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Moderator, hope this is the right place to post my query. If not, please feel free to delete my first post and direct me to the right forum. Thanks.
My son was looking for a new Mazda 3 but ended up finding a really great deal on a 2012 hatchback touring with 2.5 liter engine. We live in the mountains at 5000 feet and driving his 3 around the mountain roads with the 3's driving dynamics was a revelation. My wife and I were not thinking of a new auto until 2 years from now when we have a lot more miles on our Prius and turbo Subaru but one of the local dealer has been very aggressive in pricing.
Two questions for this forum:
1. Transmission - Auto vs Manual.
I drove manual for 2 years while in grad school more than two decades ago. It was an old junker that I was grateful for. Full auto since then though I am mechanically adept in terms of coordinating shifts, corners, figuring out how to ease through a corner with minimal loss of speed etc. I keep reading that manual is the way to go for better driving control. However, these new Mazda automatics have paddle shifting. How is paddle shifting different from manual shifting - don't you get to control the gears it is in with both? Why is the manual still better for driving control?
2. Engine - 2.0 vs 2.5
We live in the mountains and do a lot of up and down trip. My turbo Subaru has plenty of kick and power. But my Prius is obviously quite leisurely. I live and am content with both. In mountains, I strive more for very smooth turns, cheating on the apex, and seeking to maintain momentum to conserve gas etc. It's actually quite 'fun' to focus on that.
So for mountains:
· Do I need a 2.5? Or do many live with 2.0 just fine?
· I am surprised to see published mpg for automatics in 2.0 and 2.5 to be virtually identical. Does this bear out in real life?
· For mountain climbing, anyone know if 2.0 gives better mileage than 2.5? (Sometimes, smaller engines strain more and give worse mileage….)
· For 2.5 engine, I’m surprised to see that manual provides a lot worse mpg than automatic. Car and Drive said they got 8 mpg less which I wonder if is accurate for similar driving.
· Does the 2.0 engine, being lighter, give better handling dynamics?
· Finally, has either 2.0 or 2.5 turned out to be more reliable or substantially more economical to maintain?
3. Sedan vs Hatchback - any real difference other than style, assuming similar trims? I realize that Sedan can be had in lower trim levels than hatchback apparently.
Thanks in advance for any help.
UL
My son was looking for a new Mazda 3 but ended up finding a really great deal on a 2012 hatchback touring with 2.5 liter engine. We live in the mountains at 5000 feet and driving his 3 around the mountain roads with the 3's driving dynamics was a revelation. My wife and I were not thinking of a new auto until 2 years from now when we have a lot more miles on our Prius and turbo Subaru but one of the local dealer has been very aggressive in pricing.
Two questions for this forum:
1. Transmission - Auto vs Manual.
I drove manual for 2 years while in grad school more than two decades ago. It was an old junker that I was grateful for. Full auto since then though I am mechanically adept in terms of coordinating shifts, corners, figuring out how to ease through a corner with minimal loss of speed etc. I keep reading that manual is the way to go for better driving control. However, these new Mazda automatics have paddle shifting. How is paddle shifting different from manual shifting - don't you get to control the gears it is in with both? Why is the manual still better for driving control?
2. Engine - 2.0 vs 2.5
We live in the mountains and do a lot of up and down trip. My turbo Subaru has plenty of kick and power. But my Prius is obviously quite leisurely. I live and am content with both. In mountains, I strive more for very smooth turns, cheating on the apex, and seeking to maintain momentum to conserve gas etc. It's actually quite 'fun' to focus on that.
So for mountains:
· Do I need a 2.5? Or do many live with 2.0 just fine?
· I am surprised to see published mpg for automatics in 2.0 and 2.5 to be virtually identical. Does this bear out in real life?
· For mountain climbing, anyone know if 2.0 gives better mileage than 2.5? (Sometimes, smaller engines strain more and give worse mileage….)
· For 2.5 engine, I’m surprised to see that manual provides a lot worse mpg than automatic. Car and Drive said they got 8 mpg less which I wonder if is accurate for similar driving.
· Does the 2.0 engine, being lighter, give better handling dynamics?
· Finally, has either 2.0 or 2.5 turned out to be more reliable or substantially more economical to maintain?
3. Sedan vs Hatchback - any real difference other than style, assuming similar trims? I realize that Sedan can be had in lower trim levels than hatchback apparently.
Thanks in advance for any help.
UL