Howdy, Stranger!


2010 Mazda3



  • igozoomzoomigozoomzoom Waleska, GeorgiaPosts: 797
    I hope you don't mind me offering my opinion, since you directed your question to aviboy....

    I'm pretty sure that the Copper Red on the new 2010 is the same color offered on the 2008-2009 model. I finally saw it on a 2010 5-door and it looks identical. Personally, darker reds don't appeal to me, so it's not one of my favorites...but I doubt they'd continue to offer it on the 2010 if they didn't sell more than a couple of 2008/2009 models in the color! ;)

    I'm glad to see a real ("bright") red back in the lineup- Velocity Red! VR was offered on the '04-'06 models and a similar color called True Red was available on '07-'08 models, but only Copper Red in ' looks fantastic, to my eyes at least!

    I thought Gunmetal Blue would be my favorite color on the 2010 based on the photos and color samples. While I like it, it almost seems a bit bland for the character of the car (especially on the 5-door). The Celestial Blue is very sharp, but I could see it growing old after a few years (and it looks awesome on the 5-door, but just okay on the 4-door).

    If I was buying one today (it would be a 5-door Sport), I would most likely go with the Graphite Mica! It looks sporty on the 5-door and classy/upscale on the 4-door. Then again, my '06 Mazda3 s 5-door is Titanium Gray, so gray-tones obviously appeal to me.

    Interior color could also be a factor in the exterior color choice. For example, Copper Red is only available with the Dune (Beige) interior. Crystal White Pearl, Black and Graphite have the choice of Black or Dune interior. All other colors have Black interior, if I'm not mistaken.
  • aviboy97aviboy97 Posts: 3,159
    I was reading through the posts and I saw where you said that you thought the gunmetal blue color would sell well. How is that color selling?

    The Gunmetal Blue has been popular. We have sold quite a bit, as has Mazda.

    I'm trying to decide which color I like the most and was just wondering which colors have been the most popular? I wanted to see the copper red in person but haven't been able to find one. How does it look in person?

    Copper Red is not as popular this year as it has in years past. I'm guessing because it only comes with a beige interior. It does look nice, but, other colors such as the gunmetal, graphite and crystal white have been more popular.
  • i agree, the mazda is basically on par with the larger engined cars in the class.

    granted, for discussions sake, getting the 'top teir' mazda would include the larger engine...whereas having the top level civic would still get you a car netting over 35mpg on the highway which IS a 5-6 gallon advantage.

    anywho, i think everyone is putting to much emphasis on horsepower.

    acceleration times are what matters. i dont care if you have x amount of hp or tq more than me. if your car weighs 3 tons it wont matter! the civic is actually very leith compared to a lot of modern cars, (c&d got a 7.7 0-60 run out of a m/t lx, faster than any of the cars mentioned here.)

    take the forte for example. sure class leading mpg and power given the engine size....but what kind of gear ratios are they using to acheive it? how slow is it going to be? what kind of engine note does it emit? is the cabin a nicer place to spend time in than the 3( my guess is probably not given the pictures.)?

    and just for everyones fyi, the new 2010 jetta with a six speed auto is now rated at 23/30. i'm guessing the new golf will do the same.and thats with an extra cylinder. so it techincally edges the 3. (i'm comparing it now because we have solid evidence on how fast golfs/rabbits go when equipped said way, and how fast the 3 hatch is.)

    the 3's fuel ecnomony is defintely a gearing thing. but it adds to the appeal. sportier driving experience, even more so than the golf, which will probably still be fun to toss around, but it will be more reserved in that dept.

    but the golf is an epic highway cruiser. (i know backy can back me up on that.) my choice between these two cars really comes down to that. will the tossability of the mazda make it so fun it outshines the golf's composure at highspeeds and overall luxury? or will the interior of the golf blow me away to the point where the mazda will feel like a larger, slightly nicer version of my fit?
  • igozoom and aviboy

