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April 14, 2010 10:22 p.m. mblommel New Reader

The wife and I are expecting the arrival of baby no. 2 sometime in late August/early September. We now officially need a familymobile; all of us just won't fit into her MINI Cooper anymore.

We've pretty much decided to pick up a used 2004-08 Mazda3 5-door. It has to be auto because she doesn't drive stick. After doing some research I see that in 2006 they went from a 4-speed auto to a 5-speed auto. Can anybody comment on if it's worth it to hold out for the 5 cog slusher? I would assume first is lower and the rest of the gears would be spaced closer, so maybe the acceleration would be a wee bit better and highway cruising a little more relaxed. I haven't been able to find the actual ratios online so who knows.

Any insight of possible weakpoints would be great too. Thanks for help.

-Mike
April 14, 2010 10:29 p.m. DaveEstey New Reader

I had one as a rental car. Brought it back the next day and demanded something else. Got a Hyundai Elantra as a replacement and it was easily twice as nice to drive and spend time in.
April 14, 2010 10:38 p.m. RexSeven Dork

Wait for a 5-speed slushbox. From what I've read, you'll get better mileage and it has a manual mode if you need a row-your-own fix.
April 14, 2010 11:00 p.m. Vigo Reader

Well, the 4spd has a manual shift mode as well.

The 5spd almost always (maybe always, not sure) goes along with the 2.3 engine, vs the 2.0/4spd combo, so a good bit of what you'll hear about the power difference is in the engine as well.

I dont think the highway cruise rpm is going to be any different, but i dont know for sure. All i know is that owning a 2.0/4spd, i dont find the highway cruise rpm to be objectionable at all, and i think making it any lower would just require CONSTANT downshifting to accelerate at highway speeds.

I would, however, hold out for the 5spd if you care about acceleration. While the 2.0/4spd accelerates just fine once you get rolling, it is VERY SUCKY to get stuck at the bottom of 1st or 2nd (which happens both on the street and at autoX). With the 5spd, those problems would be alleviated.

Ours has been completely reliable, avg's 30mpg, and gets 35-42 mpg on the highway.
April 14, 2010 11:04 p.m. twolittlebroncos New Reader

Elantra twice as nice as a 3? Hyundai must have made some major changes since the Elantra that I last rode in...

We love our 3 hatchback with two little kids. Cargo area is a bit small if you're trying to pack a lot, but otherwise the space is pretty good. Gas mileage in our stick shift has been 30-33 with mostly highway miles. Ours is a 2004 with 130,000 miles and no major problems. Just runs. It's pretty fun to drive too.
April 15, 2010 6:39 a.m. stan SuperDork

My wife has had hers for about 2 years now and loves it. She regrets not getting the 5-speed, but her morning commute has a LOT of stop and go traffic.
April 15, 2010 8:26 a.m. STS_ZX2 New Reader

www.learnstickshift.com

The money you spend on the course will be saved multiple times in buying a "3" with a proper transmission (manuals cost less than autos)...and you (still) get a great autocrosser for HS.
April 15, 2010 10:43 a.m. amg_rx7 Reader

Yep. Fun driving roomy car. The speed has some benefits but depends on pricing.
April 15, 2010 10:52 a.m. mblommel New Reader

In reply to STS_ZX2:

Believe me that would be my preference, but not gonna happen with a pregnant wife. Trying to corral a baby and a toddler whilst learning the finer points of driving a manual is not the way to go for marital harmony. This will be her car.

Looks like I will hold out for the 5 speed auto. I figured as much. Thanks guys.
April 15, 2010 11:50 a.m. Per Schroeder Technical Editor/Advertising Director

mblommel wrote: Believe me that would be my preference, but not gonna happen with a pregnant wife. Trying to corral a baby and a toddler whilst learning the finer points of driving a manual is not the way to go for marital harmony. This will be her car.

Dood, it won't be grassroots if you don't make her a Locost made out of a BMW E30, and Bobzilla will probably require some Hyundai parts thrown in the mix.
April 15, 2010 2:46 p.m. BradLTL Reader

I inherited our '04 3s with the 4spd auto box when I traded my P-car for the wife's mom-mobile (Touareg).

While I can't compare the 2 models, I can tell you that I don't mind driving the 3 as a daily driver. It's comfortable, reasonably quick, cruises the interstate at 80 without any compliant and gets well over 30mpg.

It's a FWD, so it torque steers a bit. I've played with the manu-matic a couple of times but almost always live it in the spot labeled "D". It's pretty good in most street corners for a sedan.

