carmagnut

What are your general thoughts on both (or one) of these cars? Has anyone test driven them? Cross-shopped them? Own one? Love it or Hate it. Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole?

In car mags they are always pitted against one another and each magazine seems to have their favorite.

One of the big areas that I would love to hear about is the potential long term (past 3.5 years) reliability. I know they are newer models and no one can know for sure but past experiences with either companies dealership network/car models is something to note i.e. how were you treated by X company when/if a problem arose?

Thanks in advance as any info/opinions help.

Moog-Type-S

This is a new one around here.....this has never come up before.

To each his own.

2 "different" kinds of cars.

One's faster, one handles better, one is more refined, one has a goofy grin

Both are great, both can be MUCH more powerful with very simple mods.

It all depends on what you are looking for in a hot hatch.

1killercls

The Mazda will smoke the GTI...

Fossil_TL

I would definitely consider GTI, it's a very well made machine.
Though I dont have personal experience with them, but I have alot friend who own Golfs, and I really like them

knavinusa

The MS3 is more about pure performance while the GTI offers some refinement as well.

Also, I've read that the MS3 suffers from some torque steer. I didn't notice this problem when I drove the GTI.

Saintor

The GTI feels/looks more refined. I'd take a 5-drs.

charliemike

I had a 2007 Mazdaspeed3 and yes, the GTI is a typically germanic car.

But what you trade for refinement in the GTI is 53+ horsepower more in the Mazda.

This isn't to say that the Mazda was cheap. Definitely not. But it wasn't quite what a GTI is.

And this is comparing a 2007 MS3 to a 2010 MkVI GTI. Imagine how much better the new Speed3 is overall.

The bottom line is you have to drive both. This is one comparison where numbers simply do not tell the whole story.

Personal preference could completely skew perception and choice from individual to individual.

Both are great cars.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

I drive 2010 Mazdaspeed3. It's about 9 months old and has about 6500 miles on it. I just love it so much. It's very responsive to mods and actually pretty good on gas too. And it's surprisingly pretty refined too, even though i don't give a shit about refinement in this segment of car. I want it more raw.

Honestly, you just can't go wrong with either. Both cars are great. I was cross shopping them last year and I test drove both of them numerous times. I just liked MS3 more, that was all. If I had gotten GTI, I would still pretty much say the same thing right now.

Just test drive both and pick the one you like the most.

007Acura

the GTI's interior is amazing let alone the legendary 2.0t

It is also consumer report recommended

Carraway

I test drove both a regular Mazda 3 and the Mazdaspeed 3. I liked them, especially the speed, but a few things held me back, particularly spotting rust around the wheel wells of a Mazdaspeed 3 with around 6K miles on it. (It was at a VW dealer, so I'm guessing someone had bought it and decided s/he'd rather have a GTI).

I also owned a used Protege for about a week. I had broken my leg and needed an automatic for a while. The transmission was bad, however, so the dealer bought it back. That makes me hesitant to try owning another Mazda.

I haven't seriously considered VWs. I look at them every so often, but my dad had a Jetta or Passat at one time. I don't think any car he's owned (which is a lot) required more work while being designed in a way to make said work very complicated.

majin ssj eric

I'm not a fan of the MS3's styling inside or out but it is a better performer than the GTi if that is you main concern. Overall though the VW is just so much more polished and expensive looking/feeling. The interior especially does not look or feel as though it belongs in a $25k car; more like a $35-40k car.

Mine would be a white on black 2dr GTi with the DCT tranny and nav....

TS_eXpeed

I wouldn't mind owning either.
I haven't toyed at all with a an MS3 (but I'm sure JS+MS3 could tell you about it ), but I did drive my friends R32 before he sold recently and it was pretty . Granted, a GTI isn't quite an R32 and he had a few mods on it, but I couldn't imagine a GTI just being plain jane.

I will say though, I'm not a huge fan of the Golf's most recent styling. But that's just me.