    Thanks for your input. I guess copper red is out for me because I don't want a beige interior.
  • I have the Celestial Blue and when i go out the car still gets looks, even a cop on highway 480 took his eye off the gun for speeders looked at the car which i thought it was funny. Can anyone tell me what they do when they get there mileage, I take the miles into the gals to get the average? the most i have gotten was 36 combined doing the speed limit at 60. :)
  • is that based of your mpg gauge?

    because if you calculated that number by simply dividing your miles by gallons pumped, you would have to have gotten a colossal amount of miles on that tank!

    thats the same way i do mine.....but i have a hard time beliveing you're COMBINED average is 7 mpg more than what the 3 is supposed to get on the highway.
  • shiposhipo Posts: 9,152
    Miles driven divided by the number of gallons the pump indicates at the following fill-up gives a reasonably accurate MPG figure (distorted only by the differences where the pump happens to click-off). A better/more accurate way to calculate MPG is to spread the average out over say five tanks of fuel.

    FWIW, the best single tank mileage figure that I've managed on my 2009 Mazda3 i Touring 5-Speed was during a trip from southern New Hampshire to Manhattan and back. During that trip I ran at about 75 mph for about 80% of the time and was stuck in heavy traffic for the remainder. When fill-up time came, I managed a calculated 38.1 MPG. I'm thinking that if I'd had a straight shot with no traffic and slowed it down a bit, I could easily have managed over 40 MPG.

    Best regards,
  • aviboy97aviboy97 Posts: 3,159

    That is not a complete statement.

    First off, 0-60 is not the tell-all of performance. How about trap speeds like 40-70 or 50-80? Those type of tests simulate passing someone on the highway. You need torque to do that, something the Civic has non of.

    Second, you cannot pull one test from a magazine and say that the Civic mtx is the fasted in the segment, because it is not true. Why don't we look at head-to-hear comparo's and see how it stacks up. The older Mazda 2.3L was almost a full second faster then the Civic in most comparo's. I have yet to find a 2010 Mazda3 comparo against any of the current compacts.

    Lastly, a 2010 Mazda3 i Touring with the moon roof / bose audio system has just as much content as a Civic EX and gets almost the same fuel economy while boasting a HP and TQ advantage. The Mazda3 s is simply at a whole other level that the Civic does not offer anything to compete with.
  • shiposhipo Posts: 9,152
    I completely concur.

    Last year when I bought my 2009 Mazda3 i Touring 5-Speed, I compared it against a Civic EX 5-Speed (the EX model because one of my requirements was disc brakes at all four corners), and even if the price of the two car had been similar, I would have chosen the Mazda. Funny thing though, I had already decided on buying the Honda and drove the Mazda almost as an afterthought. Wow was I surprised. Simply put, the Mazda out performed the Honda in pretty much every performance metric except EPA fuel economy, was significantly less expensive, and had roughly the same features.

    Long story short, the Honda salesman wasn't at all happy when I told him I was going across the street to the combined Ford/Mazda dealership, and he told me that I'd regret my decision. Ummm, yeah, well here I am nearly a year later and I have no such regrets. ;)

    Best regards,
  • This is not based on the gauge and by the way my mazda is the 2010 mazda3s sport, I do my mileage every time i fill up. The best mileage i got was when i used shell gas. I do both city&highway driving, the lowest i got was 22 and the highest was 36 and i do the posted speed limit.
  • igozoomzoomigozoomzoom Waleska, GeorgiaPosts: 797
    For some reason, Copper Red is the only exterior color that comes ONLY with Dune (beige) interior...all others have Black or offer a choice of either interior.

    As far as beige interiors go, this is one of the better looking ones...but I'm just not a fan of light-colored interiors. The majority of the dashboard is black, just the glovebox and area under the steering column are beige. The top half of the doors are also black, which gives it an upscale two-tone look. The carpeting and seat belts are also black, so it's not just a vast sea of beige in there! If I was getting a Grand Touring model (leather) and lived in a very hot/sunny climate, I might consider it because the black leather would not be fun! But the black interior just fits the car so well...
  • igozoomzoomigozoomzoom Waleska, GeorgiaPosts: 797
    Celestial Blue is the best looking color, especially on the 5-door. It just "fits" the car so well and, as you mention, it's an attention grabber! Probably not the best choice for a speeder, much like the Velocity Red!

