Topic: Noto's first car purchase

[Noto]

I had alluded to this coming, so it likely comes as no surprise to most, but I've taken out a 36 month lease on a 2021 Mazda 3 GT Turbo AWD in Titanium Flash Mica.  And while I'm far from a photographer, and picked up the car at night so I couldn't get pics until I drove ~100km back to Guelph, here are the photos you all get (still reasonably clean):
















To me, this car is so perfect.  It drives much more like a Lexus than anything else - smooth, quiet, and beautifully finished inside and out.  The omissions that would make this car a Lexus-equivalent are largely irrelevant to me: power steering column tilt/telescope vs manual, USB/air vents in the back, ventilated seats (I do wish this car had those) and honestly I'm not sure what else.

I've turned off the active Lane keep assistance as I, similarly to a Jeep Cherokee I reviewed back in 2016, find it to be FRIGHTENING for the steering wheel to battle you.  I enjoy controlling my own steering, thank you very much.

Cruising on the highway was a delight.  Initial fuel economy isn't bad - 9.4L/100km city and the highway drive back to Guelph with the adaptive cruise control on was 7.4L/100km.  Full tank estimated the range at 480km.

The power though... *purr*

I took some quick pics with the original black rims (thanks, Blueprint, you were right!) this morning but had to throw the winter rims on so both are pictured.  The winter rims are the alloys I used for my summer wheels on the 2010 Mazda 3 - they fit, but had to change the tires as 2018- moved to 205/60R16 from 205/55R16 and the was a 3% speed variance.  Went for the Nokian Hakkapeliita R3s this time - dry road handling isn't bad at all, but they are certainly noisier than the Bridgestone Turanza EL400s (which I've hated on repeatedly before and my feeling about them is maintained, but not enough to spend $1k to replace them (215/45R18).

Any way, looking forward to the kind and gentle comments - I know nobody will troll me on this lovely website 

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Congratulations on the new car.  Looks great.

I'm interested in hearing your reasons for going lease vs finance.  You and your wife have had your Forester for a number of years now, and if I recall, you had your previous '3 for a number of years, too.  So, you're obviously capable of driving the same vehicle for a fair amount of time. 

I'm not saying a lease was the wrong decision, just wonder why you went that route?

[Fobroader]

A) Welcome back
B) Sweet car, I think Mazda still makes some of the best looking cars out there right now!!

[rrocket]

 It drives much more like a Lexus than anything else -

Let's not get crazy here.

Congrats on the car.

Make sure the nuts don't fly off the wheels, eh?

[draghon]

Congrats, its a great looking car!

[TheHire]

 It drives much more like a Lexus than anything else -

Let's not get crazy here.

+1. The Turbo is a great car, but by no means does it drive like a Lexus.

Also, you didn't allude to it, you clearly said it 

Congratulations on the car; one of the best mainstream picks right now! I'm also really glad to have you back on here!

My take on the car:
https://doubleclutch.ca/2020/11/20/first-drive-2021-mazda3-turbo/

[tortoise]

Congrats, I really like it look of the 3 sedan. For me it's one of the few cars were I don't prefer the looks of the hatch.

And I really like the clean design of the interior.

[ChaosphereIX]

Congrats, the Mazda3 is one of the better mainstream vehicles out there right now.

Happy motoring.

[CSH]

Beautiful Interior

[Hannibalsmith]

Nice, congrats!

[Noto]

I'm interested in hearing your reasons for going lease vs finance.

Partly it's a financial decision about owning depreciating assets that require more and more maintenance/repair as they age.  At the rate I'm paying, it'd take 8.7 years to even out the cost between lease and finance before any out of warranty repairs or new tires/brakes are considered.  One tipping point to me from the 2010 was when I had to spend $1,500 for a wheel bearing, alignment, and someone else to put the brakes on that I had ordered off Rock Auto (another $300).  CT also put lube on the back of my Wagner pads despite me repeatedly asking that they don't, and sure enough, they were super chatty until I had to go back again to get them to clean it off.  The 2010 also needed 3 maintenance dates per year, the new one is 15,000km/1 year.  I just didn't want to have to deal with more maintenance anymore, or drive a car without cruise control, heated mirrors, or any way to release the trunk without physically inserting a key (difficult while carrying a cake, as one recent example that led to the cake falling on the ground).

Did I NEED a new car, no, but some of the toys are safety-related (the 2010 didn't have traction control, for example, and the lack of heated mirrors was a nightmare for winter).

Did I NEED to lease?  No, but I'm content to have short-term obligations rather than long-term, I don't drive high mileage anymore, smaller lease payments are easier to manage, etc.  It mostly came down to not having to do any repairs/DIY stuff anymore.

I was rear-ended in the 2010 and have been in quite a bit of pain, so not doing any maintenance work other than tire changeovers (not that those are easy on me, either, but I'd otherwise have to lift/carry the wheels into the trunk/back seats instead of just rolling them around the garage - I also do the changeover on days when I can rest for the next 2-3 days as the pain is excruciating after lifting or bending.  I just can't be doing DIY garage projects anymore).

On the topic of tires changeovers:

Make sure the nuts don't fly off the wheels, eh?

That happened ONE time, damn it!!  And wifey's friend refused to come back for a retorque - they only came off after 3 weeks and only on one of the front drive wheels on a FWD Golf TDI - I blame everyone but me

I've otherwise changed over some 20+ wheel sets without issue and a retorque

[Bubba]

Congratulations! 

[Noto]

Btw - because I park on the driveway and this has a proximity key, I keep it in an RFID-blocking pouch.  My cousin in Toronto had his Lexus NX stolen from the driveway and their outdoor security cameras caught the whole thing - the thieves just held a device to the front door of the house and then the car doors opened and they drove it away.  Pretty simple solution.

https://www.amazon.ca/Faraday-Wisdompro-Blocking-Shielding-Protection/dp/B07R4MV6XQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=rfid+pouch&qid=1607702251&sr=8-5

I tested it out by trying to open the door or press the open button on the fob through the pouch right beside the car and it wouldn't open.

Once we move into the new house with the two-car garage, I won't necessarily need to use it anymore.

[dirtyjeffer]

looks great, and welcome back. 

[OliverD]

Congrats, the car looks great!

Would look even better on black steelies for the winter. 👀

[Brig]

Congrats on the Zoom-Zoom!  Looks good.

[Hammy]

Great looking car, I think these are a great value proposition considering the AWD along with HP and Torque you get.  I was trying to talk myself into getting one of these instead of another BMW but alas along came the gently used 2019 440 and the rest was history.  Looking forward to some details on ownership after a few months to see if anything creeps up you weren't expecting and overall drivability.

Congrats great purchase!

[PJungnitsch]

Nice car!

The increased safety angle is well taken

Health is #1, and new cars are a lot safer then they used to be. A big reason for us to finally upgrade ourselves was our neighbor being crippled after a head on accident in his old SUV

[Allen]

Nice car, congrats

[Blueprint]

Congrats Noah! Nice choice and you're welcome! Happy the wheels fit the info I received 

And no, it doesn't drive like a Lexus. It's more fun than a Lexii