1killercls

I have owned 3 mazdas...all great trouble free cars.

Moog-Type-S

There is a reason why the GTI took the 2nd spot overall (beaten only by a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4SV) on Top Gear's top 20 cars of the past 17 years.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/bes...ars?imageNo=19

http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/best_20_cars?

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

This is refined.

Moog-Type-S

@ Mazda dental care

Boulder TSX

Well, you asked about reliability and so far no one has touched on that.

I would not consider the VW for that reason alone. VW (and Audi) have had substandard reliability for over 20 years...and despite talking about trying to improve it, have not done so. Nearly everyone I know who has a VW has had problems after 3 years.

I could list many stats, but here's one: In this years' Consumer Reports Buying Guide, the listing for "Worst of the Worst Cars" ("Much worse than average reliability"), has five VW's listed and two Audis. One Mazda was listed. (Zero Acuras and Hondas were listed.)

In their list of "Vehicles to Avoid", most VW's are listed, including the GTI.

On their Best of the Best Cars list, ("Much better than average reliability") Zero VW's/Audis were listed. Three Mazdas were listed.
(Six Acuras and seven Hondas were listed.)

Obviously there are exceptions to every statistic, (reliable VW's and unreliable Hondas/Acuras), but if you want to roll the dice and see if you're one of the few who get a good one, go ahead. Otherwise, I'd get a Mazda. (Whose reliability is good, but not as good as Honda BTW. I have a good friend who is a Mazda executive, and he readily admits that.)

wrxyboy

iTrader: (2)

cant go wrong with either Im sure each car has its strong and week points. But like other have stated its a car that you will be driving.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

I have 2 friends who drive GTI, which I recommended them to get. So far they have had zero problems with it. My MS3 has zero problems so far as well. It doesn't have any known issues long term wise too.

Every time I drive my friends' GTIs, I love it more. And every time my friends drive my MS3, they fking yell at me for recommending GTI over MS3.

Get either, and be happy with it OP. Good luck.

john94si

I just cross shopped both last month.

The speed3 was far more fun and about $5k cheaper.
The new GTI with any options was $30k and VW has never been known for great reliability.

I actually came very close to buying the speed over the TL but i got a much better deal on the TL than mazda could offer.

Moog-Type-S

All the talk about VW/Audi poor reliability is for the most part in the past.

Ask anyone who owns the new 2.0T...especially the TSI version of the engine, and you will find that it's both world class in performance and reliability.

The old 1.8T was a nightmare for VW/Audi.

I'd venture a guess that in the long-run the Mazda may be more trouble free....but this is always the case when comparing any German car versus a Japanese make.

...but again this is a typical guess. My past 2 cars have been German, and they have been more reliable and trouble free compared to my last Acura and Honda vehicles....so take that for what it's worth.

In the end they are both great cars....just different in many ways.
The buyer needs to buy the one that fits his needs/wants best.

carmagnut

The reliability issue is a big thing. Long-term you want the car to be on the road, not in the shops...

charliemike

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

is right.

Boulder TSX

I've heard people say that VW's reliability problems are in the past for years. Guess what? The statistics have proven them all wrong, every time.

And those Consumer Reports lists (with VW's being the worst of the worst in reliability) are using 2008-9 models. Do you think they just started building reliable cars this past year, for the first time?

As I said, anyone can get lucky and have a statistical anomaly. (Or unlucky and get an unreliable Honda. Does anyone here actually believe that Hondas & Acuras are unreliable, because the poster above had a problem? Come on. They are the most reliable car brand right now, passing Toyota for #1 this year.)

I don't begrudge anyone for defending his car choice. I would do the same.

But the odds are published right there online and in B&W. If the odds say the Lakers will beat the Clippers 80% of the time, would you bet against it?

TS_eXpeed

I'm starting to wonder, actually....

Moog-Type-S

You should talk to the people that owned CL's & TL's that had glass transmissions replaced twice or more.

