Well, yesterday I took my first road trip in the new Mazda3 and it was quite pleasant. The best thing was I went around 300 miles and only had to fill up once. It was mostly freeway and I figure I was averaging the EPA estimate of 29 m.p.g.
The car was comfortable and, with the windows and moonroof closed, quiet. I spent most of the time listening to my iPhone via Bluetooth, which worked very well. I also tuned in to the Sirius and found no problems there either.
One bonus I've noticed is that Mazda seems to have fixed the clutch pedal/gas pedal distance problem. In the RX-8 and the Miatas before it I always found that either the clutch pedal was too far away or the gas pedal was too close. The result was that when the seat was in a position where I could comfortably engage the clutch my right leg was bent to 90°. Consequently I've always had to "mod" my clutch pedal by zip-tying a block of wood to the clutch so as to "extend" it out towards me. With the Mazda3 the problem seems to have been resolved as I don't feel the need to extend the clutch pedal.
That being said, I'm still trying to find that perfect seat/steering wheel position. I generally like my seat scooted forward (I have short legs) and my seat back reclined a bit. I also tend to like my seat to be lower to the floor. The Mazda3 has a tilt and telescoping steering wheel which definitely helps with the seating position. I'm pretty sure I've got it where I want it but only time will tell.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
De-Logo'd
At the suggestion of my buddy Mike, I spent this morning taking off the Byers Mazda Subaru dealer sticker. He's right - it looks a lot better.
Burnsy - this one's for you:
Before:
After:
Burnsy - this one's for you:
Before:
After:
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Still Seizing the Zoom
But with a different car now.
Last week we got a new minivan. In 2003 we got a Mazda MPV ES. It was a nice minivan and, at the time, the smallest on the market. For us, though, that was the point. We wanted a small minivan. And since 2003 my wife has faithfully and proudly driven the MPV, though in the nearly seven years we had it we put only around 43,000 miles on it. Anyway, the time had come to upgrade and so last week we got a 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L. The Ody is a wonderful minivan. It's bigger and more luxurious than the MPV and has more features, including power sliding doors and a moonroof. However, getting the Odyssey resulted in a bump-up of our monthly budget. As a result, I decided to downgrade.
It wasn't that we couldn't afford both the Ody and the RX-8; but saving over $100.00 each month isn't a bad thing. Not surprisingly I was upside down a bit in the 8, but Mazda is offering what I felt was a great deal on a lease of the Mazda3 - $239/month with $0 down. The problem (for me) is the deal is on a base Mazda3 S hatchback with automatic transmission and absolutely no options. I needed - okay, "needed" is a strong word - I wanted a moonroof and I wanted manual transmission. Fortunately, Byers Mazda, the dealership from which I've now bought or leased somewhere in the neighborhood of eight or nine cars, had one exactly to spec, with the addition of Sirius satellite radio. The Sirius only added a couple hundred dollars to the price and included a free six-month subscription. And even with the Sirius and my negative equity we're still saving over $100.00 per month.
But here's the thing - the car's white. I've never owned a white car and, quite frankly, I've never been a huge fan of them either. But for some reason I took a liking to the Mazda3 in white. It's a sharp white - crystal white pearl mica. Theoretically it's a cooler (temperature-wise) car since white reflects the light. White also hides dirt better - or so I've heard.
Specs on the car are as follows: engine is a 2.5L 4-cylinder making 167 HP and 168 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4,000 RPM. As noted above it has factory-installed Sirius satellite radio. It also has integrated Bluetooth which includes both handsfree calling and streaming Bluetooth audio. This is great because it allows me to play my iPhone through the stereo without any wires. It's got the Bose/6 cd changer/moonroof package as well. The pearl paint also costs a bit extra.
Anyway - here it is: a 2010 crystal white pearl mica Mazda Mazda3 S hatchback.
So I'm still seizing the zoom. The Mazda3 is peppy with 168 hp. No, it's not the RX-8 but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The 3 uses regular gas and gets much better mileage. There's more room in the back seats and more room in the trunk/hatch. Overall, I'm quite pleased with my decision and I'm sure I'll be even more pleased with it when the time comes to pay the bills.
Last week we got a new minivan. In 2003 we got a Mazda MPV ES. It was a nice minivan and, at the time, the smallest on the market. For us, though, that was the point. We wanted a small minivan. And since 2003 my wife has faithfully and proudly driven the MPV, though in the nearly seven years we had it we put only around 43,000 miles on it. Anyway, the time had come to upgrade and so last week we got a 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L. The Ody is a wonderful minivan. It's bigger and more luxurious than the MPV and has more features, including power sliding doors and a moonroof. However, getting the Odyssey resulted in a bump-up of our monthly budget. As a result, I decided to downgrade.
It wasn't that we couldn't afford both the Ody and the RX-8; but saving over $100.00 each month isn't a bad thing. Not surprisingly I was upside down a bit in the 8, but Mazda is offering what I felt was a great deal on a lease of the Mazda3 - $239/month with $0 down. The problem (for me) is the deal is on a base Mazda3 S hatchback with automatic transmission and absolutely no options. I needed - okay, "needed" is a strong word - I wanted a moonroof and I wanted manual transmission. Fortunately, Byers Mazda, the dealership from which I've now bought or leased somewhere in the neighborhood of eight or nine cars, had one exactly to spec, with the addition of Sirius satellite radio. The Sirius only added a couple hundred dollars to the price and included a free six-month subscription. And even with the Sirius and my negative equity we're still saving over $100.00 per month.
But here's the thing - the car's white. I've never owned a white car and, quite frankly, I've never been a huge fan of them either. But for some reason I took a liking to the Mazda3 in white. It's a sharp white - crystal white pearl mica. Theoretically it's a cooler (temperature-wise) car since white reflects the light. White also hides dirt better - or so I've heard.
Specs on the car are as follows: engine is a 2.5L 4-cylinder making 167 HP and 168 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4,000 RPM. As noted above it has factory-installed Sirius satellite radio. It also has integrated Bluetooth which includes both handsfree calling and streaming Bluetooth audio. This is great because it allows me to play my iPhone through the stereo without any wires. It's got the Bose/6 cd changer/moonroof package as well. The pearl paint also costs a bit extra.
Anyway - here it is: a 2010 crystal white pearl mica Mazda Mazda3 S hatchback.
So I'm still seizing the zoom. The Mazda3 is peppy with 168 hp. No, it's not the RX-8 but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The 3 uses regular gas and gets much better mileage. There's more room in the back seats and more room in the trunk/hatch. Overall, I'm quite pleased with my decision and I'm sure I'll be even more pleased with it when the time comes to pay the bills.
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