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Sedans Honda Civic Honda Civic vs Toyota Corolla vs Mazda3
879 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2008 at 2:57 PM
You are in the Honda Civic Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: ezpilze (Jan 30, 2007 9:03 pm) What do you currently drive? How important is fuel economy in your choice? How long did you spend test driving each car? Did you use a similar "track"? had a couple of bad experiences w/ mazdas Which Mazdas had issues? you do get a bit more w/ the mazda3 for the price, but that just tells me something about quality in the car. Do you mean that the quality is related to the price (i.e. higher price equals higher quality)?
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Replying to: autonomous (Jan 31, 2007 8:29 am) My brother was going to college so of course I kept fuel economy in mind, I even noted that the mazda3 despite having better torque would yield lower mpg's. MPG really does depend on the driver, the corolla boasts higher mpg ratings than the civic, but if you were to drive the corolla so that it would keep up w/ the civic under normal driving conditions, then the numbers would be about the same. I don't go by the number provided online or what not, I go by my own judgment based how the cars run, so I can't really give you numbers. Each car was driven for about 20 mins, some my friends own so I get to see how they're doing as well after 3k miles. All the dealers were in the same area so I took the same course both freeway and city for all 3. I did hill, flat, curves, straight, turn radius, freeway back and forth. Mazda MPV minivan, light weight truck, and forgot my friends car mx-3 or something like that, its been a while since I've seen him. The Protege I didn't even have to take a look at and it went through a mass recall from what I hear (source is from 3 friends that each own one either directly or through family). The interior trim of the mazda3 gives you the whole metallic-y trim, console comes w/ more features, but the plastic covering it wasn't too great. The seats were firmer in the mazda3, but the material didn't seem as great as the corolla or civic. So you get more stuff for the buck, but quality wise its not really that much more. Hope I answered all your questions sufficiently.
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Replying to: ezpilze (Jan 31, 2007 11:06 am) Sounds like you give the test cars a good ride that should show off some of their strengths and weaknesses. Some drivers dismiss cars without test driving them. The 323/Protege/Mazda3 is probably Mazda's most popular and long running vehicle line. I've never heard of a recall since 2002 for the Protege/Mazda3. Consumer Reports continues to rate its reliability as top notch. |
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I recently bought a Corolla and at first i was getting 33 MPG (all city driving - no highway!) and now i am getting closer to 28 MPG. Not so cool..... i bought the Corolla instead of the Civic because of gas mileage. Other thoughts on this gas mystery / aggravation? Q - how long do you need to own a new car to get your moneys worth? (Loaded Q - I know)
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Replying to: jasmine5 (Feb 02, 2007 12:30 pm) Winter fuel is known for being a mixture which lowers mileage, sometimes by 5-10%. I've recently lost 2 MPG average in my Accord (well, since Nov.). Are you warming up the car extra than you did when you first bought it? Driving a little harder since break-in? To your second question, I'd say: When your car starts costing more to keep running than another new car payment would, I'd say yours is used up. Of course, it is up to you to decide when before this occurs you will sell/trade it in. My grandfather drove his brand new Civic Wagon (a 1987 model) until it had 255,000 miles, and the A/C died. He sold it for $1,000 and bought a 3-year old pickup with low miles. If anyone got his money's worth from a new car, it was him. 
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Replying to: jasmine5 (Feb 02, 2007 12:30 pm) If you purchased the car and own it, then you would try to keep it as long as possible to spread the cost of the car over a long period. The single largest cost of a new car is its depreciation (especially in its first year where many cars typically lose 15% to 20% of their value). For that reason alone, it does not make sense to me to sell a car before it is four or five years old. Another way of looking at it, the money you save not paying for a new car is earning interest in the bank. The car industry, of course, would prefer that we buy new cars as frequently as possible. To keep a car for this period (four years or more) is directly related to its long term reliability. That's one reason I think one could argue that Japanese cars are cheaper than American and European cars. And Corollas are great in that they hold their value especially well. |
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Replying to: thegraduate (Feb 02, 2007 6:26 pm) Well actually the past two tanks i've tracked i have gotten 22mpg - I am pretty meticulous about tracking my mpg...or neurotic - you decide - however i know its accurate. Anyway, I am letting it warm up a bit more, about three mins but only when the car has sat for a while (i.e., in the morning). I know that the car is going to get worse gas mileage in the winter but now ten miles different - seems a bit ludicrous. I know SUVs (my friend's CRV) that is getting better mpg than my corolla. Driving harder - ya know i kind of drive like an old lady - hence my purchase of a corolla- so no i don't think so - the car only has 3,000 miles on it - i mean i guess i have to punch it sometimes in the city to avoid a crazy driver but all in all i think i am pretty standard over the past three months of owning the car. I ask about the time of ownership, because I am quite disappointed in my purchase and have been thinking about a trade in and I am wondering just how insane that is.... the mpg is just really aggravating me - save the world girl at heart! Last - do you think something is wrong with my car??? do you think i can call the dealer on false advertising? My previous car was a '92 honda civic - loved it - wish i could have drove it into the ground - but someone else wanted it so they took it (you may remember this story from past posts). ok grad - any advise - i'm here....nursing my wounds from a Chicago Bears loss in the SuperBowl....
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Replying to: jasmine5 (Feb 05, 2007 3:39 pm) -Warming up the car will use a decent amount of fuel, but 22 MPG is pretty low, I'll definitely agree. -What kind of mileage did you get in the Civic in the same type of conditions? If it got in the low-mid 20s, then I'd say your vehicle is probably fine. Do you do a lot of stop and go city driving? -I would be tempted to let the dealer take a look at the car, but since you are at 3k miles, maybe ask about it at the oil change, and mention your concern. 22MPG is NOT normal for regular driving, but with a lot of idling, warming up, and stop and go, its pretty easy to get to. Remember, for every minute your car idles, you are getting 0 MPG. -You can't call the dealer on false advertising, because the dealer, and even Toyota corporation, are not the ones who come up with the mileage estimates. That's the EPA. Let me know what your commute is like (how far, and how long it generally takes to go that many miles). I understand you don't drive aggressively (under 4k RPM most of the time, I'd guess?), but a lot of stopped time is what will kill mileage. That's all I can tell you for now, with the facts I've got.
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Replying to: thegraduate (Feb 05, 2007 6:48 pm) Yes, i do mostly stop and go driving in the city. I really only have to drive 2.8 miles to work (no public transport), but it is all lights and many people on the road. commute = 2.8 miles to work, it takes me any where from 20-35 mins to get to work. Yikes that's scary.... |
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Replying to: jasmine5 (Feb 06, 2007 7:41 am) Ok, there's all I need to hear. You are averaging about 5 miles an hour - which is really REALLY bad for mileage. Remember, the CITY EPA estimate is averaging 20 MPH, or making 4x the forward progress that you are. With that kind of commute, I'm amazed that you got 32 MPG if this is in fact the same commute you had in your old Civic. I wouldn't expect 20 MPG in a 5 MPH average drive, so I'd say your Corolla is performing pretty well, considering. Have you taken your car out on the highway for a trip (over say, 250 miles highway at one time?) Do this, and see if your mileage hits mid-upper 30s or better. If it does, your car is likely just fine. Honestly, my personal opinion is that nothing wrong with your car, instead everything is wrong with your commute.
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