Normal car recommendation….

I would definitely go the Mazda route over pretty much anything else. I have had two Outbacks and though I loved them, the interior quality was lacking. Plus with the CVT it was never a matter of if, but when.
Mazda has been in the top 3 for reliability for a while now. They drive sporty, have nice interiors, and look great. I would definitely shy away from Kia/Hyundai unless you are leasing.
 
The Mazda3 is a solid choice I’m sure. Especially in hatch form with AWD and Turbo.
 
mimico_polak said:
The Mazda3 is a solid choice I’m sure. Especially in hatch form with AWD and Turbo.
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I planned on buying a Mazda 3 in ~2013. Test drove it almost as a formality. Wtf was that? Hard no. I hated it. Salesmen must have come from Toyota/Honda with their premium vehicle drum pounding. Designed for morons (for instance a blue light is on the dash to tell you the engine is cold and it turns off when it warms up). I haven't been back to a Mazda dealer since.
 
I am totally Mazda biased but for good reason. They build solid and reliable cars. Their engine and transmission are pretty well bulletproof. The overall build quality goes totally underestimated and their vehicles are insurance friendly.

The hatch AWD with turbo is a bloody fun car to drive. Add in sport mode with paddle shifting and you convert your driving experience at will.

Having peace of mind ownership is really a weight off.
 
GreyGhost said:
I planned on buying a Mazda 3 in ~2013. Test drove it almost as a formality. Wtf was that? Hard no. I hated it. Salesmen must have come from Toyota/Honda with their premium vehicle drum pounding. Designed for morons (for instance a blue light is on the dash to tell you the engine is cold and it turns off when it warms up). I haven't been back to a Mazda dealer since.
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I am going to guess you drove a 2.0 liter. Although very reliable, not very peppy and leaves room for more desire. The later models with turbo are a damn joy to drive.

Some SkyActive G models have a light. He is considering a 2.5 liter turbo which does not have the SkyActive G indicator. Don't understand why that would really bother anyone though but to each their own.

I would much rather have a functioning indicator than a blown out CVT.

What did you end up buying GG?
 
JZ67 said:
I am going to guess you drove a 2.0 liter. Although very reliable, not very peppy and leaves room for more desire. The later models with turbo are a damn joy to drive.

Some SkyActive G models have a light. He is considering a 2.5 liter turbo which does not have the SkyActive G indicator. Don't understand why that would really bother anyone though but to each their own.

I would much rather have a functioning indicator than a blown out CVT.

What did you end up buying GG?
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It was a non-turbo mazda that I drove. I didn't hate the power but I didn't like the power delivery, didn't like the transmission, didn't like the interior and didn't like that they assumed I was a moron and needed a "don't flog me" light.

I ended up with a diesel golf. Ended up being my cheapest vehicle ever as it got caught up in dieselgate. Essentially 100k km with zero depreciation. Still miss that car.
 
GreyGhost said:
It was a non-turbo mazda that I drove. I didn't hate the power but I didn't like the power delivery, didn't like the transmission, didn't like the interior and didn't like that they assumed I was a moron and needed a "don't flog me" light.

I ended up with a diesel golf. Ended up being my cheapest vehicle ever as it got caught up in dieselgate. Essentially 100k km with zero depreciation. Still miss that car.
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Yeah, that model year 2.0 is really uninspiring. My daughter has a '12 Mazda 3 with 2.0 and it is totally an A to B car although I do like the interior. The manual version made the car a bit more fun to drive but the power band is limited.

So many got caught up in the whole VW issue. I had an associate that lives in the Michigan UP and would go into Detroit area for work. He is a pretty dynamic guy and one of his hobbies is flying a drone. He took his drone to fly over the Pontiac Silverdome, which was apparently chock full of the VW's that people were getting out of. He was less than kindly escorted off the premises.
 
JZ67 said:
I am totally Mazda biased but for good reason. They build solid and reliable cars. Their engine and transmission are pretty well bulletproof. The overall build quality goes totally underestimated and their vehicles are insurance friendly.

The hatch AWD with turbo is a bloody fun car to drive. Add in sport mode with paddle shifting and you convert your driving experience at will.

Having peace of mind ownership is really a weight off.
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All of what you say is true.
Two caveats:
- a 6 speed slush box (nowadays 8 speed is the norm)
- space, it is "tight" in there for both pax and cargo.
 
