2011 Mazda Mazda3 consumer reviews

Ask me again in a few years about reliability, but so far so good! Love the way it handles and the MPG is very good.

I needed a car with enough room for our 4 year-old and the baby on the way, but I didn't want to sacrifice style or enjoyment to drive. We test drove a 5spd Mazda 2 first. It is very fun and peppy and I like the styling of the controls better, but it is just way too small to put anyone in the back. I love the exterior design of the Mazda 3 and the interior is much more roomy than you would think (fits a rear-facing car seat in back and my 6'1 husband fits in front of it). We have all the room we need and it is fun for me to drive (I have the 5spd 2.0l) The pickup from a stop is a little sluggish, but it handles amazing and once you get moving, it is quite peppy! I definetly do NOT feel like a soccer mom in this. My only complaint is the loud cabin @ 65mph or over, and the base sound system is poor. I love this car, and it is a great value for our growing family. I look for excuses to drive it, and with it's long list of safety features, it leaves me worry free! I definetly recommend it!

After a long afternoon at one place on the eastern side of town,I thought I'd check a dealers stock offI65 and then go back on monday to see if I could deal with them. As I arrived I saw a car that I liked .Looking over the price on the window, a young man with lunchbox in hand said let me sell you that car tonight ,about that time second young man said we are here to help you tonight if you like . In about 45 minutes I left with a new car .I payed what I thought was fair and they gave me what my old truck was worth.

Love the way it handles turns and picks up speed. I was looking for a vehicle that didn't blow around in the wind, like my old Tracker did and this feels much much safer!! What I dislike about the car, would be the weird rubberized dash. It attracts a lot of dust, yet you can't "dust" it. It has to be washed. Also the cloth interior is too porous and having 5 dogs, their hair is already embedded in the black material. Even the vacuum wasn't fit to get it out. And one last tiny flaw. When the fan is turned off and the dial set to cool, it feels like you have the heat on. Must be the heat from the motor blowing back, so I have to keep the fan on at all times, so it blows cool instead. Kind of baffled by that. But over all, I love my new little Mazda 3!!!

After owning 5 Hondas in a row with not a single flaw in any of them, I simply wanted something different. Being as Honda is known for being conservative at least as of late, I wanted something just a little more exciting. At the same time I didn't really want to give up on reliability. After shopping all the competitors I went with the Mazda 3 HB Sport. It is great looking without sacrificing utility and a blast to drive. The standard features content is great. So far everything that was promised this car has delivered save for one thing, gas mileage. Knowing that the Mazda was near the bottom of the EPA numbers I kind of expected low numbers. At the same time it's disheartening when friends with bigger cars and more powerful engines return better MPG's then me tank after tank. In "city" driving I rarely see better then 18mpg and highway I'm able to get 25. EPA numbers are 22/29 I believe. On combined tanks I usually get just above 20. Other then that the car has been great! Like the title says, "A solid alternative". If MPG's are yur biggest concern look elsewhere. If you want a great fun car to drive around this is your vehicle!

We've been extremely happy with our purchase of a 2011 Mazda3. Its performance exceeds just about every other car in its class that we had considered, and it's interior layout is both attractive and comfortable. All of this, combined with the great fuel economy (35 mpg highway) and the 0% interest rates Mazda's been offering, it was a logical decision.

I was looking for a fuel efficient vehicle to use for work as gas prices are getting kind of high and I drive about 100-150 miles per day. I shopped around and looked at the Civic (engine a bit weak), Cruze (not bad, 2nd choice), Jetta (cheap interior, engine feels like it was sourced from a farm tractor) and Elantra (long term durability). These were all good cars, with some minor flaws but I probably would have been happy with any of them had I chose them. However, my friend suggested I take a look at Mazda's 3 which comes in a hatch or sedan. I immediately liked the styling. I know many people make fun of the big smiley face grille, but overall the car is nicely styled in and out and I find it sticks out from the crowd. I drove both the 2.0 Mazda 3i and the 2.5 Mazda 3s and found the 2.5 to be far and away the better engine for this car. The 2.0 was peppy, but the 2.5 with the 6 speed manual transmission is nice and torquey and really gets up and goes. I also drove the Mazdaspeed3 which is turbocharged and lightning fast, but that was too costly and requires premium gas. The car handles like a sports car yet the ride is not too firm. It has a small turning radius and takes curves with a minimum of body roll or lean. I average about 28 mpg in city and highway traffic, plus I have a heavy foot so I could never be a hyper-miler and get great gas mileage in every day driving. On longer highway trips I have averaged 32-34 mpg with the speed manual. I have the Grand Touring package which has leather, power windows and locks, Bose stereo and a sunroof, so the interior is a nice place to spend time. The seats are firm and nicely bolstered. Comfy for longer trips and hold you in place if you want to enjoy the twisties. It also came with headlights that adjust to the angle of the steering wheel, which if you never have experienced (I hadn't) is really a nice safety feature at night, especially on the unlit roads around where I live. All in all the Mazda 3 is a refined, fun, sporty vehicle that dollar for dollar may be a bit more expensive then the competition but it seems better bolted together and the engine (2.5l) and suspension are worth the price difference alone. Drive one before you purchase anything else, don't let the big smile up front scare you, this car is a treat.

I have a Mazda3 sedan stickshift. This car is a load of fun to drive. I was looking for something smallish and zippy to drive around town, and I sure have it in the Mazda3. Sure, some cars are smaller (small means more parking options in S.F.), some get better mileage. For me, the fun-driving trade-off is well worth it. Love: handling, comfort and ease of shift, size, quality of interior & exterior. Regrets: Standard sound system; top of dash attracts lint; minor trepidations about the smiley grille (we call it "the happy car"). I'm not much of a music person, but I regret not upgrading the audio.

This car is a joy to drive! It has wonderful pick up and all around zip. Gas mileage is great too!!! My car before this one was a Camry and I feel like I've gotten 20 years younger driving this car. I really wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it when I was car shopping, but once I drove it, I was sold. It is fun to drive and performs well. Undoubtedly, for the money you pay for this car, it is an extremely good value.

I was caught between buying a Honda Civic, VW Jetta or the Mazda3. The Civic lacked substance.. it was simple, not sporty, lacked knobs and features. The VW fell in the same category as the Civic, it was just blah. Dont get me wrong, they are great cars, but their design lacks a statement. It's just another car parked at the grocery store. The Mazda3 has great design, modern and a nice body kit. The interior feels solid and luxurious. Some people like the the front grill and others dont. In all honesty, if you dont sport a turbo charger, a big block engine or some NA performance engine, you dont need to have an aggressive front grill. The Mazda3 is a fun car and should be smiling! Enjoy!