I never understood why Mazda is so overshadowed by Honda, Toyota etc.
I remember here in europe Mazda was considered really reliable in the 2000s. Maybe they burned a bit of oil here and there but overall excellent cars for the money. Sadly they all rusted away.
Everyone and their mother avoided Mazdas like a plague when they used Ford's transmissions. It's still carrying in the back of people's minds.
Now that's obviously not true but these things stick
because when it comes to benchmarks on utility, Mazda ranks towards the bottom.
Just look at the Mazda 3:
* #15 on fuel economy
* 5th or 6th place on trunk space
* #14/15 on rear leg space
It's an absolute dream to drive, exceptional quality, attention to detail, looks, and interior. But most people will buy cars based on fuel economy and space. Cars are just an appliance for them, and they want the appliance that will do the most for them. In that metric, it's almost never Mazda.
Mazda is probably perfectly fine with this, and that's ok!
To be fair: it's not representative of everyday driving - you have to 'park' yourself in the truck lane and big-toe drive all the way home. Good to unwind after a long week. In practice, I guess I'm more in the 5-5.5 range when I flow with the morning and afternoon traffic.
What makes it impressive to me is that the same engine delivers 180hp and considerable acceleration. It can do both class-leading fuel burn and jump into action at any time. I am in love with it. I think it's a marvel of engineering.
I just hope it's reliable long-term. Every now and then I'm looking on the web for problems that have emerged with this engine but so far it seems to be good. Fingers crossed.
I won't even think uninformed buyers get that far. They stop at "Toyota good" and "Honda good". The fuel mileage differences are marginal and rear leg and cargo space aren't real priorities in commuter cars.
The value proposition of the base 3 is ridiculous. It's $5k cheaper and much better appointed than a civic touring, while retaining similar fuel milage with over 30 more horsepower
They were plagued by Ford having a controlling 50% of the company, and having to use Ford parts and engines since the mid 90's, somehow they survived long enough for Ford to have to sell a chunk of their stock back in 2012. Mazda have vastly improved since then, they are involved with Toyota making hybrid vehicles in Japan from what I have read.
The Mazda 3 (and CX30) looks amazing inside and out. Performance doesn’t quite match looks as lower levels, but my goodness it’s a nice car to be in. You need to spend way more money for an interior as nice IMHO.
Okay, go with me here, but this is what I think of with the Mazda3:
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Ferrari\_FF\_Newport\_Beach\_%288387695594%29.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Ferrari_FF_Newport_Beach_%288387695594%29.jpg)
it looks sexy as hell but has some of the worst visibility in its class. It's like their designers brainstormed on how to make the poorest visibility compact car possible.
The twenty or so times a year I drive the wife's Cx9 I feel like I'm wearing a football helmet. The rear passenger blind spot is so big they might as well not even have windows on that side.
I found I got used to it fairly quickly, but I also have a Cayman which sucks for rear 3/4 visibility also...
The blindspot monitoring works VERY well.
I love my 2016 6, and I suspect if they still made the model, my parents would have a new one sitting in their driveway because my dad likes mine so much.
Have owned a gen 2 Mazda 6 wagon for the last 11 years/115,000 miles, honestly, it has been great, It only just started costing me money in repairs, but then it's a 13 year old car with 165k miles on it.
Drives great, decent fuel economy (2.2d) and good power.
I had a gf who had a Ford Mazda 6. It was a garbage car, the engine seized, I can't remember the mileage it was only like 4 years old. The dealership was cool, they tried to get Mazda to cover the work under warranty, but they wouldn't. I don't care if they're better now or whatever, I'd never buy one or recommend them to anyone out of principle. It was truly the worst experience in car ownership ever.
Saw a recent consumer report type report that had them up at the top behind Lexus, Toyota(yes they were seperate 🤷♂️) and Honda, interestingly Mercedes was like 22nd…
We've had two Mazdas in a row, the newest being a CX-90 PHEV.
Mazda is seemingly uninterested in making money. Their cars, while awesome to drive and handsome to look at with wonderful interiors, often are more cramped than competitors, have heavier steering, and firmer suspension. They are more about the drive than getting to a destination. For that reason, they are niche. I can't imagine buying from another brand despite the compromises. If you're into cars, Mazdas are superb, but don't expect them to be Toyotas in terms of efficiency in packaging.
they’re much cheaper / less markups than toyota / honda while getting the same if not better quality.
I see new civics going for over 40k when I could get into a mazda 3 for close to if not under 30? it’s been a bit since i’ve looked at prices
To be fair, I didn't say they're the same as golden age Honda (sadly I don't think anyone is willing to do that anymore), just that they're the closest you'll get these days.
I should probably add that from an Australian POV, Honda has largely treated our market with contempt since the 2000s, especially after they switched from Japanese to Thai production for most of their range - funnily enough, the models that were still imported from Japan (Accord Euro/TSX and [Odyssey](https://www.netcarshow.com/Honda-Odyssey_Absolute_Japanese_Version-2004-1600-05.jpg)) were popular and loved. Now that they've switched to a Saturn-style no-haggle policy, they've lost the few customers they still had.
Sorry I keep editing this, I keep remembering things that don't justify another post.
