Mazda3 GT or Lancer GTS

[nederlande]

warranty is better for mitsu
personal experience : my mazda service at kramer has been better than heritage meadows circle service at mitsu
both japanese cars, mitsu rated lower on japanese market
looks are better on mitsu, looks more potent and aggresive
some mazda's are still made in japan which is a +, unlike mitsu

resell value for both is unfortunately bad ... in the end, choose mazda

[rys.mak]

Mazda 3..in white

[Accord_tunerx]

yeah! Mazda 3 in white , and no the mazda 3 is not a ford engine. mazda3 is still made in japan and shares the same chasis platform as the volvo s40.
mitsu looks okay besides the volvo looking front end, and the warranty is great on the mitsu. so yeah it's your pick, just go drive both and see what you prefer, it's your money and nobody else's so make the right decision. so good luck with your purchase man

[viperous]

Though I am aware of the defect for 06 models for the mazda3, I was wondering if it's true that people still try with the 07 models and leave a dent?

Damn, this is a tough choice. Thanks for all the comments, and will accept more.

[bspot]

Originally posted by waypastfast
Also consider Subaru Impreza 2.5i for a third choice. Has similiar power and is AWD!!

[takumi25]

+1 for the 2008 mitsubishi lancer gts because of warranty, features and space.

[jbabante]

Originally posted by Aleks


Lancer engine was developed with Hyundai and DaimlerChrysler, does that mean it sucks too?

as you said,,, at least its not PURE domestic so it wouldn't suck as much as mazda... in conclusion, between lancer (hyundai/daimlerchrysler ) and mazda (ford) Mazda would suck more...:

[lilmira]

Originally posted by jbabante


as you said,,, at least its not PURE domestic so it wouldn't suck as much as mazda... in conclusion, between lancer (hyundai/daimlerchrysler ) and mazda (ford) Mazda would suck more...:

Great advice, what a car enthusiast. Aston Martin must suck big time too when it was owned by Ford.

[barbarian]

Originally posted by Xtrema
The only problems I have Mazda 3

1 - auto tranmission sucks, engine not best in the pack.
2 - my right knee keep banging the center stack
3 - rear seat is too small
4 - trunk opening is too small.

Otherwise, it handles great and a great little car.


Have not tried Lancer but from what I've read, power is good but stay away from the CVT.

I found that 1) was definitely true for the 2.0 L engine. 2) was only a problem on the auto-transmission models for me. Ended up buying the 2.3L engine and manual transmission anyways.

Someone said the engine is Ford--the engine is designed by Mazda and made by mazda, but Ford also makes their own version of the same engine.

[bigbadboss101]

For uniqueness the Lancer. The Mazda drives nicely though and it's been around. Mitsu have the long warranty and it does look nice. Haven't driven it so can't come to a conclusion.

[Dirty_SOHC]

Originally posted by waypastfast
Also consider Subaru Impreza 2.5i for a third choice. Has similiar power and is AWD!!

X3

The subaru has the most power and the biggest motor!

[Eyezie]

I owned a Lancer RA for 2 yrs now ... after test driving a Subaru and Mazda 3 I ended up with the Lancer cause I got a pretty good deal on it. I drive the city on average 100 to 150 Km a day doing photo work. I drive the car like I stole it. I'm abusive to it where I take it out to oil fields and dirt roads that the smallest vehicle I pass is a Ford F150 and love making the biggest dust trail to those F'en jerks who tail gate. I nearly wrote off my car this passed winter where some jack ass in an acura spun out on a frozen bridge and turned into a pinball in front of me cause apparently I was driving too slow doing the speed limit and all. (Dude if your reading this your a JACK ASS!!!!! ... I hope you read this) I been witness to a number of accidents to all sorts of cars/trucks in the Calgary and have photos to prove it ... just pick up a Sun your bound to see an accident photo somewhere in the paper. It's easy news. Anyways I was there when that lancer was doing an insane amount of speed and blasted through the wall on Sarcee Tr. in Calgary and both ppl in the car should be dead ... seriously for all the car accidents I been to where ppl should have died. There were 2 vehicles that stood out big time. Mitsu Lancer was nothing more then a twisted pile of metal and plastic. And believe it or not a dodge Durango that was ripped apart by a Semi on Crowchild Tr. I know ppl are going to tell me there are stories of all sorts of cars in weird accidents that survive and yadda yadda yadda. I'm just telling you what I see everyday. I am happy and love my Mitsu and I swear that I will buy another one. Maybe you think its my mistake but the car has hauled ass and again and again for me. So I'd say go for the Lancer, besides over the past 2 years not a single thing fell off, broke off, no weird problems, no nothing. It is a tight car in my opinion and made best for having the crap beat out of it.

