^ The only problem with the Mazda 3 now is its just so dated. It's not horrible by any means but the infotainment system is years behind of others in the industry (if you're using android its not as bad with https://mazdatweaks.com) The 2.5 is also not as economical as some of the other turbo car offerings, but it does make decent power and torque.

I wrote up a review of the current 3 a couple years back on here and I can recall that even then the infotainment system felt like it would be more comfortable in a late 00's vehicle instead of a modern car. It was just brutally clunky. Sad to hear that it hasn't really changed. I'm on the r/mazda3 subreddit and lots of complaints about it, even with the recent updates for smartphone connectivity. The other thing about the 3 that I'm wary about is that (allegedly) it still uses a lot of the same engine internals as my 3 and is prone to the same failure that mine just had. I'm not sure how true it is, but that combined with my other Mazda failures is enough to make me second guess seriously considering one. The CX3 is a good looking car but my girlfriend's sister has one and, as you mentioned, is horrible at carrying anything other than a couple of passengers. Makes packing for road trips a little more difficult without going the roof tray route.

Maybe if you get another Mazda, it will catch on fire again. :troll:

Has their build quality gotten any better? One of my more common rentals for work ended up being an RVR and it sounded like a tin can every time I drove in rain. That, and the material quality would have felt at home in a Cavalier. Not knocking them for something that works, but I just couldn't justify spending actual money on buying it if that's what I had to look forward to everytime I needed to drive somewhere.

Yeah, forgot to mention that's also on my short list. Some decent prices for low mileage CPO Sport Touring and even SI's. That's actually what started me thinking about the ILX as well.

:okay:


But hey, at least Mazda posted that TSB twenty years later warning us that it might happen!

/rollseyes gif

lol @ "might happen"

Experienced this first hand. A set of winter tires will just fit with the seats folded.

lomac et al,

did your mazda rust?

I picked up a Subaru Crosstrek and its been awesome! Pretty slow, but awesome. I think it looks good, Subaru AWD, nice handling, off-road capable forsure, good seats and great trunk space. Loving it so far. btw.. its slow.

Personally, I find the FK7's newer platform and engine to be leaps and bounds better than what the older ILX has to offer. Additionally, visibility from the driver seat is also far superior in the new gen Civic as well.

The ILX would have be to steeply discounted to the point where it is noticeably cheaper than the FK7 Civic for me to consider it.

Yea, with the seats folded you can carry a full set of wheels and tires but with the seats up it's just a bit lacking.

If you go the mz3 route again, just make sure to get a japanese made one (GT) and not a mexican one. Yes the infotainment still does suck balls, we're still waiting for AA/CP retrofitting.

Unless you buy the GT with the Premium package + Technology package, it's pretty much impossible to find a Japanese built Mazda3 GT, at least that was the case when I bought in April.

I specifically wanted to avoid the Technology package because I didn't want to deal with the potential issues with the i-eloop system, given the minimal benefits it provided.

Where I currently am, it's "normal" for any Mazda to look like this. But people still buy them.
https://i.imgur.com/6YBuVl8.jpg

Perhaps consider kia / hyundai. They've come a long way in terms of build and quality. You get most features when compared to similar trims and models .

Check out the Elantra GT, sport, veloster, kia soul turbo, forte.

So, after spending a couple weekends looking around, I think I've narrowed it down to a VW Golf Comfortline w/driver's and LED package in manual, a Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring also in manual, and Hyundai Elantra GT Sport Ultimate (DCT only, unfortunately). They all hover around $30k before taxes, fees, and extended warranties. The latter choice is there more for a baseline between the other two, more established options. Given the option, which would you opt for? Personally I'm leaning towards the Golf as it just seems to drive a little better than the other two and simply feels more solid. Typical German quality that I've been missing since my last VW. I'm curious about that 1.8T engine, however. How similar is it to the one that harks back to the MK4 generations? Any known issues with it? Same question about the Civic engine as well. Not familiar with that one at all.

most of the Mk7's GTIs are still under warranty and ownership experience has been pretty good (switched into an audi S3... same as golf R just sedan)


the one to own is the GTI performance pack - has that trick front diff, car puts the power down like an AWD car, 20hp more and upgraded Golf R brakes.

I really liked the interior of the Golf, powertrain is older so not the best fuel economy or performance, higher gears are really tall which is good for cruising but obviously not great for performance, they cut some features on the 2018 Comfortline that were previously found on that trim level such as dual zone automatic climate control.

I really liked the Civic (especially the Si), didn’t drive the hatch. The 2019 models add Honda Safety Sense to all trims+transmissions and have the upgraded infotainment system, which should do wonders for reviews and resale values I’d imagine (they’re the two biggest complaints from reviewers such as Consumer Reports). Might be worth waiting for. Drivetrains are probably the best in the class.

Yeah, thought about waiting for the 2019's but none of the dealerships will tell me when they'll arrive. Unfortunately my car is busted and I'm not wanting to put anymore money into limping it along until a date is announced. So unless anyone here knows when that will be... lol

i got a pair of MK7's at work, GTI in white and black. But DSG. feel free to try them out.

To add onto this, and an unpopular opinion since most ppl recommend Japanese or German, I would say give Elantra sedan a look.

I know you want a fully loaded one, but that's pretty hard, pretty much any compact sedan will run you more than 30k OTD if not close to 30k.

A civic hatch will run north of 30k easily. If you take a look at Hyundai's website below, you can see you can get pretty deep discount for the 2018 sedan (The 2019 Elantra just debuted a few days ago, so you can probably get even big discount than what the website says)

You can get the very base model with manual no a/c for $15k OTD for a brand new car, that's pretty much unheard of in the compact competition for a brand new car but you need a fully loaded one.

Or you can get the mid trim (GL auto) for $21k OTD, pretty good deal if you ask me.

https://www.hyundaicanada.com/en/sho...e/2018-elantra

Compared to a Mazda 3 or Civic, it's at least $5k cheaper, maybe $8k to $10 cheaper for a comparable trim level. Yeah the japanese have better resale and will probably run longer without problems, but are their cars worth $5k - $10k than a Elantra?

Personally, it just feels ridiculous to have to spend close to or even more than 30 grand for a brand new compact car these days, a bit more than 20 grand is all I can accept, and there isn't a lot of companies where you can choose from

Piggy backing off this thread. A family member is in the market for a new compact sedan, been looking at the usual's.

Using Unhaggle, was able to get $1500 off MSRP on the 2019 Elentra even before stepping into a dealership. Anyone know how much Honda will be willing to negoiate on the 2019 Civic's? I wonder if their profit margin is kind of similar?

Mazda3 is taking at least $4000 off the 2018 models as the 2019's are coming in a month or so.

The dsg on my mk7 SportWagen sucks balls. I asked the dealership to look at it and they said it's Normal. Suppose to shift like a drunken 16 year old. The clutch uptake is abrupt and jerky. CVT all the friggin way for a commuter car

I would have to agree, a lot of CVTs are pretty good. Yea they sound like ass when you floor it but for a day-to-day commuter, it's not going to see that kind of action.

Hyundai has their DCT in a lot of their vehicles with the 1.6T, when reversing it just feels awkward as it feels like the clutch control is done by noob.