Design
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2015
- Threads
- 28
- Messages
- 3,329
- Reaction score
- 2,903
- Location
- Southern California
- Vehicle(s)
- 09 MS3, 17 ABM Si Sedan
- Thread starter
- #1
After talking and obsessing over a new car purchase for two years, I finally scored a decent deal on an outgoing 2017 Si. My plan was to hold until end of year. But pricing was too good to pass up.
Up until this week, my daily driver was a 2009 Mazdaspeed3. Before that, a 00 Si. I picked up the MS3 with 8 miles on the odometer with the intention of keeping 10 years for a growing family. Back then, turbo direct injection was relatively new in mass produced cars. But everything else about the Mazda had a fairly good track record. It wasn't until I hit 100K that I started having more frequent issues. Mostly involving the DI powertrain. The most devastating was the aggressive oil consumption from carb deposits.
In my hunt for the "perfect" family car, my criteria was pretty simple:
I discovered that every car had their charm for one reason or another. And had I not wanted to keep long term, the GTI would have been the clear winner. But the Si came out ahead when I factored price, features, ergonomics, driving experience, passenger volume, and long term projected cost of ownership. It's not the fastest. Nor is it the most refined. But it offers an unbeatable blend of practicality and performance for the price. The extra bits like the adaptive suspension and keyless entry were icing on the cake.
I've only put 170 miles on the car but I absolutely love it. The high points for me are the precision short throw shifter, composed & confident bi-mode suspension, bolstered & supportive front seats, 360* driver visibility, smart entry, and front/side profile styling. The low points have been a few issues with the body panel alignment, navigating the infotainment, "excessively plastic" rear door panels, and a relatively mute growl from the exhaust. To be fair, I expect the exhaust will get more pronounced after 500-1000 miles. And the dealer network's body shop will be addressing the panel gaps this Monday.
I'll plan to give a more in-depth review once I get past the break-in period. For now, I'll keep looking for excuses to drive. Thanks for reading.
Up until this week, my daily driver was a 2009 Mazdaspeed3. Before that, a 00 Si. I picked up the MS3 with 8 miles on the odometer with the intention of keeping 10 years for a growing family. Back then, turbo direct injection was relatively new in mass produced cars. But everything else about the Mazda had a fairly good track record. It wasn't until I hit 100K that I started having more frequent issues. Mostly involving the DI powertrain. The most devastating was the aggressive oil consumption from carb deposits.
In my hunt for the "perfect" family car, my criteria was pretty simple:
- Must haves:
- 6MT
- Room for a growing family
- Fun/sporty
- Low cost of ownership
- Nice to haves:
- Sunroof
- Factory HID/LEDs
- Accord Sport
- Civic Hatch Sport
- Civic Sedan EX-T
- GTI Sport/SE
- Focus ST-2
- WRX Premium
- And just for fun... the Elantra Sport.
I discovered that every car had their charm for one reason or another. And had I not wanted to keep long term, the GTI would have been the clear winner. But the Si came out ahead when I factored price, features, ergonomics, driving experience, passenger volume, and long term projected cost of ownership. It's not the fastest. Nor is it the most refined. But it offers an unbeatable blend of practicality and performance for the price. The extra bits like the adaptive suspension and keyless entry were icing on the cake.
I've only put 170 miles on the car but I absolutely love it. The high points for me are the precision short throw shifter, composed & confident bi-mode suspension, bolstered & supportive front seats, 360* driver visibility, smart entry, and front/side profile styling. The low points have been a few issues with the body panel alignment, navigating the infotainment, "excessively plastic" rear door panels, and a relatively mute growl from the exhaust. To be fair, I expect the exhaust will get more pronounced after 500-1000 miles. And the dealer network's body shop will be addressing the panel gaps this Monday.
I'll plan to give a more in-depth review once I get past the break-in period. For now, I'll keep looking for excuses to drive. Thanks for reading.
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