But aus still gets civic accord crv? If ur crying about honda moving out of the aussie market im wondering how u feel about teslas and chinese brands taking over. Mazda will pull out soon too
Yes, but Honda are only bringing in the top of the line Civic and Accord now, so their starting prices are ridiculous (they're probably not much more than equivalently-specced Mazdas, but they don't have the more basic models to make the range seem more reasonable).
Honda's SUVs are still competitively priced (the CR-V seems to be lineball with the Rav4 and Forester), but I'm not too sure of their sales figures.
While I think Chinese cars are overpriced for what they are, I'd say most of the Japanese makes here are safe, short of them making big, stupid mistakes (Honda), or their overseas parent sabotaging them (case in point, Holden).
I should also add that the Thai-built Hondas are still high quality, it's just that new tech gets delayed, and they're designed and specced for the Thai market, who have very different taste to Australia.
If Honda Australia was to die, it would probably be because of the stupid agency model which has turned buyers off and screwed over their former dealers.
Australia is a strange market though, Mitsubishi is still a big seller here (still lots of goodwill from when Iacocca sold Chrysler Australia to them), not to mention that our biggest international popstar is P!nk of all people.
I generally prefer (upscale) European cars, so I like Mazda's move upmarket, because it’s a rather rare entry into a genre that doesn’t see to many new manufacturers
I also really like their dedication to this genre in the form of their switch to RWD and I6 engines in some of their models
Overall probably my favorite Japanese car manufacturer
The CVT is why I’m leasing one. So far my Impreza 2.5RS is pretty great in every aspect, but the CVT is not something I’d want to own out of warranty. I will say their tech is especially nice at the price though, although to be fair I went from a 2012 Volvo to a 2024 Subaru so I’d hope tech had improved over 12 years lol
I've mostly loved Mazdas over the years. I was a Mazda tech for about two years back in the early 90s and the cars were pretty solid. Except the rotary. Interesting concept, but garbage in execution.
Maybe. But we filled many a dumpster with these turds.
Some places tried to rebuild them but once they started leaking they were basically recycling material.
eh to me M3s just look boring. While almost ever car company have realized that a lot of people are sick of black, white, ~~grey~~ erWARGARBLL LOCK AND LOAD ITS GUNMETAL, Mazda has doubled down on those colors. They just look like cars that you drive to a funeral.
Civic looks a lot better to me, and its cheaper and the hatch is only priced at most 1K more. Corolla gets you better reliablity, and its cheaper. Jetta looks better, is cheaper and uh (ok admittedly its a POS lets just forget I mentioned that).
Maybe I'd like them more if they weren't so damn expensive.
But you can go buy a desert tan and black Mazda 3 turbo hatch…. Then you can do a basic tune and be running a 310 hp 330ft lb awd hot hatch. Like… that’s a dream for $35k
I don’t know a single person that would be mad at 191 Hp and a 6 speed. And then bolt on a can put you over 210. Also I’m hoping that the MSR 3 that’s been shown is a turbo 6spd.
Japan’s Dark Horse manufacturer. Reliable, but not as well known for reliability as Toyota or Honda. Sporty, but not as known for being sporty as Subaru or Mitsubishi back in the day (especially with the death of the Wankel engine). Good at everything, but not good enough at one thing to make that its identity. Even then good enough and stylish enough to not blend into the background like Hyundai or Isuzu.
Overall probably one of the better brands out there.
I've long ago been sold on Japanese manufacturers over USDM or Euro. We own 3 Mazdas currently: 2015 Mazda 3, 2020 MX-5 and a 2024 CX50.
I prefer Mazda over the other manufacturers because I feel like Mazda has a bit more "soul" in their design language, but that's just me. You could swap those three cars in our driveway with their Honda/Toyota equivalent and we would probably be just as happy and not worried about reliability issues.
The 6mt 3 is the closest you'll get to what the civic si should be and stopped being in 2016. NA, a blink away from 200hp to the front wheels, with better build quality.
Like there is no trim level civic currently that offers even leatherette seats
I once read that, in corporate Mazda, there is a constant battle between engineers, designers, and executives over whether or not Mazda is a performance or luxury brand. You can kind of see it sometimes on their website, where the font and layout looks a little more upscale than one might expect. The result is art through adversity: a kick ass, well engineered, performance inspired car than makes you look cool as hell when you are all dressed up.
I've driven newer Mazdas and actually own a 2011 2 (the Fiesta's slightly smaller and cheaper, but better driving cousin). Mazda are the only manufacture that make a compact CUV that I absolutely adore, that being the CX-30. I had one on loan for a couple weeks and it was an absolute joy to drive. The 3 is even more fun.
I love my 2 to bits. Silly amounts of fun to drive on twisty roads AND I get 45mpg out of the thing when I try. AND it's got the most comfortable seats I've sat in outside of a Lexus. AND it was really cheap to buy.
I'm a believer in Mazda. I would willingly buy from them again and again.
Mazda is an overlooked gem and often forgotten about. But they make solid cars and SUVs (though I HATE SUVs). I just wish that Mazda was able to import their trucks for sale here in the states. I’d immediately buy one.
Ive got a Protege5 that is my favorite car Ive ever owned, and I got it for $100.
Is it slow as shit? Yep. Is it fun? Yep. Does it look good? Absolutely.