The only issue we've had was replacing the engine and transmission mounts.
April 15, 2010 3:36 p.m. RexSeven Dork

I hear you on the engine mounts. The stock engine mounts are way too weak for the 2.3L turbo. I recently replaced the stock rear engine mount in my 'Speed3 with a stiffer Custom Performance Engineering 75-durometer mount and it's gotten rid of a ton of wheel hop and shifter slop.

Are they so weak they can't handle the N/A engines' power either?
April 15, 2010 3:39 p.m. Capt Slow HalfDork

Hmm... the speed6 mounts are week too.
April 15, 2010 4:55 p.m. twolittlebroncos New Reader

In reply to RexSeven:

Yes.
April 15, 2010 5:08 p.m. bluesideup New Reader

I used to have an '05 with the 4 speed auto and it sucked. The car was really over geared and felt slow. By comparison we have Mazda5 with the 5 speed auto and it feels much faster even though it weighs a little more. The 5 speed auto gives an increase of about 2-3mpg on the highway and 1mpg in town.

They are a really fun vehicle to drive, even in microvan form.
April 15, 2010 7:21 p.m. Racedreamer New Reader

Mazda 3 hatch FTW!! I beat on mine daily and it keeps coming back for more very day without a peep.
April 15, 2010 8:11 p.m. pres589 Reader

What is it with Mazda and sloppy motor mounts on the FWD stuff?
April 15, 2010 8:52 p.m. RexSeven Dork

The passenger-side engine mount on the MS3 has "FoMoCo" stamped on the metal part and the rear mount has a U-shaped cutout in it. I let Mazdax605 test-drive my MS3 and told him a stiffer rear engine mount (or at least an insert to fill the U-shaped hole ) is practically essential for this car.

In reply to Capt Slow:

Try one of these motor mounts:

http://www.cp-e.com/2034.html?open=75
http://www.streetunit.com/MAZDASPEED_6_Motor_Mount_p/sum6admm.htm

A rear motor mount shouldn't take more than 45 minutes to install. I didn't even need to support the engine on my MS3. I have an aggressive 75-durometer mount that took about 400 miles to break in. After the break-in period I can only feel vibes when the A/C kicks in, and even then they're not strong enough to bother me.
April 16, 2010 3:00 p.m. Racedreamer New Reader

I also installed a new rear mount on mine (Mz3). Its a great mod and cheep to. Makes a big difference when using a manual trans. Install is a cake walk.
April 16, 2010 8:01 p.m. Tyler H Dork

DaveEstey wrote:

I had one as a rental car. Brought it back the next day and demanded something else. Got a Hyundai Elantra as a replacement and it was easily twice as nice to drive and spend time in.

I had one as a rental and it was the best rental car I've ever gotten, with the exception of the G35. Different strokes, I guess. I'm a big fan of the Mazda 3 for an everyday car.
April 16, 2010 9:26 p.m. Sonic Dork

My girlfriend has an 07 3 s sport hatch, 5 spd. It just rolled over 60k miles and has been completely trouble free. Still on the original brake pads all around, still a ball to drive, super practical, gets great gas mileage (27 - 32mpg), comfortable, easy to work on, it really does a perfect job as our "practical and economical" car, to compliment the gas sucking beast of a Land Rover, track bitch of a Miata, and classic cruiser MGA.
April 16, 2010 11:03 p.m. Buzz Killington Reader

the hatch comes only with the 2.3L.

i had a 2010 hatch as a rental car recently (2 miles on the odo when i got it).

really, REALLY nice. it was easily as comfortable and relaxed on the highway as a midsize car from 5-8 years ago. i wouldn't hesitate to hop in one for a cross-country drive.
April 16, 2010 11:30 p.m. amg_rx7 Reader

pres589 wrote:

What is it with Mazda and sloppy motor mounts on the FWD stuff?

Same issue on the Mini
April 17, 2010 11:19 a.m. Vigo Reader

I used to have an '05 with the 4 speed auto and it sucked. The car was really over geared and felt slow. By comparison we have Mazda5 with the 5 speed auto and it feels much faster even though it weighs a little more. The 5 speed auto gives an increase of about 2-3mpg on the highway and 1mpg in town.

I have a hard time believing that a mazda 5 with a 2.3/5spd auto would see that gain over our 2.0/4spd 3.

Adding those to our numbers would mean the 5 would get 32mpg city and possibly 45 highway. Is that happening?

I actually LOVE the 5 and would love to swap out our 3 for a 5, but one of the main things keeping me from seriously considering it is the mileage DROP, not gain. Ive rarely heard of anyone getting much over 30 out of a 5 on the highway, while ours avg's 30 and has touched 42 on highway.

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