Hello & Help Choosing
 

Hello,

My wife and I are looking at getting a used Mazda6, or maybe a Mazda3 in the '16-'18 range. This will be used for my daily drive of 40 miles (50/50 highway vs. in town), as well as for our summer road trips of 600+ mile days. We're leaning towards the 6 due to it's larger size, and I'm heavily leaning towards the Grand Touring trim for the additional luxury and safety items. I thought I had the various trim levels and options figured out, but when I started looking online, I found that I wasn't as knowledgeable as I thought. Here are a couple of questions I'd really appreciate some help with.

Do all the engines in this date range have the iELoop system? I'll take any help with mileage I can get.

In this date range I've seen listed: iGrand Touring, sGrand Touring, just plain Grand Touring and Grand Touring Reserve. What's the difference?

I think I want all the safety bells and whistles, and to get all of those I think I have to get the Grand Touring Technology package. Is this correct?

Are the trim levels and options the same for both the 6 and the 3?

We think the extra room of the 6 would be beneficial, but the 3 looks like it'll cost less and be a bit more maneuverable in parking lots. Are there other differences between the 6 and 3 we ought to be aware of?

What else should we think about?

Thanks,
Adam

I cannot speak to the differences between the 3 and the 6 except to say, when my wife and I were shopping in 2016, the Mazda3 hatch appeared to have considerably more room inside than the Mazda6. We ended up with a Mazda3 s Grand Touring 5-Door with a 6-Speed manual with every option available except the external trim pieces.

With the above said, a few comments:

• Cars with manual transmissions were not available with the iELoop system, so regardless of trim, that option is not on cars with three pedals under the dash.
• Thinking back, I believe the iELoop was only available as a late 2016 option; if my memory is correct, none of the early 2016 cars have it, and only some of the late 2016 cars could be ordered with it.
• I believe I remember hearing iELoop was available for some of the 2017 models but beyond that, I'm just guessing.
• As for differences in trim, I think the Mazda3 s GT models were available with HIDs for the headlights, however, the Mazda6 GT models came with LED leadlights.
• Fuel economy and handling is a bit better in the Mazda3, seating space and headroom space is a bit better in the Mazda6.

Keep us posted on your search.

Thanks for the info. I should have mentioned that I'm only interested in the automatic. My knees just don't handle stop and go traffic with a clutch like they used to. It's not something that happens often, but it does happen.

Cheers,
Adam

Evaluate the different trim levels carefully to insure you are getting what you want and make no assumptions. Mazda juggles the content of each package fairly regularly and I would not assume that something that is in a package is included one year is also in another year or included in both the 3 and the 6. I went with the 2015 Mazda 3 2.5 Touring which seemed to have everything I was looking for. After I bought it, I found that it did not include automatic headlights. For 2016, automatic headlights was included in all trim levels from the Sport and up. There are several things on my Touring that were only included in the Grand Touring in later years.

The difference between the 3 and the 6 were significant enough for me to make a clear decision. There is more room in the 6, however, the added weight and size left me wanting more power (which was later corrected with the 2.5T). The 2.5 in the 3 is sufficient for me, however, I would prefer the 2.5T if I could get it. I also find the 3 to be the perfect size for me and my commute.

Yeah, a 2.5T in a Mazda3 would be a great little alternative to a GTI.