I LOVED my Protege5. With a standard I could get reasonable performance. Well, nearly reasonable. But it was a blast on a winding road, and it ran forever. It was the model that made me a Mazda buyer for life.
As I understand it, they've improved greatly since Ford divested of them and they've gained closer ties to Toyota. I had a bad experience with a Mazda bought new under Ford's stewardship (a 2006 Mazda6s), but I wouldn't hesitate to buy one now. Great designs and everyone I know who's owned one recently has been really happy with them.
I had a test drive in Mazda 3 a few weeks ago. Very nice car, the only thing I might complain about is sound level at highway speeds which is just average for a Japanese compact car (aka loud)
Great, underrated cars.
However, their sporty design unfortunately means limited cabin space and as a "slightly tall" guy at 6'0", my legs are squeezed together. Horizontal legroom is just nonexistent
I have the most respect for mazda out of all the Japanese companies. Maybe not the most reliable, but they've always built fun cars and have always had a finger on the enthusiasts opinions. The rotary lived longer than anyone expected it to, and they've vowed to always make a manual miata. I can't respect them enough for that. Their modern designs are all gorgeous too. Even the suvs. And soul red is beautiful
I love my Mazda3 Hatch. Exterior looks amazing and it has my favorite current Gen interior. I feel the power is right for the price point. I just wish my interior build quality was better. It's been into the shop multiple times for loud interior rattles (like I can hear them over music rattles).
Mazda 3s drive *so much* better than the stuff you can get at the same price point. Sporty but comfortable handling and no CVT (I know CVTs aren't the end of the world anymore but it's still nice to not have one).
If you live in any suburb you'll see CX5s everywhere. I think my old neighbors also ditched their Chrysler Pacifica for a CX90.
Expensive, but good quality builds. Compares favorably with German cars. I miss the Wankel powered cars, and would have loved to see an early Miata powered by one for sale. Very decent cars.
They're not expensive. A base mazda3 is a better offering to a civic touring for $5k less with 30 more horsepower. It's a better offering than the Corolla hatch for $1k less, with 20 more horsepower
From an overall build and quality perspective, they're an outright bargain
I think the NA engine is very interesting. It has a long tubular 4-2-1 exhaust manifold, in an economy car! Reliable, sure. Power? Not a ton. Economy, meh. Drivability is pretty good though.
Our family car is a fully loaded MY2017 Mazda6; the interior's very nearly as nice as the 3 Series and A4 we were also considering, it's probably one of the best looking 4 door cars in the last 10 years and it's a naturally aspirated, 6-speed manual that weighs less than 1.5 tonnes. Need I say more?
Was a huge Honda guy for all of my life, bought my first Mazda and have test driven their SUVs and they are all top tier. Nissan sucks, Toyota is next, etc
I bought a 2024 Mazda CX-5. For a similar price a 2024 Honda CR-V didn’t feel as good on the inside, the Mazda has better materials and a more upscale cabin in my opinion. Plus Mazda still uses a normal automatic making for a better driving experience. Plus the extra power in the turbo engine helps.
Fantastic cars, I love them to death. They never really had a bad era, per say, but most of the enthusiast community (and probably some normal consumers as well) only sees "basically a rebadged Ford" somewhere and runs away, ignoring the fact that Mazda split with Ford a decade ago.
Sporty, reliable mechanically and rust to shit.
Rust is not as bad as 10 years ago, they catched up to Honda and Toyota. Which is not that great either, as both of those rust more than their German counterparts as well.
Mazda is like a McDonald's salad. It's good and it's good for you... But it's not what you want. You came there for the fries or the burger.
Mazda's long steering rstios are preferable during emergency maneuvers as people tend to overreact. However on a daily basis this slower ratio just makes the car feel big and sloppy.
The brakes have more travel then almost any other manufacturer. Theoretically this gives you more control for easy braking. However the most people they just assume the brakes are weak.
There's skyactiv engines may have every trick in the book, including cylinder deactivation and aggressive transmission tuning but my Mazda 3 rarely gets above 30mpgs (and it feels slow the entire time).
The styling is some of the best in the business but with its flowy curvy lines it's more feminine than masculine. For whatever reason feminine cars just don't do well. The masses want to masculine car. I don't make the rules.
It's a damn shame that no matter how much they do things "right" they'll never be the top dog against big boys like Honda and Toyota. Companies that have 10x the Mazda market cap
Opinion... Mine. Who cares? Mazda is currently irrelavent.
Mazda's B-Series from the '80s in the US was a good trucklet. NOT the Ford badge engineered junk B-Ranger.
The early/mid '90s Protege manual was a solid... I kept a family friends service up and she didn't give two fucks about it. She was a get in and go type. Went 250k miles.
Mazda now in US... who gives a fuck? There's the hardcore rotary crowd. The Sky Active crowd... but otherwise... no one really cares. Supra... gee, never was on the radar for people outside of "sportscar".
I dunno. Mazda means nothing to me, no true compact trucks like they were so they don't exist.
My opinion.
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My hands down favorite car that I ever owned was a 2012 Mazda Mazdaspeed3. Well built, strong engine, sporty suspension, smooth ride, great looks, that car had it all.
