I wonder if that's based on all the years Mazda shared parts with Ford. Now that it's all Japanese, I think quality has improved. I never hear people say the Mazda 3 is anything but reliable.
Both Honda and Mazda make excellent manuals, but I think the Civic will have the edge in the engine department. Slight edge goes to Mazda in the handling department. Will probably come down to how well Honda paired the manual transmission to the Turbo engine.
Hondas and Toyotas do not have the quality they used to and I say that as someone who has 2 late model Hondas in my driveway right now (and we had a 2013 Civic). My Mazda has been every bit as reliable as the CR-V we have and it has more miles. The 2011 Odyssey we have has needed struts, a PS pump, the heated seats don't work.... I could go on. It's been disappointing. I don't see anything crazy happening to my 3 in the next 50k and it already has 100k. Statistically the Mazda 3 has always had great reliability. Reliability and quality are not deciding factors between these two cars.
True. I bought my Mazda 3 for less than what a similar Civic sold for. The Civic has the edge in certain areas that is true (larger, quieter, Turbo availability,etc. Curious if the 2017 upgrades to the 3 made a big difference. However we have a 2016 3 with 9k and have no complaints.
People say this but just because it shares parts with Ford doesn't mean it's not reliable
Mazda Miatas are some of the most durable cars you can buy and some of them came from the Ford era of Mazda. That said quality is certainly improved from my 2010 3 to the 2016. Reliability of the 2014+ Mazda 3s are excellent, but it's the same for the 2010+ models, too.Time has come to replace my 2005 civic. Back in 2005 you could get manuals in most trims. In August of this year only the lx had them. As I was also interested in satellite radio and after hearing so any good things about the Mazda3 I took a test drive. It looked like I could get a grand touring with everything I wanted. Drove nicely but the wind noise was extremely noticeable. Also no side pockets on the doors. For me the wind noise was a deal breaker as the 2016 civic sedan was exceptionally quiet in this regard. But I really wanted something more than a base lx. So I put things off a bit. Then lo and behold, this October Honda releases a 2017 ext sedan with manual and satellite radio!!! Ordered one on the spot
I agree the CVT kills lot of fun so many people consider the Mazda 3. I also did a test drive for a test drive for a Mazda 3 and Civic Touring. For me, I think the Civic 2016's steering wheel is very light and too quiet compare the Mazda 3, even my 2011 Civic. My roommate leased a Mazda 3 last month because the price is much cheaper than a Civic because the Mazda offers a Cash and Grad Rebate. He also adds a navi and sunroof in options (Civic needs to get a EX or higher trim in order to get a sunroof and no navi). I also found that the Mazda 3's information system is pretty well unless they don't have a Carplay or Google Auto (I love the system control knob). The Carplay and Google Auto are bonus for his case (if add a navi in option) since the car has already equipped a Bluetooth connection and navi already. The other thing is Mazda 3 has a manual-shift mode but Civic Sedan does not offer that.
The Mazda 3 definitely has sportier steering and controls in general than the 2016 EX-T i drove. But the different is not enough to justify the tighter interior and smaller trunk, and lower gas mileage. Most of all, the Civic just feels more solid, feels next gen vs last gen in the Mazda 3.
Yeah man it just really blows that Mazda hasn't added a performance/sport trim to the Mazda3 lineup. I love everything about the 3 but the engine/performance.
