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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
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You should all keep in mind the inovation and technology in modern day cars is initiated in Germany not Japan. The Japaneese know how to duplicate. They are copy cats. I owned a Gti 2.5 V5 for Four and a half years and had over 125K miles on it. It still drove the same as the day I bought. I currently own a 2005 Tocoma Double cab that I bought in Nov 2004 here in Texas it is by far the worse car that I have ever owned, it only has 18500 miles, I still have two prolems since I bought it that Toyota dont have a fix for and dont even want to fix. I have even hired a lawyer now and as you all know this is a car that won the 2005 Truck of the year award. I personly think that these magazines are influenced by the money they get through ads. With regards to the Mazda 3 its a great car, but it only hands sharper because it might not have all the stability control stuff thats on the Rabbit and thus feels sporter. The rabbit would be must safer though in slippery surface. Personly its hard to choose between them one has more quility and class and the other more reliability and less cost.
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Replying to: gti1999 (Jul 28, 2007 10:37 pm) but i have ENVER heard of a gti with a five cylinder. in fact, i wasn't even aware that vw offered a five cylinder in anything up until the recent jetta and rabbit. a vr6? yeah. but a vr5? never heard of it. granted just how everyone says 'german cars are junk' i wouldn't base my opinion of ALL japanese cars soley on your experience. with regards to the 3; the reason it handles bette is because it is more stiffly sprung than the rabbit: they both use a similar set up with regards to suspension, and while they are both fine handling vehicles one leans more towards a sportier ride, while one has a more luxurious comfortable ride. in europe, the ford focus over there uses the same suspension setup as our north american mazda 3; and the golf and it are neck in neck for the title of best hatch. many european car mags/reviewers have commented on the suspension of each respective vehicle and have made a simliar comparison as i have...they both are nimble and feel essentially the same, but one has superior handling and one has a superior ride. |
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The Gti V5 I had was in Kuwait I dont think it was sold in north america. The problem with my Tocoma is a universal problem with all the double cab 4X2, it was a vibration and a knocking noise as you come to a stop. The new 6speed Camry's have a transmission problem. The japaneese dont spend money on researching new technology the spent money on copying it. The nissan marano CVT trans is the technology that Audi came out. If you were to go back to the very beginning of the Lexus you can see the similarity between their cars and Mercedes they even copied the general shape. Where I come from they use to call it the poor mans Mercedes. |
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Replying to: gti1999 (Jul 28, 2007 10:37 pm) The Japanese are not strictly "copy cats", but, they are perfectionists. It is just their culture to be perfect. I do not think the Germans invented VV-T or hybrid technology, did they? Last I knew, the Japanese did. With regards to the Mazda 3 its a great car, but it only hands sharper because it might not have all the stability control stuff thats on the Rabbit and thus feels sportier The Mazda3 does have stability control (Mazda3 s). It handled better because it has a more aggressive suspension set up. Personly its hard to choose between them one has more quility and class and the other more reliability and less cost. The VW has definalty stepped it up, in regards to build quality. The older VW's were not that great.
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Jul 30, 2007 11:20 am) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable_valve_timing And Europeans and Americans pioneered hybrid cars, also: http://www.hybridcars.com/history/history-of-hybrid-vehicles.html |
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Replying to: backy (Jul 30, 2007 1:40 pm) My wife and I have been dedicated VW fans. In fact at 170,000 miles - the '97 Jetta needed to be replaced. Naturally we went into the VW dealer all set to but another Jetta or Rabbit. But... during the various test-drives - my wife had become very discouraged. to quote her: "what did they do to this car? It's too big, to squishy, and flat out too boring!" She went so far as to compare it to her dad's 2006 Chevy Impala! We were kinda stuck. She doesn't like the Toyota, Nissan, and Honda products. BMW way out of our price range. We eventually found ourselves taking the 2007 Mazda 3 S for a test spin. As she put it: "it drives the way a Jetta is supposed to drive, FUN!" Done deal. The Mazda has great road feel which inspires confidence. And the fit and finish is superior to the new Vdubs. Great value too! Who would've guessed that Mazda would take over the mantra of "Drivers Wanted." |
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Replying to: zante64 (Jul 30, 2007 9:37 pm) 
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Replying to: zante64 (Jul 30, 2007 9:37 pm) on this site, much is a biased opinion. but saying that any japanese interior in the jetta/rabbit pricerange is better than a current jetta or rabbit IS wrong. honda makes a great interior, as does mazda. if anything their interiors are 'on par' or at least 'sportier' looking than a current vee dub. But to say that its superior? nope. sorry pal. just not true. a 97 jetta? i can see someone preferring the STYLING, as i have many buddies who do...but none of them rave about its superiority in driving over a newer jetta....actually, the mk3 generation was targeted for being the most dumbed down version of any sporiting vw.... your wife truly has a strange concept of what 'fun' is. EVERY auto manufacturers cars have increased in weight...you think that the mazda protege weighed as much as your 3 does now? i do agree that the jetta should have been what the 3 is now...but its still a great handler and its not worlds behind the 3. and the rabbit is EVEN BETTER, and only just behind the 3. don't worry, vw still has plenty of drivers. 
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Replying to: eldaino (Aug 01, 2007 10:03 am) |
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Replying to: eldaino (Aug 01, 2007 10:03 am) And yes of course, there is a huge subjective aspect to all this. Please keep in mind that we've been VW fans for a very long time. I grew up with them. (my earliest memories are sleeping in the small storage area behind the rear seats of our '66 bug as a kid) Also, We had never been fond of the various Japanese makes. (Mazda included). It was a very difficult decision to NOT continue with VW. I will also say that it's very difficult to ignore the "rumors" of reliability problems when during the test-drive of two different brand new VW models from two seperate dealers - both had the "check engine" light on during the test drives. My harshest words are borne in large part by my sad disappoinment with the direction of VW in the "affordable fun to drive" car segment. It seems that the "Drivers Wanted" by VW now are those drivers that want a car that handles like a pig being led to the slaughter - aimlessly going forward with no idea of what fate has waiting around the next corner.
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