    When I bought my '06 5-door, I had my heart set on "Winning Blue" (offered '04-'06). It's very similar to the Celestial Blue and looked amazing! But they were very hard to find, especially a Sport/Touring model with no options and manual transmission! Thru '06, s models with cloth seats had a checkered fabric that was either red/black or blue/black depending on exterior color. I didn't care for the blue/black with the Winning Blue and my only other option was to get black leather, which would have been miserable in the Georgia I went with my second choice- Titanium Gray with red/black checked seats.

    oh i completely agree, that was my point! you cant just assume that because x car has more hp and torque its automatically the fastest in class. and trap speeds are super important, i only mentioned the 0-60 stint because it was the first test of speed that came to mind.

    actually, my old civic had a decent amount of passing power, because it liked to rev. mazdas seem to typically have more low and midrange grunt. somepeople think revving the engine is a chore, i didn't, the r18 in the civic was more than willing. at any rate, that doesn't mean the civic is techincally faster than the 3 in that regard, but its not slouch either. (the car and driver time i guess would have been chastized less if i compared it to the 7.6 sec or so 0-60 they got out of a 3s?)

    another thing to note is that the civic makes VERY decent hp and torque.................considering its engine size. the 2.0 in the new 3 makes what, like 6-8lbs more? thats not so much more to merit saying 'the civic has no torque' in comparison. if you REALLY want to get techincal, the civic's 1.8 is making more hp AND torque per litre than either the 2.0 or 2.5 in the mazdas.

    take into consideration weight as well. a m/t i sport weighs in at 2868 lbs. an lx-s m/t weighs in at 2687lbs thats an almost 200lb difference. with that much weight, the 3's 7lb-ft torque advantage and 8hp advantage dont exactly translate into a faster 0-60 or trap speed.(i know gearing plays into this as well, and like you said, no current tests of the new car pitted against the civic, this is just for discussions sake.)

    granted, this is before we take into consideration the 2.5 motor, and i totally agree that honda needs to step it up and offer something below the si with a larger r or k series motor,(granted it wouldnt' have to be a 2.5 like the 3 if the weight is kept down, a 155hp 2.0 should be fine.)SO you are totally correct: honda does not really have anything to counter the mazda 3 S, or any large engined compact. (with the exception of the xrs corolla, as they market that as their 'performance' corolla and the 'performance' civic, the si, blows it away in comparsion.)

    i'm just comparing the smaller motors since they are closer in spec and fuel economy. (even though the numbers support the notion that 1.8 civics can techincally run with the old 2.3, and even the numbers the 2.5 is putting out. granted this means little to me as i dont drive m/t and all these numbers are coming from said equipped cars. and in that regard, an a/t 3 should basically be faster with either engine.)

    so basically it boils down to the civic not having SO MUCH BETTER mpg that it outweighs the benefits of having a larger, stouter motor, and that the 3's engine is not SO MUCH MORE powerful than the civic to say that is is that much quicker in any real test of speed.

    phew. anyway aviboy, good points avi, though i want to reiterate that i never said the civic was the fastest in the segment, i was simply stating that the time c&d got was faster than any of the times we had quoted here. and in the same way 0-60 does not tell the whole story, the same goes for hp and torque advantages.

    avi i do have a question for you have a mazda6 right? w/ leather? i love driving my mother in laws v-6 6s...does the steering in the new 3 S feel weighty like that? and what about the leather quality? is it on par with YOUR six or is the quality of the 3's leather even better than that?

    one of the links creakid posted was a review that stated that the interior of the new 3 could not hold a candle to the new golf...which im pretty sure is correct as its supossed to be ultra nice, but given that i'm driving a fit, which is by no means terrible, it doesnt seem to have the same level of quality or richness/upscaleness the new 3 has.

    hmmm....winning blue is bascially the same shade of blue thats on my honda fit (vivid blue) celestial blue looks very different imo, and not as nice as the winning blue or the darker metallic blue they release on the 3.

    but to each his own, i think it makes the car look cartoonish. the gunmetal blue, graphite, white and black seem excellent though.
  • aviboy97aviboy97 Posts: 3,159

