Topic: CTC Review: 2010 Mazda3 GT

[UmroAyyar]

During city driving, especially short trips (<10km), winter driving is a lot worse than summer driving. That's where the 30-40% bump in fuel consumption will be noticed.

  I have noticed the increase in fuel consumption in winter. My driving in weekdays is about 7km one way, all city traffic. 30-40% increase is quite ok. I've noticed this since 2004 with 2002 Corolla and now with the 3rd winter in the 2007 Camry.

I haven't gone on any long drives in winter to compare the inrease in fuel consumption in winter.

[MKII]

I have read that for every 10 degree F drop in temperature, aerodynamic drag increases by 2%.
Jaeger, I find it hard to believe that you see little or no difference between winter/summer fuel economy.
Do you not drive in slushy roads, use winter tires, use the electrical systems more in winter eg:lights (less daylight,  rear window defroster, heater blower motor,  heated seats/mirrors , windshield washer pump , or warm your car.
I read that just bad road conditons (snowy/slushy) can effect FE as high as 50%, and  cold temperatures effect FE up to 13%.

You got some amazing tips on wintertime FE you can share?

I won't pretend to be concerned with what you do or don't find hard to believe.

On long highway trips my Altima V6 6MT returns around 30mpg.  It does that pretty much whatever the season.  Sure, I'm using the heater in the winter - but is that a bigger drag on economy that using the AC in the summer?  Sure, if I'm driving on slushy roads that creates more drag - just like driving through heavy rain in a summer thunderstorm does. But in those conditions, you're driving slower anyway (if you have a brain) which provides its own fuel economy offset.

By the theory advanced, I should be getting as little as 18mpg hwy in the winter (40% reduction).  Sorry - that just doesn't happen.  Seasonal impact on fuel economy is close enough to zero as to make no diference.

Want some "amazing" driving tips?  Keep your speed moderate and constant.

Maybe you could provide some "amazing" insight into why you see a 40% decrease in winter fuel economy?  If everyone knew what you were doing to get that much of a drop, it would be highly instructive, to say the least.

Jaeger

I did not mention personally what differences I see between summer and winter FE, I wrote what I have read as in "statistical reports" showing overall averages in the differences between summer and winter fuel useage.

You are beating the statistics 

[Honda Owner]

Odd that nobody has mentioned  that this car lists at just a hair below $30,000. Doesn't this strike anyone as a little high for this class of car?

[wing]

$23,000 is a hair below $30?

[sirAQUAMAN64]

$23,000 is a hair below $30?

Think s/he means Greg's test of the 2010 M3 S on the CD home page today. Which I did notice, but dang she's loaded!

[Dante]

Duh... The car Greg tested is LOADED. It's more expensive than everything else in the class because it has features and equippment that no other car in the class has (available).

2010 Mazda3 starts at 16K which is still $1000 less than where the Civic starts and I bet it still has few more features than the Civic, even at that base price.

[MKII]

Odd that nobody has mentioned  that this car lists at just a hair below $30,000. Doesn't this strike anyone as a little high for this class of car?

Does your question include Civic and others in the class?

My question is ,when will Honda and Toyota start to offer similar highend features not normally offered in the North American compact class

[wing]

Proof people associate small car with cheap car regardless of content.

[Ex-airbalancer]

Saw one in Baby Blue or would it be Sky Blue. It was ugly anyway

[ovr50]

Odd that nobody has mentioned  that this car lists at just a hair below $30,000. Doesn't this strike anyone as a little high for this class of car?

Frankly, NO. It's a loaded GT Sport with Nav plus, plus.

[MKII]

Odd that nobody has mentioned  that this car lists at just a hair below $30,000. Doesn't this strike anyone as a little high for this class of car?

Frankly, NO. It's a loaded GT Sport with Nav plus, plus.

Ovr50, you have mentioned that this could be your wifes choice to replace here Highlander, Yes?
I think this is a good indicator the attraction these new smaller cars with high content will be for people
that want to down size.
You don't have to give up the same features you had in your $40-50,000 dollar vehicle and sometime get even more features for
much lower cost.