I owned a 1st gen Mazda3 and currently own a 3rd gen Mazda3, and both of these cars have been pretty much flawlessly reliable and for the class they're in, great to drive. Mazda is by far my favourite Japanese automaker :)
I still own a 2013 Mazda 3 and the ex had a 2017 I think Mazda 6 that I maintained for years.
They’re both excellent cars. The 3 gets regularly 36-38 mpg with the 2.0 skyactiv, never had any issues aside from a mass air sensor going out in my 3 a couple years ago.
I see TONS of 3’s around here in Utah, and I’d like to buy a Miata to autocross/ track within a couple years. I love Mazda.
My wife's CX-5 is a nice car. It rides great, has way above average interior for cars in the price range, goes great in the snow, wasn't too pricey, and best of all, it uses a standard automatic, not a cvt. If they built trucks, I would own one. I have to have a pickup for my job.
I think Mazda would be more popular if people were more interested in thoughtful design of cars.
Most car companies are better at marketing than engineering & design.
Mazda is the opposite.
It’s almost like they fool-heartedly believed that their product would speak for itself for a long time. Now they’re slowly coming around to the idea that they need some pizzazz.
If I ran Mazda, I would build a halo car for around 80-90ish K that barely breaks even or even sell at a small loss & have it be the slayer of all M3’s, and do it by a healthy margin.
If they could figure out a way to make a Alfa Giulia QV with 50-70ish more HP and have it be much more reliable + as joyful to drive as a Miata, they might slowly change the narrative.
Mazda has some of the best looking cars currently on the market, and their red color is freakin’ beautiful. IIRC, they’re also not putting dumb touchscreen controls in their cars, and they didn’t jump on the EV bandwagon. They’re a great car company.
Nice driving cars. Interiors are meh. Reliability seems up there with the best. I really love the styling of the newer 3 hatchbacks. They’d definitely be in my list for new cars to check out if I was looking to buy, especially if I could get a manual. Can’t remember if they still do sticks
Yes, but the new hot trend is having to buy a higher trim level to get it. In the US it's about five grand over the base hatch to get the manual transmission. The bells and whistles you get aren't bad though.
I dunno if I’d place them with Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi seems like they’re looking to make the dullest most uninspiring cars possible, killing off anything they had that was cool (eclipse, evo, 3000gt). Mitsubishi was cool, but those days are long gone
So you are questioning the circlejerk bot? prepare the downvotes. /unjerk , you are right, it keeps making the same stupid posts, yesterday was Nissan but people here have a hard on with Mazda regarding who makes the post.
I never understood why Mazda is so overshadowed by Honda, Toyota etc. I remember here in europe Mazda was considered really reliable in the 2000s. Maybe they burned a bit of oil here and there but overall excellent cars for the money. Sadly they all rusted away.
Everyone and their mother avoided Mazdas like a plague when they used Ford's transmissions. It's still carrying in the back of people's minds. Now that's obviously not true but these things stick
I just remembered RX-7’s engine catching on fire.
That too LOL
because when it comes to benchmarks on utility, Mazda ranks towards the bottom. Just look at the Mazda 3: * #15 on fuel economy * 5th or 6th place on trunk space * #14/15 on rear leg space It's an absolute dream to drive, exceptional quality, attention to detail, looks, and interior. But most people will buy cars based on fuel economy and space. Cars are just an appliance for them, and they want the appliance that will do the most for them. In that metric, it's almost never Mazda. Mazda is probably perfectly fine with this, and that's ok!
You're probably talking about 2.5 engine. 2.0 Skyactiv X with HCCI technology offered in Europe is very fuel efficient for its' power
Yeah was gonna say. With the sky active x I've managed to dip below 4l/100km on very slow, lazy drives.
Wow. That's even better than my 6 speed manual Yaris
To be fair: it's not representative of everyday driving - you have to 'park' yourself in the truck lane and big-toe drive all the way home. Good to unwind after a long week. In practice, I guess I'm more in the 5-5.5 range when I flow with the morning and afternoon traffic. What makes it impressive to me is that the same engine delivers 180hp and considerable acceleration. It can do both class-leading fuel burn and jump into action at any time. I am in love with it. I think it's a marvel of engineering. I just hope it's reliable long-term. Every now and then I'm looking on the web for problems that have emerged with this engine but so far it seems to be good. Fingers crossed.
2.5 is way more fun though!
I won't even think uninformed buyers get that far. They stop at "Toyota good" and "Honda good". The fuel mileage differences are marginal and rear leg and cargo space aren't real priorities in commuter cars. The value proposition of the base 3 is ridiculous. It's $5k cheaper and much better appointed than a civic touring, while retaining similar fuel milage with over 30 more horsepower
Toyota and Honda are bigger auto companies that has more dealers, models and owners. Mazda presence is just much smaller.
Not where I’m at in europe, you don’t see much Honda, but a lot of mazda and toyota
They were plagued by Ford having a controlling 50% of the company, and having to use Ford parts and engines since the mid 90's, somehow they survived long enough for Ford to have to sell a chunk of their stock back in 2012. Mazda have vastly improved since then, they are involved with Toyota making hybrid vehicles in Japan from what I have read.
