Sport or Sedan???

[DJArum]

I\'m leaning towards the Sport right now, but the sedan is good too... What are some of the deciding factors you guys had in choosing the 3.. or which one do you prefer and why?

[SHoWTYME]

Anybody know if the Mazda3 or Mazda6 are reliable in the long run?

[DJArum]

Not exactly answering my question there, but that\'s another factor to consider isn\'t it? My experience with Hondas have been great, how about Mazdas and this new model?

look, of course it is quite personal, I like the rearend design for the sport than sedan.
also you can carry large object in sport, there is a customer in my workplace driving Echo hb, the car can swallow a large cabinet with no problem.
this is my 1st Mazda, so really don\'t know the realiablity, so far there are many owners have airbag sensor replaced, and rear brake disc groving.

[swales]

I picked the Sport because I liked the look and you can carry more. The sedan does look nice but I thought the small trunk opening would be a pain.

In regards to reliability, I don\'t think you\'ll have any problems. We\'ve had Mazda\'s in my family for over 20 years and have never had any problems, although I will say that the Mazda\'s made in the U.S are not as good in regards to build quality as the Japanese one\'s (the 626 was way better built wise then the 6) luckily the 3 is still made in Japan:)

The problems that some people have experienced with the 3 (air bag sensor etc) are pretty much expected because the 3 is a brand new design in it\'s first year of production (almost all new cars experience these types of problems).

[Xenon]

Originally posted by SHoWTYME


Anybody know if the Mazda3 or Mazda6 are reliable in the long run?

The Protege (the 3 replaced it) reliability has been pretty good. The 6 has been doing well so far, although it is only 2 years old. One thing to note is the Mazda3 has been out in Japan for a year before the 3 came to North America.

In General, Japanese car reliability isn\'t an issue. They are usually above average or far above average.

[DJArum]

I hope the 3 will be reliable, but the 6 has had a couple recalls already. And I\'ve heard of other problems as well that are well across the board. So, let\'s see how the 3 does. The protege used to be built in Japan, now the 3s and 6s are built in the states I believe.

[sw0rdfish]

Mazda 3 is made in Japan

[Xenon]

The Mazda3 is DEFINATELY made in Japan.... or else it wouldn\'t take this long to get one in North America hahaha.

As for the recalls, every car has them, how severe they are is a different question. I don\'t think there will be a problem with the 3s. I have faith. lol

[FLIPDADY]

I\'m waiting till December to purchase mine. The 05\' models will be here by then so as long as I can get my hands on a Velocity Red hatch or sedan I\'ll be happy.:D

[wtom]

Ordered myself the sport for two reasons;

1. My ice hockey equipment; playing goal, I\'ve a bit more to lug around than the normal player.
2. Sporty looks; I\'ll probably be driving a sedan or suv/van later in life so have fun now while still young (25 yrs of age).

and possibly a third reason;

Winning Blue! ;)

[Snipes]

I did a lot of research into the mazda line of vehicles and it ended up being one of the best companies out there from an overall entire car line. The mazda protege has been out for some time now and one of the sources i used (The lemon guide) rated the protege\'s as one of the best cars out there falling second to the Toyota Camry. If you want reliability then I would go Camry. If you can\'t afford the camry then the 3 is the next best option. The 3\'s are made in Japan and have not been influenced by Ford (Focus) by any means. They are heavily influenced by the Volvo S40 and in my books the Volvo\'s rate pretty high. They will stand up as the car of the year for 2004 and quite possibly 2005. There are 2 reasons why they take a while to get. One is the fact that they have to come from Japan. The other is the huge demand for them. From statistical view Toyota, Honda and Mazda are the only companies that have seen an increase in sales from Jan \'04 to June \'04. Honda has gone up about 2 %. Toyota has gone up by about 5% and Mazda has gone up by 23%. That has to say something right there. If you are torn on what car to buy and can only afford entry level then you\'re options are the Mazda 3 and the Toyota Corolla.
Now for your question. I went for the Sedan because I couldn\'t afford the Sport. I don\'t mind the look of either and figured that every body will be doing up the Sport so I want to enter my car into the GTA as the Sedan version of it. The difference in engines is only 12Hp which is nothing and can easily be accomodated for. I heard that the 2.3L Sport/Sedan is capable of having the bolt on turbo. That is one option that I have heard about and a reason why not to get the 2.0L
Just my thoughts. For myself I got the 2.0L Sedan for cost purposes.

[miggiddy]

I got the sedan because 1) I have owned a hatch back before, altho I honestly see the 3 sport more like a wagon compared to the new 6 sport, that\'s more like a hatch. Anyhow 2)....given the hatch is sporty looking I wanted something that I consider a little more elegant/classy and the sedan does that for me. As others have said it comes down to what sort of functionality you need and want.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by Snipes


The 3\'s are made in Japan and have not been influenced by Ford (Focus) by any means. They are heavily influenced by the Volvo S40 and in my books the Volvo\'s rate pretty high.

just to clarify...for those that choose to deny that there are ford influences in the 3, Ford of america did not influence heavily on the design. it was Ford of europe which helped with the suspension (the rear suspension, afterall, is the Focus Control Blade as opposed to Mazda\'s Twin Trapezoidal Links from the protege) and provided the 2.3L Block. The Head was redesigned by Mazda to accomodate the Variable Valve Timing and the Variable Intake.

Volvo was involved with the safety aspects of the car and Mazda also contributed to the chassis dynamics. However, the 2005 North American Focus is not built on the same platform as the 3 and the S40; it still uses the old Focus platform.

Ford of Europe is far better than Ford of America (in fact, it is independently run). It was the European Focus that won \"Car of the Year\" across the pond. Ford of America decided to decontent the European Focus and, when it was released here, was plagued with TSBs and recalls galore.

I used to detest Fords, but have come to realize that Mazda may not have been around to create a car like the 3 had ford not provided the financial backing.

[Xenon]

Originally posted by MajesticBlueN

Volvo was involved with the safety aspects of the car and Mazda also contributed to the chassis dynamics. However, the 2005 North American Focus is not built on the same platform as the 3 and the S40; it still uses the old Focus platform.


The Electronic Brakeforce Distribution system that comes on GS and GT models are from Volvo. The new S40 uses the identical system in it. The passenger sensor for the airbag is also from Volvo

Magestic also noted that the Ford Focus in Europe is totally different than the NA one. To this, he is absolutely correct. The european ford focus shares nearly no parts with the north american one, except in design.

On a side note, the 2005 Focus design is actually the design of the Ford Muendo in Europe.