[jeffyg]

The Carsguide in the Melbourne Herald Sun today (26/Mar/04) features a ranking of all the small cars on the Aussie small car market today. I dont need to tell you all that the Mazda3 came out on top...

http://carsguide.news.com.au/news/story_page/0,8269,9080988%5E21822,00.html

What the article in the above link doesnt mention is the additional text that appears in the newspaper (next to the big 'No. 1')...

"""The Mazda3 has rewritten the rules in the small-car class and is a worthy sucessor to the long-running 323. The 3 also translates Mazda's driving enjoyment into a compact package, following the success of the Mazda6 and RX-8. Some people are unhappy that Mazda has had to abandon the $19, 990 bottom line which gave the 323 such a run in its final months, but the 3 is far to good to be used as a price fighter. It is modern and stylish, built to the best Japanese standards, and it comes with the sort of driving enjoyment you would only have found in a sports car a couple of years ago.

Verdict - Classy and tight
Plus - All round package
Minus - Pricing
Rating - 18/20"""

This is one of many recent press articles in this country praising the car... I am anticipating an interesting read next wednesday when Wheels magazine publishes a Mega Test of Mazda3 vs all its rivals. Ill be waiting at the newstands on 31 March!! 8)

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info jeffyg!!!!

And for the heads up with the wheels magazine!!!

will keep a look out for it!

 

[M6Gr8]

Thx for the great info jeffyg.Yes,I will be getting that copy of Wheel for the comparo

 

[jeffyg]

For those who are RACV members in Victoria, there is also a favourable review of the Mazda3 Maxx Sedan manual in the latest issue of the members magazine 'Royal Auto'...

 

[Steve-o]

There's also a review in the SMH. Only rated 3/5.
http://drive.com.au/news/article.as...t-new/reviews/new/2004/03/26/FFXGLXY39SD.html

 

[jeffyg]

A few points from that SMH article ...

"Abrupt clutch take-up, and super-responsive accelerator in lower gears, can inhibit smooth progress in city traffic."

He should just learn to drive properly... I dont have that problem.

"Again, though, the 3 is off the pace in refinement. Especially on coarse-chip bitumen, the tyres generate a lot of noise, which pervades the cabin at highway speeds. The front suspension can also thump and thud on rough surfaces."

If he wanted a whisper smooth luxury car, get a Lexus. Mine is refined enough for me!

"The Mazda 3 gets a tick in most of the important boxes -- performance, handling, space, comfort, safety and quality, where it meets or exceeds current small car standards."

I think thats why most of us here bought one...!!

"However its noise, vibration and harshness levels -- NVH in trade speak -- are too high, and sufficiently intrusive to become annoying on a day-to-day basis."

Agreed, more noisy than some, but annoying on a day to day basis...? BULLS**T :evil:

 

[M6Gr8]

I think with any reivew.The NVH is too subjective to be taken seriously,as one's acceptable may not be another's cup of tea or vice versa.So this is up to each individual's preferance so it can be taken with a grain of salt I will generally look at the over view of the car's review and take it as some kind of reference.

 

[Vormund]

I only really take notice of what WHEELS magazine says, those guys haven't missed a beat yet.

IMO.

 

[fiordland]

The SP23's engine isn't noisy, if you rev it hard its got an interesting induction howl though. Compared to my old SP20 its laughable to claim the SP23 is anything but whisper jet quiet.

Not sure what SMH is comparing it to, perhaps an electric powered Prius or something :?

 

[hotztuf]

"Abrupt clutch take-up, and super-responsive accelerator in lower gears, can inhibit smooth progress in city traffic."

The first time i ever test drove this car, the accelerator and clutch were fine!! Normally u need to adapt to different clutches and accelerator, but i got it first time...and i only drove in it for 5 mins..=\ tightass dealer..
then i went to another dealer..lol

I've also heard other reviews talk about the accelerator being too hard..but i think they are old men that test drive these cars.. :twisted:

 

[Absinthe]

Moved to The 3 in The News section.

 

[Vormund]

Good review in today's Australian motoring section - Maxx Sedan tested.

Only real quibbles they had (and they did say they were minor) was the narrow opening for the boot and the space saver spare.

Definitely valid points unlike the SMH review :roll:

Gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

 

[Spook]

And here's that article in The Australian. The newspaper had 4 1/2 stars, so I guess the web version somehow lost that extra 1 1/2 stars.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9131118%5E13232,00.html

 

[Sonic]

More stories on carguide:

Regarding the MZ3's up to 3 month wait in Oz:
http://carsguide.news.com.au/news/story_page/0,8269,9193397%5E21822,00.html

MZ3 scores 8/10 review ahead of rivals:
http://carsguide.news.com.au/news/story_page/0,8269,8833396%5E27286,00.html

MZ3 scores 18/20 to beat all-comers:
http://carsguide.news.com.au/news/story_page/0,8269,9080988%5E21822,00.html