My '02 Ford Explorer has clocked around 138,000 miles on it and finally the costs of repair are becoming more than the cost of the car. It's time to get something new.
I would like to downsize and am looking in the compact car segment. I'm new to shopping for cars, I've driven that Explorer for 7 years. I have narrowed my search down to two cars I like, the Toyota Corolla LE and the Mazda3 i Sport (2014 model, not hatchback). I'm planning to buying the car new.
I've test driven both and found the Mazda3 was more pleasant and fun to drive, I enjoyed the sportiness of it. I found the Toyota to have a lot more bang for the buck as far as features, with the touchscreen and backup camera in every model.
I'd like to get at least 100,000 miles out of the car, I plan to drive it for at least 7-8 years like my current vehicle. As it stands, these cars are neck and neck for me and I'm looking for advice from those who have driven these to help sway me one way or the other.
I know toyota has a good track record, with corolla's being one of the top selling cars ever, I know less about Mazda. I think it comes down to reliability for me, I'd like the car I'll be sending to the shop less often and will cost me less in the long run.
With the recent Mazda3 being an all new design, I'm fairly concerned that looking at reviews of older models will not give me a good sense of the quality of the car model. Also, J.D. Power gave it 2 out of 5 stars, which is rather startling but not helpful, given everyone else is singing it's praises and J.D. Power does not list the reasons why they gave these scores. Can Anyone explain to me where these low scores came from?
Any help is much appreciated! I've been sitting on this decision for a few days.
I would like to downsize and am looking in the compact car segment. I'm new to shopping for cars, I've driven that Explorer for 7 years. I have narrowed my search down to two cars I like, the Toyota Corolla LE and the Mazda3 i Sport (2014 model, not hatchback). I'm planning to buying the car new.
I've test driven both and found the Mazda3 was more pleasant and fun to drive, I enjoyed the sportiness of it. I found the Toyota to have a lot more bang for the buck as far as features, with the touchscreen and backup camera in every model.
I'd like to get at least 100,000 miles out of the car, I plan to drive it for at least 7-8 years like my current vehicle. As it stands, these cars are neck and neck for me and I'm looking for advice from those who have driven these to help sway me one way or the other.
I know toyota has a good track record, with corolla's being one of the top selling cars ever, I know less about Mazda. I think it comes down to reliability for me, I'd like the car I'll be sending to the shop less often and will cost me less in the long run.
With the recent Mazda3 being an all new design, I'm fairly concerned that looking at reviews of older models will not give me a good sense of the quality of the car model. Also, J.D. Power gave it 2 out of 5 stars, which is rather startling but not helpful, given everyone else is singing it's praises and J.D. Power does not list the reasons why they gave these scores. Can Anyone explain to me where these low scores came from?
Any help is much appreciated! I've been sitting on this decision for a few days.
thank you everyone for the feedback !
