP ROAD OVER 30 DEGREES, THE CAR WAS DIFFICULTY TO MOVE UP OR SHUT DOWN. AND IF I DRIVE VERY SLOWLY UP THE STEEP ROAD, THE CAR WAS SHAKE. I LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, SO THERE IS A LOT OF STEEP ROAD OVER 30 DEGREES OR UPER. THEN I REPORTED THIS PROBLEM IN SAN FRANCISCO DEALERSHIP. THEY CHECKED THE CAR, AND THEY TOLD ME THE CAR HAS NO ANY PROBLEM. I TRUSTED THEM, BUT WHEN I DROVE TO VERY STEEP ROAD EVERY TIME. THERE WAS SAME PROBLEM ON MY CAR. SHAKE OR SHUT DOWN. I TAKE MY CAR TO CHECK 5 TIMES IN DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP . THEY ALSO GAVE A SAME ANSWER TO ME. NO ANY PROBLEM ON MY CAR. THEN I REPORT THE PROBLEM TO MAZDA AMERICA(THE MAIN AGENCY IN U.S). THEY LET ME CHECK AGAIN, AND WENT TO DO A ROAD TEST WITH TECTECHNICIAN IN SAN FRANSICO. I SHOW THE PROBLEM TO TECHNICIAN ON THE STEEP ROAD. FINALLY, THE TECHNICIAN FIND OUT THE PROBLEM. THE TECHNICIAN SAID THE PROBLEM IS ON THE CLUTCH AND HE REPORT TO THE MAZDA AMERICA, BUT THE MAZADA AMERICA EXPLAIN THAT THE CLUTCH IS NOT IN THE COVERAGE. I NEED TO PAY ALL REPAIR FEE $2，500;THEREFOR, I SUGGEST ALL OWNER SHOULD CHECK YOUR NEW MAZDA CAR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE ON A VERY STEEP ROAD OVER 30 DEGREES. TO DRIVE YOUR CAR SLOWLY OR STOP ON THE MIDDLE OF STEEP ROAD AND THEN TO MOVE UP. THIS BIG PROBLEM IS HARDLY TO DISCOVER BECAUSE THE CAR MUST BE IN A SPECIAL SITUATION AS SUPPER STEEP ROAD. IF YOUR CAR HAS SAME SITUATION AS MY CAR, PLEASE TO REPORT TO YOUR DEALERSHIP AND CONTACT ME. MY E MAIL IS WGL1104@GMAIL.COM
THANK YOU.