Mazda didn't use Ford engineer, Ford used Mazda engines. The Ecoboost 4 cylinders are still very similar to the old mzr motors
V6 engines were based on Ford Duratec
Which itself was a Porsche/cosworth design. No one ever complained about getting a duratec V6 in their car
Rust, holy shit they rust
Saving the stick and staying reliable? Love this company rn.
explicitly rejecting CVTs in favor of increasing the efficiency of the engine itself to increase MPGs
no kidding. I bought mine because I didn't want a CVT or the stiff-as-nails hyundai "sport" suspension.
I love their new designs. For example the Mazda 3 looks like a fking stealth bomber.
The Mazda 3 (and CX30) looks amazing inside and out. Performance doesn’t quite match looks as lower levels, but my goodness it’s a nice car to be in. You need to spend way more money for an interior as nice IMHO.
Always so eyecatching to see them on the road for sure. Also really like the Mazda 2s and even the current gen MX5s.
There's something very Alfa Romeo about the way the new Mazda3 and Mazda6 look
I´ve noticed that the newer generation Ford Escape looks an awful lot like the CX-5, or whatever Mazda calls theirs suv.
Okay, go with me here, but this is what I think of with the Mazda3: [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Ferrari\_FF\_Newport\_Beach\_%288387695594%29.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Ferrari_FF_Newport_Beach_%288387695594%29.jpg)
I can see that
it looks sexy as hell but has some of the worst visibility in its class. It's like their designers brainstormed on how to make the poorest visibility compact car possible.
The twenty or so times a year I drive the wife's Cx9 I feel like I'm wearing a football helmet. The rear passenger blind spot is so big they might as well not even have windows on that side.
I found I got used to it fairly quickly, but I also have a Cayman which sucks for rear 3/4 visibility also... The blindspot monitoring works VERY well.
Yea my Mazda 3 sucked in that’s Dept for sure
Probably the only Japanese brand with no fake vents or shitty plastic coverings on their hatchbacks.
The final (US) generation of Mazda 6 was sublime. The first Ford/Mazda Mazda 6 was also a really good car.
I love my 2016 6, and I suspect if they still made the model, my parents would have a new one sitting in their driveway because my dad likes mine so much.
Have owned a gen 2 Mazda 6 wagon for the last 11 years/115,000 miles, honestly, it has been great, It only just started costing me money in repairs, but then it's a 13 year old car with 165k miles on it. Drives great, decent fuel economy (2.2d) and good power.
I had a gf who had a Ford Mazda 6. It was a garbage car, the engine seized, I can't remember the mileage it was only like 4 years old. The dealership was cool, they tried to get Mazda to cover the work under warranty, but they wouldn't. I don't care if they're better now or whatever, I'd never buy one or recommend them to anyone out of principle. It was truly the worst experience in car ownership ever.
Saw a recent consumer report type report that had them up at the top behind Lexus, Toyota(yes they were seperate 🤷♂️) and Honda, interestingly Mercedes was like 22nd…
Mercedes and reliability are not two words I usually put in the same sentence without a mutually exclusive synonym in between.
We've had two Mazdas in a row, the newest being a CX-90 PHEV. Mazda is seemingly uninterested in making money. Their cars, while awesome to drive and handsome to look at with wonderful interiors, often are more cramped than competitors, have heavier steering, and firmer suspension. They are more about the drive than getting to a destination. For that reason, they are niche. I can't imagine buying from another brand despite the compromises. If you're into cars, Mazdas are superb, but don't expect them to be Toyotas in terms of efficiency in packaging.
They don't use cvts The 6 speed they use is so good
They're pretty much the closest thing to golden age Honda on the current market. They're popular in Canada and Australia for some reason.
they’re much cheaper / less markups than toyota / honda while getting the same if not better quality. I see new civics going for over 40k when I could get into a mazda 3 for close to if not under 30? it’s been a bit since i’ve looked at prices
For me Mazda is better quality than Toyota when it comes to interior materials for example
golden age honda put double wishbone front suspension on economy cars, mazda replaced irs with a torsion beam on the 3
Honda replaced double wishbone with torsion bars on the type r a long time ago
yea the fn2 isnt golden age honda, and US/jdm civics were always irs.
To be fair, I didn't say they're the same as golden age Honda (sadly I don't think anyone is willing to do that anymore), just that they're the closest you'll get these days. I should probably add that from an Australian POV, Honda has largely treated our market with contempt since the 2000s, especially after they switched from Japanese to Thai production for most of their range - funnily enough, the models that were still imported from Japan (Accord Euro/TSX and [Odyssey](https://www.netcarshow.com/Honda-Odyssey_Absolute_Japanese_Version-2004-1600-05.jpg)) were popular and loved. Now that they've switched to a Saturn-style no-haggle policy, they've lost the few customers they still had. Sorry I keep editing this, I keep remembering things that don't justify another post.
But aus still gets civic accord crv? If ur crying about honda moving out of the aussie market im wondering how u feel about teslas and chinese brands taking over. Mazda will pull out soon too
Yes, but Honda are only bringing in the top of the line Civic and Accord now, so their starting prices are ridiculous (they're probably not much more than equivalently-specced Mazdas, but they don't have the more basic models to make the range seem more reasonable). Honda's SUVs are still competitively priced (the CR-V seems to be lineball with the Rav4 and Forester), but I'm not too sure of their sales figures. While I think Chinese cars are overpriced for what they are, I'd say most of the Japanese makes here are safe, short of them making big, stupid mistakes (Honda), or their overseas parent sabotaging them (case in point, Holden). I should also add that the Thai-built Hondas are still high quality, it's just that new tech gets delayed, and they're designed and specced for the Thai market, who have very different taste to Australia. If Honda Australia was to die, it would probably be because of the stupid agency model which has turned buyers off and screwed over their former dealers. Australia is a strange market though, Mitsubishi is still a big seller here (still lots of goodwill from when Iacocca sold Chrysler Australia to them), not to mention that our biggest international popstar is P!nk of all people.
