Mazda & SkyActive Videos

[mazdamonky]

Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Originally Posted by mazdamonky
I too am a fairly new owner of a 2018 Mazda 3 2.5 hatch. I bought a 2002 Mazda protege back in high school, fell in love and have really been bored by most anything not a Mazda or rear wheel drive ever since. Mazda just does something with a car that I haven't had the feeling of from any other.

Is your new Mazda3 auto or manual transmission ?

I was considering a Grand Touring Mazda3 with manual transmission and soul red paint job.




I really wanted a manual. But the car was bought mostly for work purposes which has me traveling all across the state of Arkansas, so fuel economy was more important than it normally would have been. The sad part on that is many users have been seeing an extra 3-5 mpg on the auto vs manual for mostly freeway. I did test drive a manual and it was a blast. But as far as automatics go, this is a good one. It shifts when I push the gas. Sport mode really isn't as impressive as it could be. It pretty much just always keeps you a gear low and makes it more willing to shift, but for some it is probably more fun. I would recommend the manual if that is your thing and your car isn't being driven 3k miles a month. If you do end up with an automatic, you won't regret it too bad. I still have a 5 speed rx7 and a 5 speed rx7 with a mustang motor so I still get my manual trans fun on the weekend.

 

[mazdamonky]

Also, I ended up with a silver touring. I wanted a GT in white, but the silver touring just ended up being too good a deal. I don't really regret it as my payments are $50 less per month and insurance was a bit cheaper also. My younger brother has a 2014 2.0 and I personally am glad I went with the 2.5 since I am a car guy, but the 2.0 would have been very satisfactory after driving his.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by mazdamonky
Also, I ended up with a silver touring. I wanted a GT in white, but the silver touring just ended up being too good a deal. I don't really regret it as my payments are $50 less per month and insurance was a bit cheaper also. My younger brother has a 2014 2.0 and I personally am glad I went with the 2.5 since I am a car guy, but the 2.0 would have been very satisfactory after driving his.




Nothing wrong with silver. Our CX5 is silver and with a good sealant it stays shiny. The metallic has a subtle pop to it.

The 2.0 is a great motor with excellent fuel economy. The 2.5 is no slouch either and the extra power is appreciated in the CX5. The 3 does very well with the 2.0. Having a 2.5 in the 3 should make it better.

 

[miden851]

Mazda makes great cars but it is more of a niche market; still I like my 2.3l to this day as well as the double wishbone upfront and multilink suspension in the back; the car is poised on the road and overall feels like more expensive car to this day

 

[buster]

Originally Posted by RayCJ
For this latest Mazda, I went with the Automatic. I have to say, it is really nice. It has a Sport mode and the shift-points are very pleasing and intuitive -also very smooth. This trans has a unique feature whereby it has a torque converter and a clutch. The torque converter is used mainly to start moving and for the rest of the gears, brings the drive gears up to speed before the clutch locks the engine to the drive gears. When coasting down from higher speeds, you can feel it down-shifting and the down-shifts happen exactly where I would do them if it was a manual trans. LOL: If I didn't know better, I'd swear that sometimes, it feels like it's reading your mind. It requires no servicing and the fluid is considered "lifetime" fluid. You can also manually control shifting if you want by slap-sticking the shifter. The Grand Touring has paddles.

I Test drove the manual. It was good -just like all my other Mazda manuals. I went with the Automatic because one of my remote offices is just off the DC beltway and on the days I need to go there (only a few times per month) it's 1hr, 45min (25 miles) of pure frustration.


Good choice. I have the 2015 3 (2.0) with a manual. It's a good manual, but if I were to buy one again I'd definitely get the automatic. Sport mode is nice.

 

[bobdoo]

I find Sport mode totally useless. It would work fine on a race track, but for street, it's too revvy. I resort to manual shifting, and DARN IT mazda, why didn't you put paddle shifters on here!!!

I always hated auto trans, loved shifting, but the CX-5's auto shifts exactly when *I* would. First is low and quick, perfect for towing up an incline.