Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
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
|
Replying to: bodble2 (Apr 11, 2007 9:56 am) I love how the Mazda3 drives and looks, but not knowing how it fares on side crashes when equipped with SABs/SACs is steering me away from it for my next car, which will also be driven by and eventually be handed down to my daughter.
|
|
|
Replying to: backy (Apr 11, 2007 10:17 am) That and the fact that the 2.3 doesn't really get that much better mileage than my rabbit is what will make me just settle for a gti 5 door if i ever get another hatch instead of the 3. But we will see. |
|
|
|
|
Perhaps the ratings you're looking for might be out on the European ratings site (since both cars are sold there as well). Euro NCAP
|
|
|
Replying to: stallionre (Apr 11, 2007 9:55 am) I've got a 6spd Celica GTS which is getting a little long in the tooth and, with 2 kids in elementary school, doesn't work so well from a family standpoint. Been considering a 4-door hatch for a while now but REALLY like the driving/handling dynamics of my Celica. Right now, a Speed3 is on my short list (VERY short list). But, a purchase is probably still a year away, so I've plenty of time to vacillate some more.....
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: seminole_kev (Apr 11, 2007 10:24 am) |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: rorr (Apr 11, 2007 10:47 am) |
|
|
Replying to: seminole_kev (Apr 11, 2007 10:24 am) If the NCAP results are good enough for you though, great.
|
|
|
Replying to: backy (Apr 11, 2007 11:46 am) What exactly does it tell us? Do you have something factual to share with us that we don't know or are you just speculating something??
|
|
|
|
|
THIS IS A COMPARISON: Build Quality - Both cars seem pretty even when looking at the build quality. Fit and finish were excellent and the VW appears to have only a slight edge. Ride Quality - Both cars offer very good Ride quality. Some would say that the VW is more refined, and that may be true to an extent but I noticed that at moderate speeds on rough roads the VW felt less controlled and more bouncy. This is due to increased weight of the VW. The syspension on the 3 reacted a little faster and with less bounce. (Note: both cars were driven on the same roads, Delaers about 3/4 mile apart). Road noise - This is the one area where the rabbit had an edge over the 3. The interior noise is less in the VW as compared to the 3. Note: The 2007 Mazda 3 has additonal dampning material added and is considered much quieter that earlier years. Driving Dynamics - The steering response of the Mazda 3 felt much more positive than the VW and with far less body roll. I found the VW steering to require more effort to achieve the same result. The Braking of the 3 was far superior to the VW. Where the 3 has a nice even progression and control. The VW felt mushy and slower to respond. Cornering / Handling - There really is no comparison here. The Mazda 3 corners and responds to driver input so much better than the VW, and every other FWD C-segment car (Civic, Corolla, Sentra, Focus, etc). I have acutally driven all of them and can safely say that the Mazda 3 is the best handling 4 door C-segment car period. Note: The Mini Cooper is a subcompact W/ 2 doors and is not considered a C-segment car, thus it is excluded. Interior - Both cars have very good interiors. As far as materials quality is concerned I would give an edge to the VW, particualarly the GTI. When it comes to appearance I personally prefered the look of the 3. It has a clean modern vibe to it that suits the exterior of the car well. Inerior Comfort / Space - This is where I had a problem with the VW. While I liked the power of the GTI. I could not get comfortable in the seats. They are too tightly bolstered and would probably be fine for a 150lb person. For me at 5'10 and 200 lbs, well forget about it. The Rabbit has a nice seat that is more comforable and fit my proprtions better. The Mazda 3 on the other hand has an excellent seat and appears to have been designed with long haul comfort. Layout of controls is similar in both cars and I would call that an even draw. The amount of usable space in the 3 hatchback is considerably larger than the VW. There is probably another 16-20" of additional space behind the rear seats. So if you plan on using this area then the 3 gets a nod for space. Note: The Mazda 3 is almost a foot longer than the VW and yet it is 350-400 lbs lighter. Sound System / Nav - If you want a pretty decent factory sound system the Bose Audio option on the 3 is the way to go. The sound is smooth and I found it the be fairly balanced considering the little subwoofer under the front seat. The VW on the other hand has a horrible head unit. I don't know what VW was thinking when it came to the stereo. It is very harsh and employs soft clipping that gets worse as the volume is increased. Also the speaker placemet is bad where the main drive units are placed in the middle of the front doors. Some other factors to consider: The only way to get audiophile sound in this car is to replace the head unit, yes it is that bad. So in my opinion getting the factory Nav in the GTI is a waste fo money. Where on the 3 you can keep the factory head unit and using a high quailty impedance adators add separate amplifiers and quality speakers. Another plus for the 3 is that the Navagation system is separate from the audio system. Maintainence / Reliability - This is what scares me about the VW. They have a bad reputaion for reliability of particular concern being electrical problems. Where VW uses a Bosch ECU and many other electrical componets. The Mazda 3 utilizes a Denso ECU and Hitachi electrical componets. Note: Toyota aslo uses Deno and Hitachi. The long term mainatince schedule for the the VW is also much greater than that of the Mazda, with the GTI being even worse. The GTi uses a timing belt that has to be replaced at 60k - 80k miles. I went further than that and did a fair amount of internet research. The VW Rabbit and GTI have had numerous problems, too may to tell and basically the main reason I recended my offer to the dealer. While the Mazda 3 is not perfect it has a far greater track record and very good waranty ratings. Summary - Everybody that their own unique requirements that they try to meet in making a car purchase decision. When comparing the 2007 Mazda 3 to the VW Rabbit the clear winner in most catgories is the Mazda 3. I was looking for a cool comuter car (automatic) that both myself and my wife could drive. Since I already have a kick-ass sports car I didn't feel that I had make a purchasing decision based soley on performance but the car as whole. After almost a year of crawling over almost every new car out there to the point of annoying numerous sales people, (about 30 or more test drives). I came to my own conclusion that the 2007 Mazda 3 is best C-segment car currently available. It simply does so many things better than the competition...  
|
|
|
Replying to: stallionre (Apr 13, 2007 10:05 am)
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Hatchbacks Mazda3 Mazda3 2.3 vs. '07 VW Rabbit
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 Mazda MAZDA3
2009 Volkswagen Rabbit
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