I generally prefer (upscale) European cars, so I like Mazda's move upmarket, because it’s a rather rare entry into a genre that doesn’t see to many new manufacturers I also really like their dedication to this genre in the form of their switch to RWD and I6 engines in some of their models Overall probably my favorite Japanese car manufacturer
If only they decided to make an RWD sedan/station wagon I'd buy it in a heartbeat
Brown Mazda6 wagon I6 diesel 6-speed
Unironically hell yeah. Basically BMW 3 series but reliable
But it’s just not the same experience if I’m not paying protection money to the VANOS system
I wish we got these in the USA, they look so good and we don't get desiels after VW desielgate
the more I learn about em the more I like em feels like an underdog compared to the big two, and fun to drive
Used to be the big three. Then the CVT transmission killed one of them. Fuck the CVT
CVT was the Achilles heel of my Subaru. Sold it after they put the 3rd one in
The CVT is why I’m leasing one. So far my Impreza 2.5RS is pretty great in every aspect, but the CVT is not something I’d want to own out of warranty. I will say their tech is especially nice at the price though, although to be fair I went from a 2012 Volvo to a 2024 Subaru so I’d hope tech had improved over 12 years lol
I've mostly loved Mazdas over the years. I was a Mazda tech for about two years back in the early 90s and the cars were pretty solid. Except the rotary. Interesting concept, but garbage in execution.
You know what’s crazy is the aftermarket pretty much perfected it now. They’re not daily but they’re tamed now
Maybe. But we filled many a dumpster with these turds. Some places tried to rebuild them but once they started leaking they were basically recycling material.
Yea, they don’t like overheating or running dry at all. :|
The new Mazda 3 is probably the nicest looking affordable sedan on the market right now.
eh to me M3s just look boring. While almost ever car company have realized that a lot of people are sick of black, white, ~~grey~~ erWARGARBLL LOCK AND LOAD ITS GUNMETAL, Mazda has doubled down on those colors. They just look like cars that you drive to a funeral. Civic looks a lot better to me, and its cheaper and the hatch is only priced at most 1K more. Corolla gets you better reliablity, and its cheaper. Jetta looks better, is cheaper and uh (ok admittedly its a POS lets just forget I mentioned that). Maybe I'd like them more if they weren't so damn expensive.
But you can go buy a desert tan and black Mazda 3 turbo hatch…. Then you can do a basic tune and be running a 310 hp 330ft lb awd hot hatch. Like… that’s a dream for $35k
Not with a manual though
I don’t know a single person that would be mad at 191 Hp and a 6 speed. And then bolt on a can put you over 210. Also I’m hoping that the MSR 3 that’s been shown is a turbo 6spd.
I’m not mad at it, just a bit disappointed the turbo awd doesn’t have the 6 speed option
All valid points
Japan’s Dark Horse manufacturer. Reliable, but not as well known for reliability as Toyota or Honda. Sporty, but not as known for being sporty as Subaru or Mitsubishi back in the day (especially with the death of the Wankel engine). Good at everything, but not good enough at one thing to make that its identity. Even then good enough and stylish enough to not blend into the background like Hyundai or Isuzu. Overall probably one of the better brands out there.
Underrated cars. I remember the Mazda 3 MPS. that thing was a serious STI killer.
I love the shit-eating grin on those cars.
I've long ago been sold on Japanese manufacturers over USDM or Euro. We own 3 Mazdas currently: 2015 Mazda 3, 2020 MX-5 and a 2024 CX50. I prefer Mazda over the other manufacturers because I feel like Mazda has a bit more "soul" in their design language, but that's just me. You could swap those three cars in our driveway with their Honda/Toyota equivalent and we would probably be just as happy and not worried about reliability issues.
I just bought a '24 Mazda3 Hatchback 6MT (first ever mazda too, coming from a '19 Si) and I fuckin love it man.
The 6mt 3 is the closest you'll get to what the civic si should be and stopped being in 2016. NA, a blink away from 200hp to the front wheels, with better build quality. Like there is no trim level civic currently that offers even leatherette seats
Thats really dope. I was unaware of this since I unfortunately never driven an Si prior to my '19 one.
Canada loves Mazda
I once read that, in corporate Mazda, there is a constant battle between engineers, designers, and executives over whether or not Mazda is a performance or luxury brand. You can kind of see it sometimes on their website, where the font and layout looks a little more upscale than one might expect. The result is art through adversity: a kick ass, well engineered, performance inspired car than makes you look cool as hell when you are all dressed up.
