Mazda3 Gt Vs. Honda Civic Ex

[ronaldo]

Hey guys lookin at pickin up one of these two cars pretty soon. was wondering beyonds opinion and personal experiences. all feedback is appreciated. thanks.

[stealthy13]

mazda3

[waypastfast]

actually you should consider the new 2008 Subaru Impreza as well......looks like a mazda 3 with AWD!

[ronaldo]

^^ ive looked at the other options and pretty much have it narrowed down to these 2 cars. thanks though

[Boneyard]

I was in the same boat as you and I went with the Mazda 3.

[ronaldo]

^^ how is it so far? hows actual gas mileage? any pros or cons?

[Doozer]

Originally posted by stealthy13
mazda3

^^ I'm sure this comment was very helpful.


Everyone has their own unique needs, so it's tough to give advice to someone when you don't know what factors are the most important. Price? Power? Room? Warranty?

When I bought my Altima new last year, I took the major description catagories and prioritized them. That helped me finalize my choice. My number one priority was interior room (since I was buying it with the expectation of a family to come), followed closely by performance and price. Then came things like appearance, safety, warranty, etc. My main other choices were the Acura TSX and the Mazda 6. Price between the Altima and Mazda was close, and the Acura was a little higher. However, when I looked at my priorities, The Altima was bigger than all 3, and had more power than all 3. When I looked at it that way, the choice was easy.

Once you figure out what the most important factors are for you, it should become clear. But if it helps, I don't think you'd be disappointed with either car.

[4doorj]

i got the new civic but only lx...
i seriously love the car!!!! awsome gas mileage
i get about 520 kms a tank.... should get better soon....
ride is very smooth
and u know honda has awsome reliability and re-sale...
mazda 3 is awsome too!!!!! fully loaded price is sweet!

the only thing that i absoultly hate with the civic is the stupid headrests... sooooo uncomfortable.... i hate it!
other then that its sweet! all the little things make me love it
mp3 player, movable arm rest, digital guage (reminds me of my s2000 when im not driving it) awsome placed cup holders, lots of storage

u cant go wrong with either in my opinion

[beyondpinoy]

ionno about the mazda 3.. they have that security flaw with the door handles... ive seen soo many dented mazda three's in the city.

[Boneyard]

Originally posted by ronaldo
^^ how is it so far? hows actual gas mileage? any pros or cons?

It's good. I've had it almost a year now. I bought the 06 GT with the GFX package. I think they organize the trims differently now, but the only things I didn't get where the heated leather seats and cd changer. It does have a bigger engine engine than the civic, so it will use more gas. I don't really keep track of the gas mileage so I can't really say what it's like. I think about 450-500km a tank. That is just a ball park though, don't put too much stock into that. I think my average is 9.2L per 100km in the city.

Here are some of the things I liked better about it than the civic. The 3 has a bigger engine, it has better handling, 4 wheel disc (civic had front disc and rear drums), nicer interior, nicer exterior (personal opinion of course), more cargo space and better suited for taller people. Some other things that sealed the deal where the, rain sensing windshield wipers, 17" wheels and sunroof.

Of course it's not all good. Some of the downsides as compared to the civic are the 3 only has front airbags where as the civic has front and side. Also the A/C is a littler weaker than the civic's, but it's never been inadequate, even in the past couple weeks when it's been really hot.

Another downside to the 3 is the door problem. I don't know if you have heard about it or not, but the 04-06's have a flaw where if the drivers door is dented in a certain place the door will unlock. They have fixed it for the 2007's and they seem to be fixing the previous years if you ask the dealer (they fixed mine for no charge). There was a big rash of door denting happening in Calgary, but as far as I can tell it has died down considerably. It started in Vancouver and seemed to make it's way west.

The problem is a little exaggerated on this forum. But in my experience the only people that I know that have had their door dented is me and my friend. My happened at a train station, and the dent is hardly noticeable. My friend however parks her car outside, downtown, in an alley, and it has two sizable dents in both doors. Other than that, I have never seen another 3 on the road with a dent in the door, and there are lots of 3's on the road, and I'm looking.

