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Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazda3 2.3 vs. '07 VW Rabbit
389 messages, Last post on Apr 17, 2009 at 12:40 PM
You are in the Mazda3 Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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Replying to: dudleyr (Apr 10, 2007 3:01 pm) 
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Replying to: bodble2 (Apr 10, 2007 1:37 pm) In fact, the ambiguity and harshness of his post was what really put off eldaino. Stallioner initially just said the rabbit sucked, while giving no concrete reasons. Those sort of comments are essentially pointless.
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Maybe we can swing back to the cars now?
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Replying to: socal2006 (Apr 10, 2007 3:31 pm) |
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OK I will start. I think both cars are good drivers cars. I also think it is great that they both have such readily available safety features such as stability control. Honda and Toyota should take notice. I especially appreciate that they are 4 door hatchbacks - the second most usefull bodystyle (to the station wagon). More companies should take notice of this as well. On the other hand fuel economy could be much better. The Mazda 3 is 300 lbs less than an Accord and has a smaller engine, yet uses more fuel. The Rabbit is even worse - partly because it weighs as much as an Accord and has a larger engine with less power. I was on the brink of purchasing a 3 hatch, but it was vetoed at the last moment for lack of rear seat room (I am but one vote). If the 3 hatch had the 2.0 liter engine that does significntly better mpg wise with very little loss of pep (I am comparing stick shift models) I might have been compelled to go for 2/3 majority to counter the veto.  I really wish they made that combo. It saddens me that Mazda feels people who want an efficient 4 door hatch will only purchase one if it has a larger engine. As far as VW goes. I never really considered it this time around (I have owned a VW in the past - 1980 Scirocco). It had a little less room than the Mazda, and I feel had become too heavy for its size. It weighs over 50% more than the first Rabbits we had, and has not too much more room. I have always liked the driving dynamics of VW's though especially the nice thick steering wheels and heavy communicative steering. To me the magic bullet for VW is the diesel engine. A TDI would have had me extremely interested - in fact a TDI Jetta wagon would have catapulted to the top of my list. I apologize if this is off the current topic. 
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Replying to: dudleyr (Apr 10, 2007 5:53 pm)  , let me add that I think the Mazda 3 is a great package in terms of style, price, feature and performance, although I have no experience with its gas economy. The recent addition of a 5-speed auto and full complement of airbags really put it on another level. I only wished it offered traction control. If the Rabbit had better mpg, and wasn't saddled with the VW reliability reputation, it would be unmatched in the small hatch segment. 6-speed auto, curtain airbags, traction and stability control, classy interior, gas hood struts.... The only other small hatch to beat it that I can think of, are the Mini, and Volvo C30. But those models cost thousands more, and the VW offers much more utility. |
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Replying to: bodble2 (Apr 10, 2007 1:37 pm) You have yet to directly answer all of my questions. I'm trying to explain something to you, but you just want to call me names, and if your going to resort to such juvinile things thats fine, i'll just deal w/it.  , but i wont resort to it. I cant really tell where you stand on this subject anymore; you have never really answered any of the questions i've asked you. Out of all this arguing though, we can both agree on the following; A car getting its name changed does not make it a new car. I never stated otherwise. But that was not my original argument was it? Its obvious that your definition of a 'new' car means a car that is new to the market IN GENERAL, such like the tiguan and the phaeteon, vw's that had never been seen before by anyone and were a new vehicle to the small suv/large lux sedan segment. Ok fine. But...about 90% of everyone else will agree with me in that when a car gets REDESIGNED top to bottom, its safe to say that it is different enough from the previous version to be called 'all new.' And despite what YOU may think, other car manufacturers have called their re-designs 'new.' Who hasn't heard of the 'all new civic', the 'all new mazda 3' or the 'all new toyota camry'? Has vw always had a 2 or 4 door hatch to market to the massess? Yes. DUH. This, per say, is not new. I've always known that, and so have countless other people. Do you really think that by changing the name to "Rabbit" i thought it was a new car in that sense? Everything i have posted has C...L...E..A...R...L...Y stated otherwise, and that i realize its the latest version of the golf. That was never,EVER the issue!!! I didnt think this was difficult to understand, but you could have at least stated that a new car TO YOU, only means a completely brand new model. But there is a difference between redesign and new model and both could merit the reference of being 'new.' If this is your stance on this basic prinicpal of the automotive industry's tendency to update and improve its products, you will never see eye to eye with anyone who has a newer version of a car that has been in production under the same name. I guess you don't like new cars. You obviously would never drive the newer version of what you are driving now, since all your posts have explicitly shown that you feel that its just the same thing. In one of your first posts, you stated or at least insinuated that vw came out with a next gen golf, and then changed the name shortly after. This is simply not true. They changed the name along with the redesign, which makes it seem so funny that you feel so strongly about this, since the mazda 3 kinda did the same thing, the name was changed to mazda 3 when the redesign took place. But no one is harping on the 3 are they?  Lets forget the name rabbit for a second. I think that its too much for your mind to handle at the moment. If stallionaire was complaining about the golf, ok he has every right to do so. But 2 things are outstanding: 1. Its lame to post why you hate a car without any reason. He gave that later on, but would not have done so if no one had called him out on it. End of story. 2. Because of the golfs name change to 'rabbit' when the new model came out, it came to light that he was actually talking about the PREVIOUS GENERATION of golf, and had no real right to harp on the MKV. (when he only owned an MKIV) there is no denying that this is ignorant and unfair regardless of if you think that the newest generation merits the term 'all new car or not'. I'm going to give another example, and use lots of spaces for your sake; the mazda 3 is a successor to the protege, but mazda could have kept the name 'protege' and the car still would have been a complete 'all new' redesign. Now read very carefully this is the important part....if i owned a protege 5, and it gave tons of problems, and my experience was just horrendous with it, would it be fair for me to just come out and say, 'the mazda 3 hatch sucks' when my experience is based upon the previous generation? NO. Plain and simple. There is NO arguing that point. The fact that they changed the name to mazda 3 is irrelevant, just like how chaning the name to rabbit is irrelevant, because the fact still remains that they are practically 2 different vehicles when compared to their previous versions. There really is nothing left to say. I've stated the facts not opinions, and i can only hope your brain is large enough to process the information. Have a nice day! |
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I think we've run around this semantic circle for long enough. Time to move on. This is a comparison thread about the vehicles, not a place to discuss why someone is or isn't critical about a vehicle. People ARE going to have differing opinions about vehicles. Whether they own them or not is not the subject. If we cannot let this go and move on, we have a problem.
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agreed pf_flyer, just make sure the name calling stays outside and that people can at least get their cars straight and not make random, baseless comments!
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