Vibration on the passenger side that seems to originate from under the driver's dash. The muffler also make an annoying metal-on-metal vibration sound when motor is on idle. Airbag sensor was defective and was fixed only after a second upgrade.
All those problems happened within the first 9000 kilometers.
The car handles nice on dry pavement. Since the stock tires are not top quality, wet conditions are a challenge.
The roll is minimal in curves, thanks to the good suspension and firm chassis.
The acceleration is good although more torque would have been appreciated in order to provide that required burst of power on the first gear. Sometimes it seems like you hit a dead spot in the RPM range and you feel the need to make an early gear change in order to compensate for the lack of torque.
You will find you get most power out of the car and will be able to appreciate the effect of Variable Valve Timing (VVT) in second gear when revving the engine around 4000 and then 5500 RPM.
As for the interior, I give 11 out of 10. Mazda really did an amazing job on the interior lighting and positioning of the console. The seats are a bit hard and better fabric would be a plus.
What is unfortunate is that the trunk cannot be opened remotly, which means that you either open it from inside using the lever, or outside, using the key. The trunk is also hard to close and open, especially if you hands are full with groceries. Its capacity is good and the fact the hinges are outside the trunk space makes it easier to optimize the area.
As for the air conditioning, it is not powerful enough and the car also takes a long time to reheat in the winter.
After a rainy day, the car is sometime hard to start, and once it does, it will idle in between 1000 and 1500 RPM for 2-3 minutes.
How can you give the interior an 11 out of 10 then go on to say "The seats are a bit hard and better fabric would be a plus", doesn't make sense.
"What things have gone wrong with the car?
...The muffler also make an annoying metal-on-metal vibration sound when motor is on idle... "
It happened to me as well (2005 GS). The dealer fixed it under warranty without any comments.
Muffler also made that noise with my 2004 3. And then the transmission failed at 63,000 miles. It's such a beautiful car. I wish I would have thought twice about buying the first generation...
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