Faults:

Nothing yet except a squeaky indicator stalk (will mention at the next service) and the floor mat on the driver's side slips and needs to be re-adjusted.

General Comments:

Great car with many safety features at this price point. The car has plenty of power and is quite economical, especially on the open road.

Handling is great, as is the ride, and the engine noise is subdued.

The MZD Connect system is great to use with the wheel; easy to use on the move and the display is really clear and informative. Phones are easy to connect and the USB ports are great as well. Rear seat legroom is OK and cupholders in the centre armrest are great.

There are some small things that could be made better, and one of these is the white instrument needles on white numbers. Here a digital speedo would be great as the top of the needle can be hard to see in some light. I am still getting use to the electronic park brake and sometimes find the automatic transmission a little slow to kickdown unless you give it a shove, then it works really well.

The hatch is easy to use, especially the fold down seats, but sometimes it could do with being a little bigger.

Overall, I am happy with the car, it does what it needs to do very well, and the active and passive safety, along with great handling and ride, make this an excellent car.

Faults:

Very little; only had to replace the battery and front low beam headlights. The side skirts on the car will need attention as they are coming loose.

Update 6th April 2019:

Since my last review, nothing except routine maintenance.

General Comments:

This car is excellent both in town and on the open road. Plenty of power for overtaking and the gear box is smooth and easy to use. The instruments are great except the sat nav which is too small and the red audio/AC display can be hard to read in some lights.

The handling is exceptional and the noise often criticised in this model is acceptable. The fuel consumption is good, especially on the open road, but I would like the tank to be larger; say 60 litres instead of the paltry 53 litres.

Overall it is a great car which is comfortable and well equipped. Even in the base SP25, the car feels way beyond its price bracket and after eight years still feels great to drive.

Update 6th April 2019:

The car is still proving to be reliable and robust. The interior is great and the radio is excellent. The engine and gearbox are great as is the handling. For a nine year old car, it is still going well.

Faults:

Nothing, I only owned it for 2 hours!

General Comments:

This is a short review... because... I only owned the car for about an hour! I looked for a car to replace my trusty Nissan Primera 2000 GXE which I had owned for 17 years (see my review of it on this site). I headed straight for the Mazdas, and also, the same dealer where I had bought the Primera. After hearing great stories of reliability, performance, cornering etc, I took one for a test drive, kinda liked it, rather than loved it. I was not too sold on that Dolphin smiley face, but initially it seemed to drive well, was reasonably comfortable and economical, and was priced really well for a New Zealand new car with low km and a service history.

However, things took an unexpected turn when I took it on the motorway, when suddenly a load "shusshing" noise cut across the cabin. What had happened? Thinking I'd lost a tyre, I slowed down and went into the inside lane. No, I hadn't lost a tyre, it was just the road surface that had changed to a coarser surface! I've been driving over that same patch of road for many years, and never noticed it. The other thing I quickly noticed, was that I could hear the whoosh of traffic passing me, particularly trucks, and that began to give me a fright. From then on, every truck that passed me was accompanied by a loud "roar". Why had I never noticed the noise of traffic passing me before? I can only guess that not only is the sound suppression poor on the suspension, but the general sound insulation on the car in general is poor as well. Maybe they use thin glass as well? I don't know. I can only guess it's done to save money and/or keep the weight down to keep the fuel consumption down.

Anyway, I returned the test drive car to the dealer, and, thinking I could get used to the noise over time, purchased it to be delivered in a few days time.

In the intervening time before picking it up, I read owners reviews that the road noise issue is a common issue with these cars, and there's little you can do about it. Gulp. I really hope I can get used to it, I've just bought this car!!

After picking it up, I drove across some road works were they were relaying a section of road with coarse, volcanic chip, where the stones were loose and hadn't yet set into the tar. The noise was incredible, the stone chips bounced and resonated around the wheel wells. Gee, I bet there's no acoustic lining around the wheel wells either to soak up the sound of stone chips! So I did a 180 degree turn and took it back; there's no way I could live with the road noise. Full marks to the car dealers, they gave me my money back no questions asked; they didn't want me to have a car I wasn't happy with.