'18 Mazda 3 Touring, 6 week review

As many of you know, I had to trade the 135 ASAP, so went back to one of my favorite manufacturers for a nice, cheap, fuel efficient commuter car for awhile. Picked it up at the end of June, '18 Touring (leather, but no BOSE/Sunroof package but I didn't have time to shop much) 33k miles, $15k. 

The Touring/Grand Touring have the larger 2.5 vs the 2.0 in the Sport model. It's plenty torquey, no problem getting away quickly or passing on the highway. I like that it has a well-programmed and nicely shifting 6-spd Auto instead of a CVT. I also think it looks pretty good for being an entry-level, 4 door commuter. 

The interior is a pretty nice place to be, well laid out, and there are still buttons for the HVAC/Heated seats, vs all touchscreen. The "infotainment" is a bit aggravating on how you change radio stations, etc, it's a bit slow at times as well. The info center is really the only thing I can really complain about in regards to the car. I may look into adding Android Auto at some point as I see myself keeping this car until at least next Fall. 

It's quite a comfy ride, but not as athletic as say, the '10 Mazda 3 my ex-wife had. It will still turn decently, but it takes longer to "set," and all that jazz. But with the crummy Oklahoma roads and all surface street commute, I prefer the comfort over a "sportier" ride. 

I don't have "measured" MPG numbers yet. I know on the dash it tells me pretty good steady state numbers, but I drive so little, in 3.5 weeks and 200 miles, I still have more than a 1/4 tank left.........and that is all city miles.

All-in-all, if you're looking for a nice, cheapish, commuter car with room for adults and a surprisingly large trunk, a 14-18 model with the 2.5 is a great choice.

This is Mazda no. 4 for me. '90 Miata track rat, '10 MazdaSpeed 3 (yes my ex-wife and I at one point both had '10 Mazda 3s I just had the fun one), '06 Miata, and now this one.

Depending on how things look next fall, I may end up with a '20 Miata.

My wife had a 2012 manual 6-speed with the 2.5, but the road noise was pretty bad.  She ended up trading it for a v6 Accord.  Have they got the road noise under control in the new ones?

Very happy with our 2019 CX-9.  Been meaning to write a review of sorts, but haven't.

Definitely. There was not an appreciable change from the 135i on run flat, Michelin Super Sports, to the Mazda 3 on whatever Dunlop all-season it's riding on.

z31maniac said:

 I like that it has a well-programmed and nicely shifting 6-spd Auto instead of a CVT. I also think it looks pretty good for being an entry-level, 4 door commuter. 

the Key with the car is the fact that it still has the torque converter. I watched video beyond video about it when i started at Mazda in 2014 because it was in the process of being rolled out to all their cars. 

the torque converter gets the car off the line smoothly and the car then engages the lockup clutch to get rid of the efficiency loss and performance drivability loss. I loved it in my 2016 mazda 6, that was the single best daily driver I ever had. 

spacecadet said:

z31maniac said:

 I like that it has a well-programmed and nicely shifting 6-spd Auto instead of a CVT. I also think it looks pretty good for being an entry-level, 4 door commuter. 

the Key with the car is the fact that it still has the torque converter. I watched video beyond video about it when i started at Mazda in 2014 because it was in the process of being rolled out to all their cars. 

the torque converter gets the car off the line smoothly and the car then engages the lockup clutch to get rid of the efficiency loss and performance drivability loss. I loved it in my 2016 mazda 6, that was the single best daily driver I ever had. 

I tried to talk my girlfriend into a Mazda 6, 2 years ago when we got rid of her Smart Car.  But she refused since my ex-wife had a '15 Mazda 6 Grand Touring w/ efficiency package or whatever (every single option possible). That was a damn nice commuter vehicle. 

I'm closing in on a year since buying my '18 Mazda3 hatchback.  I got the Sport model, with the 2.0 and the 6 speed manual.  I paid 16K + taxes and fees for mine with 192 miles on the odometer.  It's now got almost 17,000, averaging 37 mpg with my very heavy foot.  Very, very happy with it.  The info-screen is a little laggy, as you note, and it's occasionally irritating that it has no touch-screen functionality while the car is in motion, but I like the joyknob control panel overall so its not a bad compromise.  

Even on the OEM LRR tires, it's plenty fun to toss around.  IIRC there's some sort of torque-vectoring wizardry that basically acts like a faux limited slip.  All I know is, point it round a turn and nail the gas and, provided there's traction, it just goes.  

volvoclearinghouse said:

 IIRC there's some sort of torque-vectoring wizardry that basically acts like a faux limited slip. 

you're refering to the G vectoring control. they had just announced it when I was leaving in early Q2 2017. It's not an LSD, it's a yaw control that's supposed to help on turn in. 

I went ahead and filled up yesterday to get an idea of actual gas mileage, still had a 1/4 tank.

So for the last 3.5 weeks, all surface streets (and fairly quick acceleration to keep up with traffic), I returned 28.5 mpg. I don't think that's too bad considering the conditions. 

28.5 on 87 is much better than the 15ish on 91 I got in the 135. Since I used E0 in the 135, this also means right now the E10 87 is about $1.10/gallon cheaper.