3 night review 2011 3 GT-E Hatchback

[A6X6L6]

Just picked it up on friday. White, with tints. Gotta say, this car is pretty amazing. It looks absolutley amazing at night and it makes me want to be stuck in traffic just to play with all the toys (push-button start). Any thornhillers on the forum??

[Mazdy]

:welcome smiley
:ttiwwp

[Timotee]

Congratulations on your acquisition buddy.

I feel the same way although I only have the GT. I love the black out meters and the illuminations at night. Enjoy!

[chan7]

Congrats on the new purchase! :welcome smiley

[aZuMi]

Congrats on your purchase!

I'm from south RH - pretty close to thornhill. Whereabouts in thornhill do you live?

[Booter22]

:welcome smiley

[Takumi616]

welcome aboard...

[A6X6L6]

I'm just north of dufferin and steeles, close to promenade mall if you know where that is. I'm Spencer btw.

[Zuluwun]

nice, I'm like 5-10 min straight north of promenade. Hope to see you around!

[A6X6L6]

http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc363/a6x6l6/rearside.jpg

heres a pic!

[CFX]

Welcome to TM3. :thumbsup

[Impressive]

So wheres the review?

Welcome to TM3!

[A6X6L6]

OK! Long over due.. here is the review... I am 4 months into my ownership of my 2011 Mazda3 Hatchback GT-E Crystal White Peal with 5 speed auto tranny. My odometer currently reads 9,055. Mods so far are few.. if any really? I would hardly call them "mods"... Tints - Which I got right away.. 30% front, 20% back, and my calipers painted red with the white mazda decals done at Simply Tire.

The Good: I find the 2.5L really a great engine, with more than enough power and zip to get me through all my daily driving. City and highway this thing just performs perfectly and I couldn't ask for more really.. I have a heavy foot and I've experienced power in higher end cars before and this engine provides enough performance to keep me happy. I absolutely love the car at night. The way the dash lights up is very unique and entertaining - especially to those who have never been in one before (or civic owners). First the gauges light up, followed by the blue light for the stereo, then each side for driver & passenger climate control.. Really cool. The adaptive headlights are great as well. I do a lot of highway driving, especially at night and at first I sort of thought it was an unnecessary feature but now I can really say it really does provide more visibility while taking turns, and I also like that the xenons are low and high beam so when those are on the AFS is still active.

Another feature I am really impressed with is the Bose 10 speaker stereo system.. It's 265 watts I believe and just sounds reeeeally good when it's at like 50 blasting Guns N' Roses:chuckle. I think I might do the upgrade to the bass just because I prefer "extra bass" or "deep bass" whatever. The steering is fantastic in this car! It almost handles to me like a 3 series. You can really fly over corners and not have to worry. While doing that, the seats are really supportive and the gear shift (tiptronic lol) is at perfect reach. Anyways, as for the exterior, I really love it.. The front end doesn't bother me at all, I don't understand all these negative comments saying it's too happy.. I think it looks pretty sick and sorta evil at night.

I am also really impressed with the trunk space, I know it's a hatch so it's to be expected.. I am a tall guy (6"2) and I ride a pretty large framed mountain bike so I just take off the front wheel collapse the seats and it easily goes in with tons of room leftover. It's really a great versatile car that impresses me everyday I drive it with it's agile moves and feel of luxury. The plastics in the car are pretty upscale feeling..


The Bad: A few simple things sort of piss me off... The one touch open moonroof is great, but why not have a one touch close? Same issue for the windows.. would prefer a one touch up/down for all 4. The keyfob doesn't have a trunk/hatch release button.. also in the car it doesn't have one either.. So it forces you to get out of the car with the keys to open the hatch. The seat warmers work well, I just prefer buttons, I'm not a fan of the VW style wheels to control them.. Seems outdated for a car with so much technology. This doesn't bother me so much, but the rear leg room is kinda tight. But again, doesn't really bother me. The rain sensing wipers are kind of stupid, I'd prefer multiple speeds.. since they don't really sense the rain when you actually need it.
I find it annoying when calling someone via bluetooth, it feels the need to repeat my recording of when I made the intial entry. One more thing.. the steering wheel.. It's a great, multi-function steering wheel, however I just feel such a sporty little car is missing those thumb things.. where you grip on a lot of steering wheels have these sort of "humps" in the wheel that I find sporty, and also functional.

The Ugly: Few ugly things about this car really..I can name two quite easily though. The navigation, and the horn (which is not new to anyone here). The nav system works fine sure, but one thing I absolutely hate about it is that you have to be stopped to use it or it makes this annoying beep. Yeah it makes sense because the controls are on the steering wheel, but I just feel nav is a toy that passengers a lot of the time use. I hate having to stop to use it.. As for the maps.. they are dated! Again, we all know this.. I went to the dealer they said something like.. $329 to update it. Which is complete bs. They should update it for free.
What can I say about the horn? It's feminine, wimpy and kind of quiet. Must upgrade it!

Last, but certainly not least is the fuel milage. If anyone is looking for a car that is great on gas, this (2.5L) is not the car for you, end of story. Not to say it is terrible on gas, but it's not one of it's selling features in my opinion. I think mazda could have (and is...2012) made this car a little more efficient.

The Verdict: Overall I feel that the positives outweigh the negatives and I do not regret buying this car at all. I am very happy with my purchase actually and despite my comments made about the cons, this car is amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes FUN when they drive. That is Mazda's mission statement and they do that exactly.

[Kiyomi]

nice review. :D

[m3rk]

Good stuff. Still love my 07 3 regardless of the no/outdated tech

[Fayvir]

Nice review man, and nice ride :)

[old-guy]

:welcome smiley

Good review. I couldn't agree more. As a new owner, if I were to write a review it would echo yours. Nice looking ride. :)

[ParsM3GT]

The one tonch window and moonroof close is a saftey issue.

I have rain sensor wipers in my 05 and they work just fine.

Not sure about the hatch but I have a trunk release in my sedan.

[fywdyl]

Regarding the trunk release....

If you have the key fob in the car, someone else can open the trunk from the outside by pressing that button, so you don't have to leave the car to open it.

Aside from that, awesome review.

[rsquared]

Thornhill represent! I'm pretty close by to Promenade as well, hope to see you around.

[A6X6L6]

Learn something new every day. Thanks!


Regarding the trunk release....

If you have the key fob in the car, someone else can open the trunk from the outside by pressing that button, so you don't have to leave the car to open it.

Aside from that, awesome review.

[A6X6L6]

Oh yeah? Where abouts?? What kind of 3 do you have??


Thornhill represent! I'm pretty close by to Promenade as well, hope to see you around.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

Regarding the trunk release....

If you have the key fob in the car, someone else can open the trunk from the outside by pressing that button, so you don't have to leave the car to open it.

Aside from that, awesome review.

+1

[Hyperion]

Are you saying there is no pull handle for the latch on the floor? I was a little confused by that.

[A6X6L6]

I'm going to check again.. just for the sake of it.. OCD but all I see is a gas door latch, and then the hood.

[ronphan]

very detailed review

[FULLSCALE]

Great review! I completely agree with everything you've said. I've got exactly the same car - 2011 GT-E hatch in white!

[A6X6L6]

look at all the love... thanks guys.