2007 Mazda 3 2.0L from North America

Summary:

Change the tires!

Faults:

The Mazda 3 treated me really well for about 2 and a half years. The interior is comfortable - I never got tired of it. However, by the second year, the stock tires were almost completely bald. Under a lease, one would not expect this kind of low quality, which I hadn't.

And then it happened. A light rain began (I may have had 27,000 miles on my car) one night in November when my car suddenly span out on a major highway and went right into a guard rail. Beware of this car, unless you plan on replacing the stock tires after about a year and a half. Mazda royally screwed me with charges when I returned this lease.

General Comments:

Handles very well.

Great car on the inside.

But beware of the stock tires!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd July, 2010

24th Jul 2010, 10:56

Did you ever have the tires rotated? This is one of the most commonly forgotten bits of maintenance every car needs. I rotated the stock factory tires on my car and got over 65,000 miles out of them, while a good friend of mine NEVER had them rotated and had to have all 4 replaced at 30,000 miles.

As for spinning out in a light rain, you were obviously going too fast for conditions, and if you knew your tires were nearly bald and still neglected to replace them, you should have seen it coming.

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2007 Mazda 3 MPS 2.3 turbo petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Leaves my old Type R standing... Zoom

Faults:

Had a rattling noise coming from the rear wheels. Mazda dealer explained something had come loose, and tightened up the nut. Apart from this, it's been fine.

General Comments:

I replaced my trusty Honda Civic Type R, for the Mazda 3 MPS. After doing my research, I decided the MPS was the perfect car for me. It's under-stated (although some people hate that), and has bags of torque.

When comparing the performance to the Civic (and my old Clio 182), there is no comparison. The MPS is much quicker in every gear, would honestly leave the Type R standing. Being a previous Type R owner myself, I've not always seen the need for turbo charging. But after driving the MPS, it really does make a huge difference.

Handling wise, the car seems fairly sound. It does suffer the "dull" steering feel, which interestingly my Type R also had. But with an LSD doing all the work, it never struggles for grip.

Performance wise, the MPS will keep up with most cars (excluding the obvious exotic machines). Comparing against my mates WRX PPP, there is very little difference. The WRX certainly launches better (4 wheel traction), but the MPS soon pulls this back. The standard Golf GTI will be obliterated by the MPS, without any doubt. GTI is a smashing car, but no match (performance wise) for MPS.

The cabin is fairly standard inside, and nothing to really shout about. The Bose sound system, however, is very nice indeed and creates a lovely noise.

Getting about 25 miles to the gallon at the moment, which is to be expected.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th April, 2010

24th Jan 2011, 06:46

I love these reviews!

'I obliterated this' and 'I left this car for dead'! Unless you're racing against a 1.2 Corsa or Clio or any other small engined car, you won't obliterate anything! Take the Type R for example, you may pull 2 car lengths in front by the top speed end, but that's it. All hot hatches are in the same league, they're all around the same 0-60 and around the same top speed!

It's just buyers choice, if you want to obliterate cars or literally leave them for dead, then get a motorbike, it will leave anything for dead, period. Unless you have a Bugatti Veyron which most people only dream of, all fast cars are pretty ace at what they do and there's no more fiercer competition and enjoyment than the hot hatches out there today.

Enjoy what you have and respect the other hot hatches out there for what they do too!

In reply to 24th Jan 2011, 06:46

3rd May 2017, 14:38

Playing Devil's Advocate, the Mk1 RWD 5.0 V8 Cammer Crate Focus RS8 conversion would "obliterate" most hot hatches with its 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds. That being said, the newest Focus RS is almost there with a 0-60 of 4.7 seconds; the newer Type-R is 5.7 seconds and tops out slightly higher than the Focus I believe.

Agreed a bike is generally scope for something quicker at lower prices, but also it's not something that's quite as practical as a hot hatch. And that's where you fail to see the beauty of the hot hatch. It's meant to be a daily driver you can also have fun in. Doesn't always have to be about top spec performance - I'd sooner opt for a Fiesta ST than a Caterham simply because it makes more sense in a world where I only need one car.