Anyone drive a Mazda 3???

[Freyja]

Does anyone here have a Mazda 3?

Do you like it? How´s the milage? Can you fit 3 people comfortably in the back seats?

Please telle me anything you know. We´re looking for a second car (family of 6 with work, school, kindergarten, ballet, gymnastics, riding and soccer can´t survive with 1 car anymore)

Thanks
Freyja

 

[Christine]

My friend has one. And I looked at buying one.

Are you looking at the sedan or hatchback? Yes, you can fit 3 people in the backseat but I wouldn't call it comfy. The car is the size of a Corolla. There are three belts and would be fine for short rides.

My friend told me that on the hatchback, the tires are an odd size and they are about $165 for each tire. He didn't know that when he bought it.

 

[Freyja]

I´m looking at the hatchback. I don´t think the tires are a problem here in Iceland. I think it has something to do with European/Asian/US standard sizes. That is, I think they are a very common asian size, and most cars in Iceland are from Japan. But I´ll definately look into it.

I´m glad to hear she can fit 3 into the back. I´ll only be needing to fit 3 kids, and only for shorter rides, so that should be fine then.

Our other car is a Dodge Durango, so I want something smaller and with a better gas milage (NOT difficult!!!) just to drive the kids to school, soccer, etc.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Christine]

You're welcome. It truly is a nice little car. I decided against it because the Mazda 3 Hatchbacks are "popular" in this area and it was costing the same amount as a Toyota Camry. The Mazda definitely was "cuter" than the Camry, but the Camry was just a more practical buy over the Mazda--bigger, gas mileage about the same, and Toyota has a better reputation. For a smaller car, it has a 2.3 liter engine, whereas the Corollas are about 1.8 liter. So the Mazda does not get the great gas mileage that a Corolla would get, but is on par with a Camry (which is still pretty darn good).