Mazda 3 04-09 - any good?
Discussion
Looking for something to replace Mrs.NCoT's Puma that's slightly more family oriented.
Looked around at all sorts of stuff and the Mazda seems to come out fairly high - looks OK, good specs, 2.0 Sport has enough poke, decent handling (Focus platform).
Has anybody run one and can they give me the lowdown?
(Any alternatives worth consideration?)
(Before the inevitable - why not just get the Focus it's based on? questions, fed up with Ford build quality/rust, and not bowled over by the engine choices).
Looked around at all sorts of stuff and the Mazda seems to come out fairly high - looks OK, good specs, 2.0 Sport has enough poke, decent handling (Focus platform).
Has anybody run one and can they give me the lowdown?
(Any alternatives worth consideration?)
(Before the inevitable - why not just get the Focus it's based on? questions, fed up with Ford build quality/rust, and not bowled over by the engine choices).
I've got a 2007 2.0 sport. Bought it on around 155k, it's on 160k now and nothing has gone wrong with it.I'd recommend getting the facelift ones (generally 2006 and newer) as you get a lot more kit and they're not much more expensive.
The standard spec level is extremely impressive for what it is, mine has xenons, bose (sound amazing, definitely an essential option), auto lights and wipers, DSC, climate and other stuff I've probably forgotten about!
I wouldn't call it quick, but if you're prepared to rev the nuts off it you'll stick with a lot of cars that are technically faster. The handling is excellent and the whole package feels well put together.
Only disadvantages are fuel economy (I get 28MPG but don't drive economically) and bodywork - small amounts of rust are appearing in some places which I wouldn't expect on a 2007 car.
The standard spec level is extremely impressive for what it is, mine has xenons, bose (sound amazing, definitely an essential option), auto lights and wipers, DSC, climate and other stuff I've probably forgotten about!
I wouldn't call it quick, but if you're prepared to rev the nuts off it you'll stick with a lot of cars that are technically faster. The handling is excellent and the whole package feels well put together.
Only disadvantages are fuel economy (I get 28MPG but don't drive economically) and bodywork - small amounts of rust are appearing in some places which I wouldn't expect on a 2007 car.
We've got a 56-plate 1.6 Katano for the wife. We bought it with 20k on the clock and it's heading for 60k now - all it's needed in that time is tyres and bog standard servicing. It has enough power to overtake really slow stuff, and handles and stops nicely enough.
Only real gripe with it is the low gearing which kills fuel economy and the small fuel tank (45 litres ish?). We were expecting it to manage the thick end of 40mpg with ease, but it tends to do 33-36mpg depending on use. Country driving seems to improve mpg over motorway use, presumably as it's not revving its nuts off at 70mph.
We didn't get the 2.0 variant thinking that the economy would be too bad, but I'm wondering in real terms whether it'd have been the better choice. We'd originally gone shopping for a 1.8 Focus, but this was better spec'd and slightly cheaper than a 1.6 Focus.
Only real gripe with it is the low gearing which kills fuel economy and the small fuel tank (45 litres ish?). We were expecting it to manage the thick end of 40mpg with ease, but it tends to do 33-36mpg depending on use. Country driving seems to improve mpg over motorway use, presumably as it's not revving its nuts off at 70mph.
We didn't get the 2.0 variant thinking that the economy would be too bad, but I'm wondering in real terms whether it'd have been the better choice. We'd originally gone shopping for a 1.8 Focus, but this was better spec'd and slightly cheaper than a 1.6 Focus.
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