Even with that problem, I am still very happy with my 3. Sometimes I think I should have gotten something else, but that something else is a Nissan X-Terra which is 10k more and out of my price range anyways lol. There is a pretty good after market for the 3's, and it is getting bigger. You should check out mazda3forums.com for that kind of stuff.

Hope that helps, if you have any other questions let me know.

[heavyD]

If you plan on keeping the car past it's 3 year warranty period get the Honda for sure. Mazda's have worse reliability than domestics and are definately the worst of the Japanese automakers (Suzuki is poor also but their so low valume they don't matter).

[viff3r]

Just to clear a couple things up -

Originally posted by Boneyard

4 wheel disc (civic had front disc and rear drums)

This is true for the Civic LX...however, the EX has front and rear disc.

Originally posted by Boneyard
sunroof.

EX has a sunroof as well.

I've had my 06 Civic coupe EX for almost a year now, only problem so far was my rear shocks leaking, but that was fixed under warranty. Great little car, just took it to Winnipeg and back a couple weeks ago and got around 6-7 l/100kms. My only complaint is the paint quality (several rock chips right down to the primer, no I didn't get the 3m stuff, but several of the chips are further up the hood/along the A-pillars/above windshield so I dunno if that would have even helped).

[Boneyard]

/\ Sorry I should have clarified, but in the price range I was looking at the civic did not have those features.

[06civic]

I had the same problem you did, I went with the civic, just because it was newer at the time.

You should also consider the resale value, Hondas are worth more used.

[boredengineer]

I am tall so I went with the mazda3 which I can actually fit into... The hondas were like trying to put me into a sardine can. Made my choice pretty easy. All in all mazda's have comparable resale value to the hondas in either case not to mention Civic's are the #1 stolen car in canada. If you want reliabilty why are buying honda? Might as well buy toyota...

[gpomp]

Originally posted by 4doorj
i got the new civic but only lx...
i seriously love the car!!!! awsome gas mileage
i get about 520 kms a tank.... should get better soon....
ride is very smooth
and u know honda has awsome reliability and re-sale...
mazda 3 is awsome too!!!!! fully loaded price is sweet!

the only thing that i absoultly hate with the civic is the stupid headrests... sooooo uncomfortable.... i hate it!
other then that its sweet! all the little things make me love it
mp3 player, movable arm rest, digital guage (reminds me of my s2000 when im not driving it) awsome placed cup holders, lots of storage

u cant go wrong with either in my opinion

what other cars did you look at before buying the civic?

[rc2002]

I've driven both - the Mazda 3 has more power and is more fun to drive, but that's about it. You have to consider the flipside too:

1. Mazda is less reliable than Honda (^ heavyD)
2. Honda resale is better (^06civic)
3. Mazda will be updating the Mazda 3 body style soon whereas the civic has already been redesigned in 2006.

Resale and reliability matter more to me. Personally, I would buy the civic.

[4doorj]

Originally posted by gpomp
what other cars did you look at before buying the civic?

mazda 3
mazda 6
lancer
fit

thats about it


wrx too, but i didnt want to pay that much for my daily driver....

i will be looking into the wrx again but to replace the eclipse though

[teggypimp95]

Dont go with the mazda you will be so dissapointed. I went and drove the shit out of one a while ago becuase the sales guy stayed behind. It was horrible. handeling was burtal, power was gutless, brakes nothing to brag about. Interior was nice but too must cheap plastic.
I am a detailer when i have time and if there is one thing about mazda that is known, is its horrible paint. You will get rock chips very very easy and could even peal. Mazda uses way to thin of paint, and to thin of clear coat. The clear coat is also way to soft making it easy to scratch or swirl.

The Honda would be my choice, it wouldent be even something i would be debating over.

[rc2002]

Honda paint isn't much better than Mazda. Rock chips and rust control are huge problems for Honda as well.