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905 Posts
Well last Saturday I took possession of a beautiful new 2017 Mazda 3 Hatch 2.5L 6spd manual in Snowflake White Pearl. I have not pushed it too hard yet as I want to wait until 2000km and ensure a good engine break-in period. A few km before I crossed 1000km curiosity got the better of me and I did go wide open throttle in 5th gear at about 4000rpm for a brief moment just to see how much further the pedal went down. I have crossed 4000rpm a few times already, mostly by accident, but I have not crossed 5000rpm and won't until 2000km.
Driving Impressions
Overall I am very happy with my driving experience so far. The engine produces torque very quickly even at 60-70% throttle which is very commendable. The suspension is definitely capable of much more with better tires, overall very stable and easy to manipulate. As expected the oem tires and brake pads are not too crazy but perform as required. I personally prefer a harder biting brake pad and better tire compound for summer driving, as such next summer I will be upgrading both. The clutch is a bit of a sore spot for me, possibly I am just not used to this style of clutch, very unforgiving in stop and go traffic which I encounter often. I am still adapting to it and will continue to try to be smoother with it. In my one experience today using wide open throttle for the first time I was slightly disappointed. I am used to a bigger variation of throttle application and more torque building as the rpms increase. I assume this has to do with the full torque being available early and myself being used to Honda's with vtec. Overall the driving experience has been very positive and I look forward to adding better brake pads and tires so I can push this Mazda towards the edge of what its capable of with stock suspension.
Interior/Exterior Impressions
I must say the fit and finish of this Mazda 3 is very impressive. I went for the top Canadian trim with the 2.5L engine 6spd manual GT hatchback with leather, sunroof, bose, ect. The leather is very nice, I actually thought it was all black leather for the first 24 hours and then finally got the right light to see the accents in dark brown which looks very sharp. The gauge cluster is very well laid out, easy to read and the digital speedo is a huge bonus to me. The dual climate HVAC is easy to use and has done a great job so far. The MZD infotainment unit works great, intuitive controls centrally mounted makes it easy to use while driving. The auto dimming rear view mirror is also a nice feature to have, had my doubts at first but definitely sold on auto dimming rear view mirrors. I have had the odd issues with my android phone steaming Bluetooth music from my Google play app but it is easily resolved, tho slightly annoying. I find the infotainment unit to be slightly laggy but that has been mentioned before on here, it could be better, it could be worse. The HUD is virtually useless IMHO, might still disconnect. I find things like lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, distance recognition to be sad attempts to allow a driver to be comfortable with being a distracted driver and is unacceptable in my eyes. If you don't know you are following too close then you shouldn't be driving. If you don't know the speed limit of the roads you are traveling, again, you shouldn't be driving. Lane keep assist isn't consistent, the speed limit alert also is not consistent, that to me is a failure to implement new technology. The cargo area in the rear hatch could be bigger but fits all my tools and work gear, can always fold down the rear seats if I need more space. The driving position is good, great road view with very few small blind spots. I am exceedingly happy with the headlights, the combo of projectors and LED fog lights makes for a very bright road ahead and I can see 3x more than my old accord. Each time I look at my Mazda 3 I love it even more. The aggressive front end has much love by me and the rear end is growing on me, might not add a hatch spoiler as I originally intended. The 18 inch wheels also are growing on me, might keep them now for a summer setup.
All in all I am very happy with my choice to buy a Mazda 3 and would do it again.
Driving Impressions
Overall I am very happy with my driving experience so far. The engine produces torque very quickly even at 60-70% throttle which is very commendable. The suspension is definitely capable of much more with better tires, overall very stable and easy to manipulate. As expected the oem tires and brake pads are not too crazy but perform as required. I personally prefer a harder biting brake pad and better tire compound for summer driving, as such next summer I will be upgrading both. The clutch is a bit of a sore spot for me, possibly I am just not used to this style of clutch, very unforgiving in stop and go traffic which I encounter often. I am still adapting to it and will continue to try to be smoother with it. In my one experience today using wide open throttle for the first time I was slightly disappointed. I am used to a bigger variation of throttle application and more torque building as the rpms increase. I assume this has to do with the full torque being available early and myself being used to Honda's with vtec. Overall the driving experience has been very positive and I look forward to adding better brake pads and tires so I can push this Mazda towards the edge of what its capable of with stock suspension.
Interior/Exterior Impressions
I must say the fit and finish of this Mazda 3 is very impressive. I went for the top Canadian trim with the 2.5L engine 6spd manual GT hatchback with leather, sunroof, bose, ect. The leather is very nice, I actually thought it was all black leather for the first 24 hours and then finally got the right light to see the accents in dark brown which looks very sharp. The gauge cluster is very well laid out, easy to read and the digital speedo is a huge bonus to me. The dual climate HVAC is easy to use and has done a great job so far. The MZD infotainment unit works great, intuitive controls centrally mounted makes it easy to use while driving. The auto dimming rear view mirror is also a nice feature to have, had my doubts at first but definitely sold on auto dimming rear view mirrors. I have had the odd issues with my android phone steaming Bluetooth music from my Google play app but it is easily resolved, tho slightly annoying. I find the infotainment unit to be slightly laggy but that has been mentioned before on here, it could be better, it could be worse. The HUD is virtually useless IMHO, might still disconnect. I find things like lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, distance recognition to be sad attempts to allow a driver to be comfortable with being a distracted driver and is unacceptable in my eyes. If you don't know you are following too close then you shouldn't be driving. If you don't know the speed limit of the roads you are traveling, again, you shouldn't be driving. Lane keep assist isn't consistent, the speed limit alert also is not consistent, that to me is a failure to implement new technology. The cargo area in the rear hatch could be bigger but fits all my tools and work gear, can always fold down the rear seats if I need more space. The driving position is good, great road view with very few small blind spots. I am exceedingly happy with the headlights, the combo of projectors and LED fog lights makes for a very bright road ahead and I can see 3x more than my old accord. Each time I look at my Mazda 3 I love it even more. The aggressive front end has much love by me and the rear end is growing on me, might not add a hatch spoiler as I originally intended. The 18 inch wheels also are growing on me, might keep them now for a summer setup.
All in all I am very happy with my choice to buy a Mazda 3 and would do it again.