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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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I think my Civic's interior is a bit better than the wife's 3s but not by that much. In the almost 2 years that we've owned the 3s, it's interior has held up pretty nicely. They did replace the front carpeting, as it was coming up a bit by the drivers seat. Figured they'd only patch it. Do prefer the seats in the Civic with my spine problem. But the 3's seats are almost as good actually. The Sandman 
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Replying to: pmc255 (Jul 17, 2005 5:51 pm) my buddy had to pay this extra fee every time he got his 3's oil changed. just fyi
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Replying to: 07corollas (Jun 27, 2007 10:01 pm) There is nothing tricky about changing the oil in a Mazda3. |
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Replying to: sandman46 (Apr 22, 2007 8:07 am) I know it simplifies things for them, but every other major manufacturer offers some choices. Mazda, Nissan and Toyota offer at least two interior colors with most exterior colors. An exception to that would be the Mazda3, which is somewhat limited in the same respect. Until 2007, the s model's interior was much like the Ford Model T- you can have it in any color as long as the color is black! =) They have a choice between black and gray on some exterior colors for '07. I think the Mazda3 interior is great in most respects. I wouldn't mind a little less red lighting (reminds me of 90's Pontiacs gaudy red backlighting). Otherwise, I think it looks as good or better than any of its competitors. The seats are more comfortable on long drives than any of my previous Hondas, the switchgear feels solid, no rattles, great gauges and the leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter knob are icing on the cake. In retrospect, I'm glad I got the Mazda3. I might have went with the Civic because Hondas are all I had owned and had great experiences with them. The two main reasons I didn't get the Civic were- 1) I hated the ivory interior but didn't like any of the exterior colors that came with the gray interior and 2) the 15-inch wheels on the EX look dorky compared to the 17's on the Mazda3. The EX deserves at least a 16-inch. I've had the Mazda for over 18 months and 35k miles and have only been back to the dealership once for a minor issue with the clock. It feels as solid as it did the day I bought it. I do miss one thing about the Hondas- the fuel economy! It is without a doubt the Mazda's worst feature (and the only negative, in my opinion). Even my Accord V6 automatic got better MPG than my Mazda3 s manual. The Accord averaged about 27mpg and the Mazda is at 23.5mpg to date.
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Replying to: igozoomzoom (Jul 10, 2007 12:16 am) i used to hate the color combos on hondas; but you can now get black on black without it being an si, but it has to be the coupe. the black is now available with the grey interior; mine had the ivory one, which they have thankfully done away with. They finally have allowed the grey with the royal blue pearl. don't know where the gripes from the wheels comes from; the civic DOES come with 16's, not 15's, on ex trim. They actually fill the wheel wells amazingly well, no real upleasant gaps of any kind, and certainly not wimpy! |
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Replying to: igozoomzoom (Jul 10, 2007 12:16 am) As my buddy eldaino has already mentioned, the EX has 16" wheels. Even the plain "LX" model has 16" wheels. One thing I noticed riding in my friend's '04 Mazda 3s (in bright blue it is a good looking car!) was the excessive tire noise/rumble. I felt like I could predict what the tread pattern looked like by the end of our 60 mile ride. In that regard, having "mere" 16 inch wheels is a bonus. They should also be cheaper to replace than 17 inchers - important to remember when the Civic's mission has typically been "economy" first. |
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Replying to: thegraduate (Jul 10, 2007 7:19 am) we'll have to wait for that k20 powered se trim level civic forever i guess! but yes, economy is the mission, and 16 inch wheels (very nice alloy ones at that, i prefered them to the 16's on my rabbit now) allow for a better ride, and less money when it comes time to replace.
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Replying to: thegraduate (Jul 10, 2007 7:19 am) In the Civic's defense, the Si's 17-inchers are both a great looking design and look fantastic on the car. In all fairness, the 16-inch wheels on the Mazda3 i Touring and s Sport Sedans are dinky looking in relation to the proportions of the car's sides, too. The 17-inch on the s Touring and Grand Touring Sedan and on all 5-doors totally change the look of the car, in my opinion. As far as noise, yes the Mazda3 isn't as quiet as the Civic. The performance-oriented tires are largely to blame. The only negative in choosing a 5-door over the sedan is that the 5-doors open cargo area makes the noise slightly worse. The sedan's trunk absorbs some of it. All Mazda3s with 17-inch wheels are delivered with a high performance tire that impacts ride quality, makes more noise and wear sooner than normal tires. Their traction is seriously reduced in rain also, something I found out the hard way. In return for all that, you get a subcompact that handles like an RX-8. A cloverleaf on-ramp near my home has a 20mph limit and I managed to hold 60mph all the way thru it when my car was new. The OEM tires were worn out at 31k miles. I decided to go with a slightly less aggressive all-season Michelin and they're much quieter and the ride is smoother also. The handling isn't scalpel-sharp anymore, but it still handles better than any vehicle I've owned before. |
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I plan on replacing the 16 inch Pirelli's on my Cobalt with Michelin also when they wear out. I may get another year out of my 2006 tires and I think the Michelins will also improve the ride. Which model Michelin's did you get? |
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Replying to: eldaino (Jul 11, 2007 5:53 am) I've always wondered why the base Mazda3's 2.0L puts out 150hp (75hp per litre), but the 2.3L is only 160hp (69.5hp per litre)? It seems like it should have at least 173hp just to match the 2.0L output. I can't discern much difference in the 2.0L I've driven compared to my 2.3L manual. The sole reason I went with the 2.3L is because I wanted the 5-door which does not offer the 2.0L. In all honesty, had the Si Sedan been available when I was in the market, it most likely would be in my driveway now instead of the Mazda3. Then again, if the Mazdaspeed3 had been available at that point, it might be out there.....what might have been......
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