[jbabante]

Originally posted by lilmira


Great advice, what a car enthusiast. Aston Martin must suck big time too when it was owned by Ford.

well if they are... then they suck too and dude u put to much effort replying threads or googling responses... if u put more efforts in real life, you could've prolly give up the zoom-zoom and get a real ride

[lilmira]

Originally posted by jbabante


well if they are... then they suck too and dude u put to much effort replying threads or googling responses... if u put more efforts in real life, you could've prolly give up the zoom-zoom and get a real ride

May be you should spend a little time reading so you may know something. This ain't the matrix Neo.
By the way, smileys do not cover up stupidity. Abuse of smileys will only make you look even more stupid.

To the OP, since you are financing, you should consider the rate too. The current rate for a lancer is 5.8 while the rate for a 3 is 1.9.

[barbarian]

Originally posted by lilmira
To the OP, since you are financing, you should consider the rate too. The current rate for a lancer is 5.8 while the rate for a 3 is 1.9.

Good to also point out that the Mazda 3 is proven, but the Lancer is new this year. Maybe some of the wrinkles will need to be ironed out in the first model year.

[PDRguy]

Originally posted by viperous
Though I am aware of the defect for 06 models for the mazda3, I was wondering if it's true that people still try with the 07 models and leave a dent?

Damn, this is a tough choice. Thanks for all the comments, and will accept more.

We have seen around 15 Mazda's in the last 2 1/2 weeks for dent repair. The idiot's kicking these cars don't check for model year or even that it is a Mazda 3 - they see Mazda badge and kick it. We even repaired a Mazda 5. Global TV really screwed Mazda owners in Calgary. Oh, and the reinforced doors are worse, they just get kicked harder.

Check out a Subie just for comparison - can't hurt.

[heavyD]

Lots of misconceptions in this thread for me to clean up.

1. The 2.3L in the Mazda 3 is a Mazda Engine not Ford. The chasis though is shared with the Focus and Volvo C30.
2. Only the Mitsubishi Galant & Eclipse is made in the USA at the old Diamond Star plant in Illinois. Lancers, Outlanders are made in Japan.
3. Mitsubishi's as a whole have better reliability than Mazdas. We owned a new 2002 Protege 5 and it was a POS and even started to rust after three years. We replaced that problem riddled POS with a new 2004 Lancer Ralliart which has had zero issues of any kind. We were so impressed that we decided to stay with Mitsubishi and traded it in on a 2007 Outlander XLS.

I've lost faith in Mazda and would definately recommend going with the Lancer GTS which IMO is the nicest under $30K car you can buy with the Civic coming a close second.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Dirty_SOHC


X3

The subaru has the most power and the biggest motor!

In reality the 2.5i is a dawg with the AWD setup and is not only far uglier than the Mazda 3 or Lancer, it is slower than both also.

[silver_gs-R]

MAZDA 3

4 sure!!!

[barbarian]

Originally posted by heavyD
Lots of misconceptions in this thread for me to clean up.

1. The 2.3L in the Mazda 3 is a Mazda Engine not Ford. The chasis though is shared with the Focus and Volvo C30.

The European MK 2 focus, not the N.A. Focus.