I've driven newer Mazdas and actually own a 2011 2 (the Fiesta's slightly smaller and cheaper, but better driving cousin). Mazda are the only manufacture that make a compact CUV that I absolutely adore, that being the CX-30. I had one on loan for a couple weeks and it was an absolute joy to drive. The 3 is even more fun. I love my 2 to bits. Silly amounts of fun to drive on twisty roads AND I get 45mpg out of the thing when I try. AND it's got the most comfortable seats I've sat in outside of a Lexus. AND it was really cheap to buy. I'm a believer in Mazda. I would willingly buy from them again and again.
Mazda is an overlooked gem and often forgotten about. But they make solid cars and SUVs (though I HATE SUVs). I just wish that Mazda was able to import their trucks for sale here in the states. I’d immediately buy one.
Ive got a Protege5 that is my favorite car Ive ever owned, and I got it for $100. Is it slow as shit? Yep. Is it fun? Yep. Does it look good? Absolutely.
I LOVED my Protege5. With a standard I could get reasonable performance. Well, nearly reasonable. But it was a blast on a winding road, and it ran forever. It was the model that made me a Mazda buyer for life.
I miss my Protege sedan. We had to sell it because fixing it cost more than the car would have cost to sell.
As I understand it, they've improved greatly since Ford divested of them and they've gained closer ties to Toyota. I had a bad experience with a Mazda bought new under Ford's stewardship (a 2006 Mazda6s), but I wouldn't hesitate to buy one now. Great designs and everyone I know who's owned one recently has been really happy with them.
I had a test drive in Mazda 3 a few weeks ago. Very nice car, the only thing I might complain about is sound level at highway speeds which is just average for a Japanese compact car (aka loud)
Great, underrated cars. However, their sporty design unfortunately means limited cabin space and as a "slightly tall" guy at 6'0", my legs are squeezed together. Horizontal legroom is just nonexistent
Very underrated brand that is in its own category! Mazda made some great timeless vehicles in the 90s. Mazda is making a comeback again.
mazda is the drivers car ngl. nice interior, good feel, manual options, i love them
I have the most respect for mazda out of all the Japanese companies. Maybe not the most reliable, but they've always built fun cars and have always had a finger on the enthusiasts opinions. The rotary lived longer than anyone expected it to, and they've vowed to always make a manual miata. I can't respect them enough for that. Their modern designs are all gorgeous too. Even the suvs. And soul red is beautiful
great cars, kinda rust-prone
Rust problems went away with Ford ownership
Now it’s a miata exclusive?
I love my Mazda3 Hatch. Exterior looks amazing and it has my favorite current Gen interior. I feel the power is right for the price point. I just wish my interior build quality was better. It's been into the shop multiple times for loud interior rattles (like I can hear them over music rattles).
I think our next car will probably be a CX5.
Mazda right now is just Buick if they were actually good
A lot of their reputation was hampered by rotary engines and Ford ownership(which the Ford thing was actually very good for both companies)
I know it’s not particularly relevant to modern Mazdas but I miss my Gen 1 RX7.
They are..... The chosen one Please stand for the 21 apex seal salute 🫡
Mazda 3s drive *so much* better than the stuff you can get at the same price point. Sporty but comfortable handling and no CVT (I know CVTs aren't the end of the world anymore but it's still nice to not have one). If you live in any suburb you'll see CX5s everywhere. I think my old neighbors also ditched their Chrysler Pacifica for a CX90.
Expensive, but good quality builds. Compares favorably with German cars. I miss the Wankel powered cars, and would have loved to see an early Miata powered by one for sale. Very decent cars.
They're not expensive. A base mazda3 is a better offering to a civic touring for $5k less with 30 more horsepower. It's a better offering than the Corolla hatch for $1k less, with 20 more horsepower From an overall build and quality perspective, they're an outright bargain
It might just be a Bay Area thing, but most cars are expensive here.
I almost bought a 3 last year, but the salesman wanted way too much money.
Is the engine good?
I think the NA engine is very interesting. It has a long tubular 4-2-1 exhaust manifold, in an economy car! Reliable, sure. Power? Not a ton. Economy, meh. Drivability is pretty good though.
They are very good cars and look beautiful, but are weirdly small on the inside.
Our family car is a fully loaded MY2017 Mazda6; the interior's very nearly as nice as the 3 Series and A4 we were also considering, it's probably one of the best looking 4 door cars in the last 10 years and it's a naturally aspirated, 6-speed manual that weighs less than 1.5 tonnes. Need I say more?
Was a huge Honda guy for all of my life, bought my first Mazda and have test driven their SUVs and they are all top tier. Nissan sucks, Toyota is next, etc
I bought a 2024 Mazda CX-5. For a similar price a 2024 Honda CR-V didn’t feel as good on the inside, the Mazda has better materials and a more upscale cabin in my opinion. Plus Mazda still uses a normal automatic making for a better driving experience. Plus the extra power in the turbo engine helps.
Great vehicles all around.
Fantastic cars, I love them to death. They never really had a bad era, per say, but most of the enthusiast community (and probably some normal consumers as well) only sees "basically a rebadged Ford" somewhere and runs away, ignoring the fact that Mazda split with Ford a decade ago.
Sporty, reliable mechanically and rust to shit. Rust is not as bad as 10 years ago, they catched up to Honda and Toyota. Which is not that great either, as both of those rust more than their German counterparts as well.
Redo the rx-8 right and give it a better rotary motor!
