Hi all
On a short vacation, and we are renting a Mazda 3 with a trunk. Auto equipped. Visibility: sucks. Huge A pillars, rear side pillars block a lot.. Drove about 100 miles so far. Brakes fair... not predictable stopping - they seem to bite more as heated. Tough to modulate. I HATE throttle by wire - response sucks. A/C works ok
More to come as the week goes on.
Oh...are the engineers expect such stupid owners Wtf do I need a blue temp indicator to tell me the engige isn't warmed up yet??????
Pretty much every new car these days have really thick A pillars, there's not much you can do about that.
Blue 'engine cold' lights have been around for a long time, at least since the early 1960s.
I haven't driven a 3, or any "newish" car in a long time, but I NEVER (well, usually never) judge a whole model line up by 1 example that has probably been somewhat abused.
I did drive a nearly new G6 about 3 or 4 years ago (how time flies?) and after driving Hondas and Acuras for more than 10 years, and 1 or 2 other Japanese brands, I thought the design of most of the controls, especially the ones mounted on the steering column stalks to be purposely (as in, "we can be different...just to be different") confusing/NON-intuitive.
There was a time, in the '50s and '60s when car manufacturers were designing "dream cars" with cantilever roofs. Thanks to stricter roof crush standards those will never happen.
stuart in mn wrote: Pretty much every new car these days have really thick A pillars, there's not much you can do about that.
I wouldn't necessarily call them "thick", as they are obstructively LONG with too much crash protection space. That is what makes them "thick", IMO, given most of the exterior A/B/C pillars are stamped as a single panel now.
So so far you're complaining about rollover protection, the fact that you havent got used to the brakes, throttle by wire which is just assumed on every new car anyway, and that the AC works "ok" (exterior color? interior color? window tint? ambient temp? overcast? etc etc? There are variables....). Oh and it has a light that tells you something (as opposed to no lights to tell you anything?).
Well, alright. 
"Wtf do I need a blue temp indicator to tell me the engige isn't warmed up yet?????? "
Here in the North East, those blue indicators are a blessing, flip the fan on too high before you have heat coming out and the whole windshield will frost/ice over on the inside. Dangerous and time consuming during the morning Winter commute.
Got a light telling you when things are too hot, a light doing the opposite is a welcome touch. especially when not all cars come with a temp or even oil gauge.
I will say this- I have a mazda3 (speed3 more specifically). I've driven a "rental" sedan before. They're entirely junk. The brakes are usually half cooked, the interiors are the lower-rent "i" interiors, etc etc. Drive a loaded up GT car and you'll understand better. Doesn't even have to be a turbo one, my first one wasn't. But if you get a S GT, they've got better brakes, slightly better suspension, etc. Nothing you can do about the a-pillar. Stupid airbags.
I had a car with neither a temp gauge nor a "cold" light. The thermostat stuck open. It was summer, so I never knew.
The ECU knew the coolant was cold, so it richened the mixture... to the point that the catalytic converter plugged.
Yeah, I'll take a "cold" light, thanks.
I've had my Mazda3 for 5 years ('07 S model hatch with 2.3 and 5 speed manual). The AC has been in the weak side since new. They're all that way, as I understand it.
I agree that the A pillars obstuct visibility. I am used to it, for the most part. I'm still occasionally surprised by something that suddenly enters my field of vision when I roll forward 6" or so.
Mine has a proper temp gauge, and no blue light. That may be a 2nd gen thing, or something on the entry sedan models.
Everything else you descibe I would probably chalk up to the treatment that individual car has received.
i've had my '12 mazda3 wagon for a couple months now.
i'm not a fan of the brakes. i will be upgrading pads as soon as i can justify it.
i expect you must have had the base model engine? even my skyactiv one is totally adequate, and will roll right past 80 mph if i'm not being attentive. i've definitely had worse electronic throttles too.
i would much rather have a REAL temp needle, and a REAL oil pressure gauge. oh well.
don't know what was wrong with your A/C. i have to turn mine down on 100 degree days. even yesterday at 95 degrees i had the fan on the slowest speed and was borderline uncomfortably cold.
Just curious what the OP uses as a daily driver?
Everyone blames throttle by wire for crappy throttle response, but it's really just a scapegoat for... Crappy throttle response. I had a boost/vac gauge in my ms3, which everyone said had slow throttle response because of the dbw, but the vac would go to zero with basically no delay when I hit the pedal.
stuart in mn wrote: Pretty much every new car these days have really thick A pillars, there's not much you can do about that. Blue 'engine cold' lights have been around for a long time, at least since the early 1960s.