[Honda Owner]

Proof people associate small car with cheap car regardless of content.

A fair bit of truth there. But I have to pay to drive such cars while auto journalists don't.

[Ex-airbalancer]

You cannot enjoy your money in your grave

[ovr50]

Odd that nobody has mentioned  that this car lists at just a hair below $30,000. Doesn't this strike anyone as a little high for this class of car?

Frankly, NO. It's a loaded GT Sport with Nav plus, plus.

Ovr50, you have mentioned that this could be your wifes choice to replace here Highlander, Yes?
I think this is a good indicator the attraction these new smaller cars with high content will be for people
that want to down size.
You don't have to give up the same features you had in your $40-50,000 dollar vehicle and sometime get even more features for
much lower cost.

That's right, wife wants a smaller vehicle that is more fun to drive (don't blame her, as we sold her Solara when I got the BMW...!!!.). The GT Sport fits the bill in that is smaller, more nimble, yet gives you all the "trinkets" and can still carry our big dog behind the rear seats (just, but he doesn't go that often, nor very far). Also, she wants to stay below about $30K.

I think the choice will be between this new Mz3 Sport, and the VW Rabbit (soon to be Golf again).

[quadzilla]

Proof people associate small car with cheap car regardless of content.

A fair bit of truth there. But I have to pay to drive such cars while auto journalists don't.

But you don't have to buy the top of the line model with ALL of the options. 

[Schmengie]

I've only seen the 3 Sport model so far, and I was underwhelmed. I really wanted to like this car, but it seems bigger and less lithe-looking than the previous-gen, and those enormous fender flares and high belt line just add to the perceived bulk. The Sport's side profile is more Pontiac Vibe now. The similarity is amazing, almost like they were penned by the same person.

[Schmengie]

Interesting - I think I'll compare the dimensions.

I already did, and here they are. Differences are noted in parentheses.

                         Pontiac Vibe, base 2.4L            Base Mazda3 Sport

Engine                 2.4L I4, 158hp                         2.0L I4, 148hp
Transmission                5MT                                         5MT
Wheelbase                2600mm (-40mm)                      2640mm
Length                     4336mm (-154mm)                    4490mm
Width                      1765mm (+10mm)                      1755mm
Height                     1549mm (+115mm)                    1465mm
Weight                    1350kg (+63kg)                         1287kg

The Mazda's actually bigger in some dimensions than the Vibe, most notably 154mm more in length. The Pontiac has a slight power-to-weight edge at 8.5kg per hp as opposed to the Mazda's 8.69. These cars are very closely matched.

[vdk]

Odd that nobody has mentioned  that this car lists at just a hair below $30,000. Doesn't this strike anyone as a little high for this class of car?

But dude the one Wing had for a week had all the goodies you need, and it was $23k - $1k for the stick.. $22k  That's more than competitive.

[Leviathan]

Odd that nobody has mentioned  that this car lists at just a hair below $30,000. Doesn't this strike anyone as a little high for this class of car?

Not odd when you look at how the car is dolled up  

From the article:

over $4,000 worth of options

I usually wouldn't care about some of the crap in that $4K but I could really see piloting this little beastie with the full load. 6 speed manual please. The front doesn't seem to bother me as much in some colours...

A fair bit of truth there. But I have to pay to drive such cars while auto journalists don't.

You don't have to buy the top-of-the-heap vehicle. Settle for an entry level Fit if that tickles your fancy but don't project on others  

[Rupert]

We have a Mazda 3 in the family...not my personal cup of tea but can see the attractions for the younger set. The vehicle has been good overall but tire wear on inside edges has been experienced and note this on other examples. It used to be that the Focus was a close platform and wondered if that vehicle had the same phenomina. Think I prefer the Focus frontal effect to this one. Actually the front cycle fender styling is a bit of a challenge IMO but it is around on other mks also.