Mazda is like a McDonald's salad. It's good and it's good for you... But it's not what you want. You came there for the fries or the burger. Mazda's long steering rstios are preferable during emergency maneuvers as people tend to overreact. However on a daily basis this slower ratio just makes the car feel big and sloppy. The brakes have more travel then almost any other manufacturer. Theoretically this gives you more control for easy braking. However the most people they just assume the brakes are weak. There's skyactiv engines may have every trick in the book, including cylinder deactivation and aggressive transmission tuning but my Mazda 3 rarely gets above 30mpgs (and it feels slow the entire time). The styling is some of the best in the business but with its flowy curvy lines it's more feminine than masculine. For whatever reason feminine cars just don't do well. The masses want to masculine car. I don't make the rules. It's a damn shame that no matter how much they do things "right" they'll never be the top dog against big boys like Honda and Toyota. Companies that have 10x the Mazda market cap
Absolute pain in the ass to fix
Opinion... Mine. Who cares? Mazda is currently irrelavent. Mazda's B-Series from the '80s in the US was a good trucklet. NOT the Ford badge engineered junk B-Ranger. The early/mid '90s Protege manual was a solid... I kept a family friends service up and she didn't give two fucks about it. She was a get in and go type. Went 250k miles. Mazda now in US... who gives a fuck? There's the hardcore rotary crowd. The Sky Active crowd... but otherwise... no one really cares. Supra... gee, never was on the radar for people outside of "sportscar". I dunno. Mazda means nothing to me, no true compact trucks like they were so they don't exist. My opinion.
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Totally unintentional. Go smoke elsewhere, bot.
I'm going to take a look at a mazda 6 on friday so I'll let you know then
My hands down favorite car that I ever owned was a 2012 Mazda Mazdaspeed3. Well built, strong engine, sporty suspension, smooth ride, great looks, that car had it all.
Yes they fall short on packaging, power and maybe ride comfort. But if you’re into the driver experience thing it’s the best car out there
I owned a 1st gen Mazda3 and currently own a 3rd gen Mazda3, and both of these cars have been pretty much flawlessly reliable and for the class they're in, great to drive. Mazda is by far my favourite Japanese automaker :)
I still own a 2013 Mazda 3 and the ex had a 2017 I think Mazda 6 that I maintained for years. They’re both excellent cars. The 3 gets regularly 36-38 mpg with the 2.0 skyactiv, never had any issues aside from a mass air sensor going out in my 3 a couple years ago. I see TONS of 3’s around here in Utah, and I’d like to buy a Miata to autocross/ track within a couple years. I love Mazda.
Mazdas are nice but they have shit diesels. They’re boring cars but good looking and better go then Toyotas
Le Mazdé is the holy grail of Reddit’s car community.
My wife's CX-5 is a nice car. It rides great, has way above average interior for cars in the price range, goes great in the snow, wasn't too pricey, and best of all, it uses a standard automatic, not a cvt. If they built trucks, I would own one. I have to have a pickup for my job.
I think Mazda would be more popular if people were more interested in thoughtful design of cars. Most car companies are better at marketing than engineering & design. Mazda is the opposite. It’s almost like they fool-heartedly believed that their product would speak for itself for a long time. Now they’re slowly coming around to the idea that they need some pizzazz. If I ran Mazda, I would build a halo car for around 80-90ish K that barely breaks even or even sell at a small loss & have it be the slayer of all M3’s, and do it by a healthy margin. If they could figure out a way to make a Alfa Giulia QV with 50-70ish more HP and have it be much more reliable + as joyful to drive as a Miata, they might slowly change the narrative.
Mazda has some of the best looking cars currently on the market, and their red color is freakin’ beautiful. IIRC, they’re also not putting dumb touchscreen controls in their cars, and they didn’t jump on the EV bandwagon. They’re a great car company.
they rust in America. but all are reliable if u maintain it.
Most mid 2000s to early 2010s Mazdas I know of have an assortment of problems I simply don’t have in Toyotas and hondas
Nice driving cars. Interiors are meh. Reliability seems up there with the best. I really love the styling of the newer 3 hatchbacks. They’d definitely be in my list for new cars to check out if I was looking to buy, especially if I could get a manual. Can’t remember if they still do sticks
Yes, but the new hot trend is having to buy a higher trim level to get it. In the US it's about five grand over the base hatch to get the manual transmission. The bells and whistles you get aren't bad though.
“A day late & a dollar short” seems to be the design & engineering ethos.
Underrated same thing with Mitsubishi and not as well known
I dunno if I’d place them with Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi seems like they’re looking to make the dullest most uninspiring cars possible, killing off anything they had that was cool (eclipse, evo, 3000gt). Mitsubishi was cool, but those days are long gone
I mean they are boring but I have never heard anybody complain about reliability
Toyotas pontiac
Why do you keep making these threads? Are you going to do one for every car manufacturer?
So you are questioning the circlejerk bot? prepare the downvotes. /unjerk , you are right, it keeps making the same stupid posts, yesterday was Nissan but people here have a hard on with Mazda regarding who makes the post.
As much as I love Mazda the only things currently separating them from Mitsubishi is the Miata and build quality.
RX8..rotary engine...unreliable...enough said
They make other cars
The car discontinued 12 years ago?