    Yes, I have a 2005 Mazda6 i 5-door 5-speed manual fully loaded with the luxury package (leather / heated seats / electro-gauges) and the moon roof / Bose Audio Package. The steering in the new Mazda3 is very similar to the old one because it is electric assist. My Mazda6 does not. I personally think the steering feel of my Mazda6 is perfect. Even better then the BMW 3-Series I almost traded it in for. So, to answer your question, the Mazda3 steering is not weighty. It's not loose, either. I think it works well with how the car is designed, though. The Mazda3 is meant to be a "tossable" compact car, and the combo of the steering feel and handling make that happen.

    In regards to the leather quality, I love the old Mazda6 leather (what I have) better then what replaced in in 2006-2008. With 57,000 miles, my interior shows virtually no wear and has held up much much better then the leather in my fathers 2004 Accord EX-L V6. As far as the leather quality is concerned in the 2010 Mazda3, it is far better then the leather from the first gen Mazda3. Since the car is new, I have no idea how it will hold up, but, so far so good.
  • ah ok. yea she has the luxury package as well, and the sport package. AND the bose audio/moonroof package. The steering is absolutely phenomenal. My current car is a fit sport...which also uses an electrically assisted steering rack. its one of the best systems i've used, and if the 3 can improve upon the feel of my fit...well then its job well done mazda.

    i totally get your point on the honda leather of the things that kept me from getting a 06-08 tsx was the way the leather looked after a couple years of wear. granted, she takes care of her car religiously, but still, quality leather is quality leather.

    i can really recall the leather on the prev. gen 3...i'll have to take a gander at it if i get a chance.

    have you had any hands on time with the leather in the new civics? the 3 i saw in person seemed to have leather that was on par with newer vw offerings which is rather impressive, and it seemed richer than what is offered in the current civic ex-l.
  • So I finally got tired of all the electrical/mechanical nightmares of my all too pampered and expensive to maintain Jetta 2.5 for a more reliable Japanese version, the Mazda 3s sport Graphite/Dune 6spd manual, Moonroof/Bose.

    I'm having only one regret, that I had to buy a 2010 model so soon when there are virtually no rebates or incentives other than 3.9% financing, however I couldn't take the chance at another CEL coming on that would most likely cost me $500 and up on a VW out of warranty.

    Big differences in ride between the Jetta 2.5 and 3 2.5, 3 is much lighter/tossable, Jetta rides like a small Buick in comparison. That's not bad,..its just different. 3 does have a bit more road noise than my Jetta which also had 17" wheels.

    Also, one feature that I can't seem to activate on the 3 that i loved on the Jetta,..was a feature VW called "convenience blink", tap the signal indicator once and it would blink 3 times. The 3 has this feature according to the "preferences pamplet" included with owners manual, but i can't seem to find it in any of the menus to activate it.
  • ooh...interesting...I'm car shopping right now and the Jetta and the 3 are both on my list. Mind if I ask which year model your Jetta was? I'm looking at the Mazda 3s hatch vs the Jetta S (also considering a Ford Fusion...the Sync package is cool).
  • The convenience blink works on the 3. You have to take it in on your first Service visit...and Mazda will change the default setting to blink 3 times with the tap.. .just like your Jetta. You can't change that feature in the menu's as far as I know. But I just had mine changed. They also change the Key FOB to lock/unlock everything with one press of the fob instead of the standard two press.

    I'm lovin' my 3 Hatchback... Celestial Blue ! Yes.
  • it was probably a late 2005, early 2006 model. (Given the issues he has had with it.)
  • texasnightowl, my Jetta' was a loaded 2006 SE, 10spk stereo, Moonroof, heated seats, Ipod Adapter, 17" wheels; Driver gear springs etc. I suggest that you take into consideration that to purchase any VW vehicle that you also should price in the cost of the extended warranty to at least 100,000 miles. (approx an additional 2 grand give or take a couple hundred bucks or so). Also 3 yrs of free scheduled maintenance is included on all new 09 jetta's, however be prepared for the sticker shock of nearly $600 for your 40,000 mile scheduled maintenance on a Jetta. thereafter regular oil changes from the dealer run about $78-80 every at intervals of every 10,000 miles. If you've the extra dough, then the Jetta is a good buy as long as you know what your getting into, for me however, the 3 was a no brainer,...its basically the closest Japanese equivalent to the Jetta that I could find since I did not like the interior of the fusion or Altima.
  • Thanks dilbertsdub...have to admit the maintenance/repairs/reliability of the VW are a concern to me. it seems like a very well mannered good handling car, but....I'm looking for something to drive for a good 9 or 10 years that won't break me for repair costs.