You should talk to the people who own Oddy's that can't believe yet another Honda transmission from hell in the Oddy line-up.

We could go on and on........but yea, it's just me

Boulder TSX

Clearly you had a problem with an automatic transmission, and that issue has been well-documented. (I drive a stick...I have never encountered a problem with any of my Honda cars.) But again, this is not about me or you or any one person...it's about the total numbers of problems with a brand.)

The larger picture, comparing of overall reliability between VW and Honda, (we're talking engine problems, electrical, ignitions --- everything) is not even close. It's a wipe-out, with Honda winning by a huge margin.

Are you saying you don't believe Consumer Reports and their polling of car owners? (I'd like to know why.) In the meantime, look at JD Power's numbers, too. Honda is ranked at or near the top in reliability, dependability and initial quality...VW is near the bottom.

http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/ne...spx?ID=2010099

http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/ne...spx?ID=2010034

The OP asked about reliability. I like VW's to drive. But for reliability, I would pick the Mazda

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

OP, dont get confused..

Just test drive both and get the one you like the most.

You won't regret it.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Moog-Type-S

See post #21

..and to the OP: They are both great cars...once again.....and both should be found to be reliable.

My GTI has been reliable.
JS + MS3's Mazda Speed 3 has been reliable.....but he gets more smiles per gallon than I do...

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

Although they might both be "hot hatches", IMO they couldn't be more different cars. I see you're coming from a TSX, so either one is going to be a much more fun car to drive overall, but the Mazda will definitely not be anywhere near as luxurious as the VW when compared to the TSX interior-wise. Are there are any other models you've considered other than these two?

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

It's not like I'm trying to defend the car that I drive, but I had 05 TL for almost 5 years before getting my MS3. Speaking of interior, MS3 is not bad at all compare to 3G TL.

Plus, I can haul so much more stuff in MS3 than TL as TL doesn't offer folderable backseat. GTI's interior has much more refined tone than MS3 though. That's for sure. It just feels more matured. On the other hand, MS3's interior feels pretty young I should say.

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

^ It's definitely a nice interior, no doubt, and I wasn't trying to knock it, I was just saying the VW would seem more luxurious and refined when compared to the TSX. That interior looks very nice, but it doesn't scream luxury to me.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

^ Gotcha.

And yes, it's not luxurious, it's more like sporty and young type of crap. People who drive these things don't seem to care much about its interior.

F23A4

Honestly, it's hard to prognosticate as to how the current GTI and MS3 may hold up after 5+ years of service. This is why we draw on sources like JD Power, Consumer Reports and our personal contacts with owners of said makes/models. Even then, it doesn't account for possible improvements to quality control in the interim.

While I still believe that the long term reliability of Japanese makes tops those of German makes (in general), I'm not so committed to that position in comparing VW and Mazda. If either proves to be more reliable than the other, it's probably marginal at best.

That said, follow JS' advice:

speedemon90

My first car I wish to buy is a GTI. This is basically a never ending debate, and there are people always split between these cars. It basically depends on what you want. Both exceed well in pretty much every category. Everything except reliability. [B]But[B] Vw's reliability is much better than what it used to be. Also the TSI engine in the GTI, is proved to be pretty reliable so far, but that came out in the middle of 2008. What normally kills vw reliability ratings I hear, are from the toureg, passat(I'm not sure about this gen though) and some of their other cars. There golf lineup has been pretty reliable as of late. Although engine may be fine in the GTI, the most common problems are electrical ones. I think I've heard that the A/c has some kind of problem.

I dunno to much about the MS3 other than what I read in the magazines, but its always been in the top. Most magazines will have the GTI and MS3 as first or second.

Just go test drive them, and let us know what you like better.

knavinusa

If Audi and VW use the same compressor, then it's been known to fail eventually.

007Acura

they are pretty even on reliability

agranado

this is hilarious.

the speed 3 is faster and not bad at all inside, but the exterior doesnt match up with the GTI, and the latter's interior is best in class (imho.)