Just bought a new 2011 Mazda3s Hatch in automatic. Went from a 2006 Accord V6 manual to this cause I got tired of shifting.

My choices were

GTI with the DSG- too expensive!!
Golf- cant handle as well as the 3, feels so quiet and posied though
Mazda2- love the handling and go cart feel but man its kind of slow

So I settled for great handling and some road noise, but hey I drove a Accord for 5 years so I am used to road noise.

Let me tell you aside from the obivious power loss from a 244hp V6 to a 167hp 4 banger this thing out handles the Accord easily. The 2.5 4 cylinder sounds pretty good, it doesnt have that cheap 4 cylinder blender sound I dread. I am pretty happy so far, got it with 8 miles on it and going to break it in the hard way. Stomp on it to break it in, I dont believe in gentle break ins.

 

Mazduhzine

Congrats on your new car!!! any plan on modding?

just curious. Why no speed3?

 

Dont plan on any modding at all. I am a happy camper as long as it reliable and fun to drive.

I did not consider a Speed3. Dont want a stick shift car anymore and its too expensive.

 

Nice car! ... see them all the time here in Germany

Jens

 

Love it. I helped my friend to get into your exact car (2010 version) and the handling was so intoxicating. Her car was so impressive that I was inspired to get my 2010 6.

IMO Mazda and Honda/Acura are the best vehicles on the road for bang for the buck / quality / performance / and overall vehicle dynamics.

Congrats

 

Congrats, love Mazda3s!

 

congrats!

if all works out, ill be driving home in an 07 MS3 today

mazdazine

 

I'm a big fan of the 07 MS3, its a riot with that power and small size.

 

Great choice! Still love my 08 Mazda3. Granted it only has 14k miles on it.

 

They look nice.

 

Welcome to the Mazda family.

Great looking car!

 

congratz on the new car

 

Miles of "smiles' with the Mazda 3!

 

Nice pick up! I'm considering joining the Mazda family too! MS3 that is.

 

Nice pick up I just bought my Mazda last Friday!

welcome to the club

 

I used to sell for 5 years at Mazda but their lack of options for the current market made me switch brands, to Nissan. Mazda only really sells two vehicles, the Mazda 3's and Cx-9's. Mazda 6's sell a little bit but people a lot of customer feedback was that they reminded them of their grand parents Buick. LOL

I've always loved the Mazda 3's and Speed 3's though.

Congrats on the new purchase!

 

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/js85/4843296962/" title="Zoom Zoom Zoooooooom by JS + MS3, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4843296962_dd0e258be0_b.jpg" width="1024" height="707" alt="Zoom Zoom Zoooooooom"></a>

Do it.

I'm sick of these Bimmerzine crews j/k

 

Please tell me you did not really do a side front mount for your license plate screwed right into your bumper.

 

I dont run no license plate on my Mazda

 

I have not run front plates on any of my cars for a loooooooooooong time.

 

I was running no front plate on the TL 2 weeks ago and got pulled over.. but still will not run a front plate

 

Nice car, I am a fan of 3's (both Mazda and BMW)
But just curious, why don't you wait a few more months for the brand new direct injected engine(s) with a new 6spd auto?

Unofficial FE of 40mpg highway.

 

^^ A little late for that question....no?

 

looks clean, great DD

 

Nope. CP-E Tow Plate

I hadn't put on license plate for the past 6 years of driving with my Accord and 3G TL. But my speed3 is pretty loud and just don't want to deal with it, so I put on tow plate, which I liked much better than the regular spot.

 

nice! i bought a '10 3i sedan a few weeks ago .... Mazdazine?!

 

Mazdazine!!!!

 

Nice pick up! Time to update that sig

 

Not a big fan of DI engines. I drove the new Sonta that has DI and the engine is less smooth and vibrates more than the one in my Mazda. What is the advantage anyway?

And 6sp auto not impressed either. Car and driver when they reviewd the new Fiesta and Focus were not overwhelmed by this 6 speed tech. In fact in the latest issue of CD the 3 had a great response to its powertrain in a shootout of small cars.

 

as long as your happy....I'm sure they're nice but they have a face only a mother could love...

 

the smile!

I was going to get a 2010 but decided to get an 08 just because it was cheaper and I didnt like the smile

 

In general, GDI engines have higher power output, lower emissions, and better fuel economy.

 

Congrats! I drove a manual version a while back and was pretty impressed, although I couldn't get it to any fun roads. My only concern was over rust issues in a place where roads are salted nearly half the year.

 

First fill up, 50/50 hwy city got 23mpg, about the same as my old V6 Accord. The 2.5L eats gas, I knew that going in though, the price for a fun car with some guts.

 

23mpg?!?!?

That's worse than my 06 TL.

 

well he is doing 50/50 if he was doing more highway it would probably be in the 26 range

 

You made a great choice. I have a lot of experience with the last gen in automatic form. And IMO, it was the best compact car Out-of-the-Box. Coming then from the Civic world, I never felt the 3 needed anything. I would imagine this current gen to be better with more power.

 

Here is my old Accord at the dealer.http://www.rentonmazda.com/used/Hond...0f2291cbaf.htm

When the new 40 Mpg 2012 3 gets here I dont think they will gave out 0.00 interest for 5 years like I got.

I dont trust that 40mpg claim one bit, Car and Driver tested the New Eleantra and it got something like 21mpg overall, granted they drive them hard but 21mpg sucks compared to what Hyundai claims the 2012 Eleantra gets. And I take the feel of a 2.5 over a 2.0 anyday unless its a VW 2.0 Turbo.

 

Did they ever question you about the TL wheels?

 

Actully they are stock wheels that came with 2006 V6 6 speed Accords. I got that Accord new.