I think we're going to see that trend reverse--and have already seen it somewhat. If I remember my press introductions correctly, the increased roll-over specs caused those super-thick A-pillars. However, new high-strength steels are now allowing thinner A-pillars. In fact, the latest Civics and Imprezas have thinner A-pillars than their predecessors.
I pondered the blue coolant light, too, but apparently the average motorist heeds the blue light more than a gauge when it comes to allowing a car to properly warm up. Think about any temp gauge in a late-model car. It only seems to have three positions: cold, proper operating temp and sizzle. I think they ceased being real gauges a long time ago.
I have a '12 S-Touring with the 2.5L/5MT, and the wife has a '10 with the old 2.0L/5AT. Both cars have been great so far; I've had mine for almost a year, and she's had hers for a year and a half.
The '10 handles really well compared to the other small cars we've had/driven, but the stock tires were terrible. Once we put better tires on it, the handling was even better. She's got over 50k on the stock brakes and they still feel good.
My '12 is a better handling/stopping car than my former 2009 WRX that had wider wheels and upgraded brake pads. It has very good throttle response for a throttle by wire car, or any car, actually. There's no stupid delay or rev-hang like my WRX had.
Yep, what David said. I've driven several newly launched vehicles whose press releases emphasized the thinner high-strength steel A-pillars. I don't recall the 3 being particularly odious, in fact I thought it would make a highly liveable beater...
I sat in a 3 at the NE auto show and it felt so cheep and tinny that I have never considered it as a viable car for me since. Guess I should drive one some time to see if my first impression still stands.
Op daily is a re-worked All-Trac corolla. Throttle works fine... a second or two after I want it. The A/C worked...
Sorry about you blue light special people... if you are too daft to know the engines cold... driving is too complicated for you..... get a bike or ride the bus.
Op also owns AE 86 GTS. And hotrod AE71
oldeskewltoy wrote: Hi all On a short vacation, and we are renting a Mazda 3 with a trunk. Auto equipped. Visibility: sucks. Huge A pillars, rear side pillars block a lot.. Drove about 100 miles so far. Brakes fair... not predictable stopping - they seem to bite more as heated. Tough to modulate. I HATE throttle by wire - response sucks. A/C works ok More to come as the week goes on. Oh...are the engineers expect such stupid owners Wtf do I need a blue temp indicator to tell me the engige isn't warmed up yet??????
I am going to go out on a limb and guess that you tend to be a "Glass Half Empty" kind of person.
You seem to have rather high expectations for the appliance section of the automotive market. While appliance cars are not aimed at people looking for "fun" in the car, but just transportation, I would say the Mazda 3 is more slanted in the fun direction that just about any of its direct competitors.
oldeskewltoy wrote: Sorry about you blue light special people... if you are too daft to know the engines cold... driving is too complicated for you..... get a bike or ride the bus.
haha... dude, relax.
Well at least it has a light. My 2011 Fiesta does have an overheat light. Wonder what temperature it comes on.
haha... dude, relax.
lol. i was thinking the same thing.
It might be instructive to all of us if we knew your yardstick. What are you comparing the new 3 against?
VW's reason for the blue light: the ECU did several pieces of (over engineered and unreliable) German magic with a cold engine which reduced power output and also changed the transmission's shift pattern, both intended to warm the catalytic converter up quickly. The manual said to expect the car to operate differently until the blue light went off. That would keep the picky bastards off the service department's backs, at least until the CEL became their constant companion.
As far as what my measure is.... I've already mentioned my tiny fleet of cars.
As far as my temperament... it really doesn't matter now does it? This is just my review of the car. As far as the appliance section... I pretty much assume ALL rental cars are appliances... We had a choice or ultra econ(price) cars- Ford Fusion, The 3, Hyundai Accent, and some SUV.
I chose the 3 for 2 reasons... 1) It was the sportiest of the bunch, and 2) GRM tends to think Mazda products are some how superior to the rest of the world(tongue in cheek for those of you who have no sense of humor.)
My point about the blue light special is rather simple... and might be better explained if I add that the clock illuminates "goodbye" when I shut the engine down.. Too much useless information.
Give me a tach, speedo, oil pressure, water and oil temp gauges. Give me easily reached, and simple to control stalks, and switches- I prefer to try to keep my focus on the road...
My wife loved her rental 3. I found it bland, but better than almost all rental vehicles that I've used in the past. Kinda seems like you're dating the librarian and complaining that she's not a supermodel. The question is whether she's a good librarian or not.
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