Virusdoc asked what I thought about my new Mazda3 after nearly 3 months of ownership. Rather than replying in the comments there, I thought I’d write a little ‘review’.
First things first, I absolutely love the car. It’s a joy to look at, inside and out, and to drive. I’ve put on about 4,200 miles in 2.5 months and have not had any major problems with it to date. The kids think it’s cool and want to go everywhere in it, but when it’s all 5 of us we still take the Odyssey. Three kids in the back seat of a compact car is just too much temptation for discord. They love having their own power window button (the Escort had cranks), the interior lights that fade on and off and the fact that it greets you with a jaunty ‘Hello!’ on the radio when you start it up.
Here’s what I like:

• Looks
  There’s no car on the road, particularly in this price range, that is more distinctive that the Mazda3, particularly the 5 door. I love not seeing another car like mine every day, sometimes not even every week. It’s a little ironic, since everyone seems to love this car. People that I didn’t think cared 2 hoots about cars have commented on it, yet few are buying. Go figure.
• Performance
  In this case it’s mostly handling since acceleration, though more than adequate, is not it’s strong suit. But it’s more than just handling, its the feel of the steering, the crisp & precise shifter and the raspy snarl of the exhaust. This is a micro-wagon with attitude.
• Interior
  The interior of this car makes it feel more expensive than it is. Just the right textures and fabrics, pleasing shapes, well thought out part lines, complete instrument lighting (including the steering wheel buttons & driver’s door controls), tilt and telescoping wheel and on and on. There are tons of storage compartments inside as well, pockets in all 4 doors, 6 cup holders, a double storage compartment in the console and a 2 tier glove box big enough for an 8.5 x 11 notebook.
  Additionally, I love the airbag design. Maybe this is common to all new cars, I don’t know. My 1999 Odyssey has a single stage airbag designed for a 200+ pound, unbelted male. My wife is 4′ 10″ and well under 200 pounds. She sits very close to the wheel, so I pulled the plug on the airbag. In the 3, not only does the telescoping wheel let her get the airbag farther away, it has a dual stage design that deploys with less force based on seat position. On the passenger side, the airbag turns itself off it there is no passenger or if it senses a passenger lighter than something like 70 pounds. That means when it’s just me and the 3 girls, the 9 or 11 year old (they’re both about the same size) can ride up front in safety.
• Hatchback Design
  I love hatchbacks. Since I’ve been buying cars I’ve owned four: 1980 Chevy Monza, 1988 Nissan Pulsar, 1993 Escort and now the 3 . You get a sportier look and the versatility of those flip down seats when you need to carry something big. With the 3, though, Mazda went a few steps beyond. The cargo cover is hinged in the center allowing access to the trunk from the back seat. The cargo area has 6 or 8 tie down hooks for securing cargo. Under the cargo floor is a shallow tray with recesses for the jack handle and lug wrench plus two other compartments, one just right for my snow scraper. That carpeted floor board is two pieces which can be removed and arrayed in several ways to divide the cargo area, great for keeping your gallons of milk or pot luck dish from careening across the trunk on the way home. Very well done.

There’s a lot to love, but there are a few disappointments:

• Wipers
  On the 2004-2005, there’s no variable intermittent for the front wipers. You do get intermittent, just one speed. That’s the same as the old Escort and I was looking forward to an enhancement there. The 2006 has it, but there’s no way to add it to the 2004-2005, it’s been tried.
• Economy
  Actually, it’s really not too bad I do probably 75% – 80% highway driving, usually at around 70 MPH. Over the 4,200 miles I’ve averaged 27.8 MPG. I’ve had a high of 30 and a low of 24 . The EPA ratings are 26 & 32, so I’m not too far off. The disappointment comes in comparison to the Escort, admittedly a different kind of car. In 10 years, I got as low as 18 and as high as 42, averaging 31.5. In hindsight, I wish I would have at least driven a Mazda3i, only available in the 4 door. It only gives up 10 ponies but has EPA ratings of 28 & 35. By contrast, however, the new Honda Civic, with 20 HP less than my 5 door, has EPA ratings of 30 & 38, but it wouldn’t be nearly this fun or versatile.
• Aero Flares
  If I had ordered this car, I wouldn’t have gotten the aero flares. It’s $500 option that adds 4 small painted plastic bits to the bumpers, 2 at each end. If you check the photos you can see them, under the fog lights in front and under the side marker in the rear. You have to look hard to notice them, which is one reason I don’t like them. $500 is a lot of money for something most folk won’t know is there. But worse, they don’t fit well at all. They gap away from the bumper in various places. I’m going to bring this up at my first service appointment, and maybe even see if they can be removed.
• License Plate
  The knuckleheads at the dealer missed the big molded in divot for drilling the license plate holes on one side, so my rear plate is crooked. Not Mazda’s fault and hopefully, for the dealer’s sake, it can be fixed without replacing the entire bumper. As long as the two holes don’t intersect and the mis-drilled hole does not show, I’m OK with just re-drilling.

All in all, pretty minor complaints and I love the car, no regrets at all. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a unique, versatile, good looking, fun to drive and reasonably economical car.

For the gearhead readers. Have you done any bonehead things while workign on your car (or tractor or??)? Autoblog is looking for submissions here, inspired by Car Craft magazine’s Stupid Gearhead Stories. Here’s my submission:

Oh boy. Let’s see.
1 – Dad’s ’80 Citation had a bad clutch safety switch, so I occasionally started it by shorting across the starter with a screwdriver. This involved placing my arm between the radiator and the engine past the elbow. One time I forgot to take it out of gear. Thankfully it was in reverse, so I didn’t get run over when it started. I managed to get in it and stop it in the neighbor’s front yard before it got to their living room.
2 – Putting a clutch in my ’80 Chevy Monza, my friend put the clutch disc in backwards. He, my Dad and I spent something like 4-6 hours trying to get that tranny in before we finally took the bell housing off, despite my friend’s protests that he was sure it was in right.
3 – My ’76 Camaro was dead in the driveway and I wanted to get to in the garage to find out why. The problem was there was no one home to help. No problem for a teenager. I just put the Camaro in neutral and used Dad’s ’77 Cutlass to push it up the driveway. The right turn into the garage did present a little problem, but by pushing it a little, stopping, cranking the wheel on the Camaro, letting it roll back a little, cranking the wheel the other way and then pushing a little more, I was doing fine. Until Mom and Dad got home. They were not impressed with my creativity.
I’m sure there are more, but I don’t remember them now.

Anyone else got a story to share?