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Sedans Honda Civic Honda Civic vs Mazda3
1333 messages, Last post on Jun 06, 2008 at 5:37 PM
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I've been driving Honda for many years, but now I am ready to trade in my Accord and I want to go with a sporty compact sedan with some power and on budget.... I test drove the Mazda 3 and its nice. It has a European feel to it, almost like a BMA 3 Series but $10-$15 cheaper. I do like the Mazda look better than the Civic, but as a long time Honda fan, I still have the love for a Honda. What do you think? Please to convince me which one to get! Thanks in advance |
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The Civic from a purely mpg standpoint. But it is fun to drive. The slower power from the 1.8 engine is a tradeoff I can live with. For pure driving excitement, the 3s is fantastic in this regard. Lower mpg's, but that's the trade off. For fit & finish, I'll have to give the nod to Honda. Too much black in our 3s and the seats aren't as comfortable. Both great cars, as evidenced by our garage. Will be quite interested in the next generation Corolla though. I think Toyota needs to hit a grand slam with it, as the competition has gotten that good. Hopefully they'll get the driving position just right. The Corolla we rented last year had an awkward feel when driving...just couldn't get a comfortable fit with the steering wheel...something just wasn't right. I've read others have felt the same thing. Great time to buy this class of car though. Endless choices at different price levels. The Sandman 
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Replying to: sandman46 (Jun 12, 2007 5:47 pm) No doubt that they are long lasting cars, but Corolla never had the design to handle the roads well. It doesn't hang curves well and it just looks really boring. If I consider a Honda, it has to be the Si Sedan with 2.0L and 197HP. But as for torque, Mazda has honda beat. Its even better if you move up to Mazdaspeed3, 1-60 in 5.8 sec. The problem with Mazdaspeed3 is that, the hatchback is just not my style....I am 6'1 and 210 (I am not fat, just a big guy physically fit) and I would look really funny in a wagon/hatchback...
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Replying to: sonnyrocker (Jun 12, 2007 6:30 pm) Despite the torque advantage the mazda 3 has, the civic si IS faster still. and it handles better. (i'm not talking about the mazdaspeed though.) The si sedan sounds like your sporty ride; plus you still get to keep your honda loyalty going! |
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Replying to: eldaino (Jun 13, 2007 5:25 am) I look forward to test drive the Si out. I am a manual shift guy (I haven't own an automatic in over 15 years)so it will be great. Now back to Mazda3. I have read that maintenance on that car can be expensive. I read somewhere too that its hard to find the 17" tires that fit. Normal 17" tires don't fit well with the Mazda3, is that true? Sandman, any problems with your Mazda at all? |
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Replying to: sonnyrocker (Jun 13, 2007 5:39 am) My mother in laws maintanence on her mazda 6 has been expensive, but we have some pretty crappy mazda dealers around here. But then again, i know some people who do it themselves and have no issues. Honda service is usually easy and not expensive when compared to other automakers. at least you run less of a chance of going in for unscheduled maintanence!
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Replying to: sonnyrocker (Jun 13, 2007 5:39 am) Unfortunately, most of those models are made by BMW, so the tires are expensive. 
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Replying to: eldaino (Jun 13, 2007 5:45 am) You can also use 215's with no issue. I will be ordering that size at the end of the summer because I want the Falken Ziex 512 and they don't sell 205's |
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Replying to: sonnyrocker (Jun 13, 2007 5:39 am) The last thing I remember sandman saying about the Mazda3 was that it wasn't aging that well. It had squeaks/rattles and just seemed older than it was, in general. Sandman will step-in and fill us in, I'm sure, but I didn't know when he'd be back! |
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There are some rattles that the dealer just can't locate which is a bit irritating. They had to re-swap out the rear pads and now that bad brake dust is back, worse than before. The car just feels old before its time and the wife doesn't really push it that much. She even said this will be our last Mazda. We just hit 30k on Tuesday and if we wouldn't take such a big hit on the trade and what's left of our prepaid maintainance(?), the car would be gone. Maybe it's just our particular car, it's just not aging well. But since we owe nothing on it, we'll just keep it until something really major goes wrong. This is by no means a slam on Mazda products...it's just that our experience has not been as good as we had hoped. Buy what you really like, that's the bottom line. I really think most folks do love their Mazda 3's. Just wanted to give another point of view to keep in mind. But honestly, any car can have many little problems that just ruin the owner experience. Good luck with whatever you choose and please let us know. I'd be very curious on what you end up with. The Sandman 
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