    I've test driven a Mazda 3s Sport sedan so far and liked it, but it was an auto...I need to go back and try the hatch with a manual. The interior of the Fusion didn't bother me and I have two friends with Focus cars with Sync and it works very well.
  • jeffyscottjeffyscott Posts: 3,855
    Rather than relying on anecdotal information...FWIW, Edmunds shows very little difference in estimated repair and maintenance costs for a Jetta vs. a Mazda3. Based on 5 years and 75,000 miles the total for the Jetta is $3154 for maintenance and $930 for repairs, total for the Mazda3 is $3261 for maintenance and $812 for repairs. So the total repair and maintenance costs are essentially identical, according to Edmunds anyway

    We've only got about 32,000 miles on our Jetta and full warranty just ended last summer, so no repair costs yet. There have been a number of problems fixed under warranty, but ours is a 2005, so one of the first of the new model.

    Oil changes do cost more, because of the synthetic oil requirement...ours cost about double. But then they are required only once per year for my wife's Jetta vs. 3 times per year for my Mazda. I think I've spent much less on maintenance than the other poster, I ask for only the maintenance that is required according to VW's schedule.
  • texas,

    i can attest to jeffyscotts post.

    not to mention that several of the vw dealers in my area have service costs that are basically on par with the japanese automakers.

    it costs like 15 bucks more for my wife to get a fully synthetic oil change and tire rotation for her new beetle than it does for me to get a regualr oil change and tire rotation at my honda dealer for my fit.
  • nightowl, If you're like me you'll probably enjoy the extra giddyup and go of the manual. I too had the 3s in automatic to drive while my vehicle in my specified color/options was being delivered, you can put the automatic in manual mode and it does a good job with the shifting much better I find than it does in regular mode. However I don't regret the manual, there does not seem to be too much in gearing ratio change between 5th and 6th gears however but seems to be quicker than the automatic.

    as far as maintenance cost, I'm sure prices do vary, but speaking on my experience, and in the dallas market the VW w/ sythetic oil does cost more than a Japanese vehicle. approx $78-80 at 10000 miles intervals for the 2.5 engine. its not too bad since the intervals are longer than the 3000 miles for the MZ3 w/ regular oil this cost will probably be a wash. However, be prepared to stash some cash for future predictable unreliability on the VW. You will love the way it drives and absolutely love to hate your service department when they tell you they can't duplicate the issue/problem when they do arise.

    Best of luck.
  • Thanks for the followup on your experience. It's not necessarily maintenance costs...oil changes, brakes, tires, etc. that bother me...I worry about the longterm reliability of the VW...I've been paying for synthetic oil changes on my current car for 9 $70 each 2 or 3 times a year (whenever the change oil light comes on, roughly at the 4000 to 4500 mile mark, or if I hit the 6 month mark) is nothing new.

    I'm more worried about necessary repairs based on a 10 yr/100k use period. It seems like the Jetta may be more likely to cost more in repairs as you either will end up at the dealer or at a select group of shops vs the Mazda or Ford where you will more likely have a better range of options for repair shops.