Mom has a Mazda 3 , wife leased one for 3 yrs . It’s a great car , super reliable and functional.
Not so peppy and the suspension is not sporty .
It’s a F’in Mazda 3 . It’s the wheelbarrow of sports cars . It gets good mileage and you go from A to B .


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Been driving Toyotas for about 20 years now. In that time maintenace has been oil changes, brakes and exhaust only. NO motor or tranny in all that time. Yes they're boring maybe but I look to two wheels for fun.
 
I had a 2002 Mazda Protege 5, a 2007 Mazda Miata MX5 and now a 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT...all manual transmission (which you won't find on an 'every day' car) and no issues with any of them...the Hyundai has been amazing (hubby and I also owned a 2012 Santa Fe AWD, 6 cylinder bought in 2014 and kept for 3 years - it too was amazing but hubby wanted a truck so we got a Ram 1500)...Mazda or Hyundai are both great based on my experience...

Prior to that, I owned Ford vehicles because dad was a retiree and I got 'employee' pricing...didn't have any problems with them either, however, they were 3 year leases and not driven much so won't say I loved them as much as I do my current Hyundai...
 
ifiddles said:
I had a 2002 Mazda Protege 5, a 2007 Mazda Miata MX5 and now a 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT...all manual transmission (which you won't find on an 'every day' car) and no issues with any of them...the Hyundai has been amazing (hubby and I also owned a 2012 Santa Fe AWD, 6 cylinder bought in 2014 and kept for 3 years - it too was amazing but hubby wanted a truck so we got a Ram 1500)...Mazda or Hyundai are both great based on my experience...

Prior to that, I owned Ford vehicles because dad was a retiree and I got 'employee' pricing...didn't have any problems with them either, however, they were 3 year leases and not driven much so won't say I loved them as much as I do my current Hyundai...
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I went on to test drive a Mazda Protege 5 in Whitby and the sales lady was so horribly annoying I just couldn’t.
 
When my mom was getting her Mazda , a sales lady tried to steal the deal from a new guy that was learning the ropes . She was such a nozzle , I actually phoned the sales manager to mention her behaviour and how a polling it was to see . He just said yeah I know , he was unconcerned who got the sale , just that his store got the sale . Trickle down douche effect .


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crankcall said:
When my mom was getting her Mazda , a sales lady tried to steal the deal from a new guy that was learning the ropes . She was such a nozzle , I actually phoned the sales manager to mention her behaviour and how a polling it was to see . He just said yeah I know , he was unconcerned who got the sale , just that his store got the sale . Trickle down douche effect .


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I left the business after I called out one of the other sales guys on the floor.

'Oh ya, those people are here for me'
'hi, I'm so and so, how may I help you?'
'Oh we're new and are looking to buy'
'ok great I'd love to help'

MP: 'I thought you said they were your appointment?'
'Yes they were'
'So why'd you introduce yourself and I heard them say they're looking for someone to help them'
'No they meant me'
'********. You're lying and I heard you. You're a piece of poo'

And that's when a 50 year old man grabbed me (a late 20s man) by the throat and put me on my back on my desk 'listen you little ****, I told you the deal and that's who they were. So f- off and figure it out'

Called the Sales Manager after I left, and he said 'ok I'll deal with it'.

He didn't deal with it. The guy was literally the #1 salesman in the country for 10 years in a row. He could do no wrong.

Left the business shortly thereafter.
 
Chris-CJ said:
All of what you say is true.
Two caveats:
- a 6 speed slush box (nowadays 8 speed is the norm)
- space, it is "tight" in there for both pax and cargo.
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I don't find the 6 speed a slush box at all. In sport mode the gears are wound out and it's a fun ride. Gets you to 50 kph over in short order.

The 3 hatch is compact, like all hatchbacks. If you are fighting for cargo space, a hatchback isn't the best option.
 
JZ67 said:
I don't find the 6 speed a slush box at all. In sport mode the gears are wound out and it's a fun ride. Gets you to 50 kph over in short order.

The 3 hatch is compact, like all hatchbacks. If you are fighting for cargo space, a hatchback isn't the best option.
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Not disagreeing with you, the Mazda 3 is a great little car.
Though, other hatchbacks out there have more space and nowadays an 8 speed box or CVT is the norm.
 
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