    I've test driven both an auto and manual Jetta S last week and do like both overall...a couple of niggling little things bother being the spacing of the clutch/brake/gas pedals. In my current car there is a lot more space between the clutch and the brake pedals than there was in the Jetta. Also, the 5 spd manual at 60mph was running about 2500rpm while the auto at 60mph was running closer to 2000rpm so on highway trips it seems like the auto would def. average better mpg

    I'm definitely going to go back in the next week or two and drive the manual Mazda 3s. And the VW salesguy is supposed to let me know when they get a MT TDI for me to try. Plus, dealers are still recovering from C4C (in terms of still replenishing their lots) and getting 2010's in so I'm going to continue looking for a while longer. I am luckily in no real rush.
  • jeffyscottjeffyscott Posts: 3,855
    You may see the same sort of thing in the Mazda3 wrt the rpm in manual vs. auto. The rpm in 5th in my 2007 Mazda6 auto is about 25% lower than the manual, IIRC. Another way to look at it is 4th gear in the auto is nearly the same as 5th in the manual (both the manual and auto were 5 speeds for the 6 at that time).
  • Texas night owl, funny you mention the clutch take up on the jetta. You are correct it does seem to be a bit awkward at times. I must have stalled the Jetta at least 10 times even after 3 yrs of ownership. Just kinda felt like I was having to re-learn or get used to my own car even after owning it for years. My partner had the same issue as well with the Jetta.

    The mazda on the other hand has a fantastic shifting manual and a very easy to learn clutch. FYI, on the highway, if in 6th gear in the MZ3, don't bother shifting to 5th for extra oomph,'ll probably wish for 4th at the very least.

    You are right to be concerned about cost to own/repair/maintain etc with the VW, i have owned 6 Nissan/Infiniti products before buying my VW and all of them had their various issues most of which either occured at either 60000 miles or 100,000 but in all honesty they were/are to be expected of any brand (timing belt, spark plugs, most of the normal stuff) so I too was leary of the VW but was smitten with the way it rode and handled like a teutonic bank vault.

    My VW on the other hand required the following:

    4000miles new fuel filler door and trunk latch (trunk and fuel door refused to close at any temperature below 50 degrees)

    17,000miles New Catalytic Converter

    24,000miles Car does not recognize the key or the key does not recognize my car.

    29000miles Moonroof gets to decide on its own when it wants to open/close or just flat out take the day off. Side windows and door locks follow the same clown show shortly thereafter.

    38,000 miles Intermittant issue where car won't start, CEL flashes incessantly, dealer cannot locate any fault codes or duplicate my vehicles issues after 6 trips and two separate dealers have crawled all over my car (and fingerpainted on my headliner) to locate a problem to no avail. VAG (Volkswagen of America Group is of no help here)
    40,000 miles, battery dies,
    40,400 miles, altenator dies,
    41,000 miles, ignition control module dies,

    48,000 miles, headliner begins to bubble and fester and pulls out completely from the rear anchors in the C pillars. (oddly, dealer happens to have 3 headliners already on order for other customers as well,...this seems to be an odd yet all too common issue) Dealer replaces headliner and is finally able to duplicate the sunroof and window issues with a wire they found?!?

    50,991 miles, (991 miles out of warranty), CEL comes on, dealer is magically able to locate the supposed problem with why my vehicle had its starting issues back from 38,000 miles and now wants me to pay $308 and change for a purge regulator valve citing that my engine was flooding itself with fuel why it would not start?

    I think not, slap her together so I can buy any Japanese Vehicle,.heck I'll even consider a Mitsubishi at this point!

    So I hope you take my warning with the VW, but if you do go buy the VW I can certainly understand, is a very enjoyable car to drive and the TDI I hear is even better,..Hopefully you'll just have better luck than I did.
  • Thanks for letting me know about the "smart turn" feature on the Mazda 3, i think this is a rather cool feature to have, even though its odd you can't personalize this feature in the settings preferences. I had my dealer activate my personal settings,.only took 10 minutes!
  • roddysroddys Posts: 1
    I just took my new 2010 Mazda 3 GT HB (manual) on a cross country road trip. I put about 7000 miles on it hitting mountains, plains, desert and lots of rain in the South. It held up great with no problems. It was a blast to drive through the mountain scenic highways and had no problem passing (thankful for the manual transmission). My average mpg for the whole trip was easily 30 (mostly highway driving). It's doing great in the city (Chicago) as well. Getting about 25 mpg (80% city/ 20% highway).
Sign In or Register to comment.