"1) What are your thoughts on the leather interior on this car - I found it to be very stiff and nowhere near the quality of the RX8 - anyone got it and is it breaking in to a softer feel (I know it's a new car and most may not have owned it long enough to comment) -"
>Yeah I had the same experience I thought it was a bit stiff myself. I do know it will break in somemore but my real reasoning was that I actually used my Protege5 a lot for carrying things around in it and the last thing I want to do is have to worry about my leather being damaged all the time. The cloth can get dirty yes but it's not as devastating when it's dirty vs. leather.
"2) 17" wheels / tires - I assume they will be crap in the snow (even with the all-seasons) - any advice or experience? Can this thing be a daily driver in winter climates without winter rims/tires?"
>Thus far in Calgary I've found them fine though we haven't really had any additional snow to speak of. Overall they are adequate but depending on how your roads are there you may want to go with Winters. My Mazda dealer was selling a set of Hankook winters with 16" steel wheels for around $960cdn. I'm going to live with these tires for this winter (cash flow) and get myself a set of winters and steel wheels next fall.
"3) Color - I'm having a tough time with this one and I know color is a personal preference - but there are 2 or 3 that look awesome (Tit grey, Blue mica, and the silver) - I'm just loking for a few comments on what htis group prefers."
>This is a tough one because they do have great colours. It was probably the first time I hadn't already decided on a colour when I gave the deposit to the dealer. I was really up on the Titanium Grey but yeah it didn't look that hot dirty, once I got a good glimpse of the Velocity Red I was sold. I liked the red on my Pro5 but the red on the Mazda 3 is a whole bunch better. The Winning Blue (only blue available on the 3 Sport) just wasnt' doing anything for me. It's a nice colour to be sure but I just couldn't see myself living with it for a long period of time. Past experience with blue cars told me they were a PITA to take care of.
"4) I love the sporty feel of this car - but has anyone taken it out for a long drive? How's the comfort and noise on the highway?"
>I did, on my second test drive (when I brought the wife to gain approval) I took a Titanium Grey 3 Sport out on a good 80KM test drive on the highway out to a bedroom community outside of town. The average speeds on that highway are 110-120KMs/h. Compared to my Pro5 it's a whole lot more quiet than what I had to deal with before. It handles expansion joints and road irregularities a lot better and besides all the other features and improvements of the car it's highway noise levels and manners were pretty much the closer for me. It's not going to be quieter than a BMW or Audi but it's certainly quiet enough and now that the stereo doesn't completely suck you can hear it over wind noise (which is also quieter now).
>Yeah I had the same experience I thought it was a bit stiff myself. I do know it will break in somemore but my real reasoning was that I actually used my Protege5 a lot for carrying things around in it and the last thing I want to do is have to worry about my leather being damaged all the time. The cloth can get dirty yes but it's not as devastating when it's dirty vs. leather.
"2) 17" wheels / tires - I assume they will be crap in the snow (even with the all-seasons) - any advice or experience? Can this thing be a daily driver in winter climates without winter rims/tires?"
>Thus far in Calgary I've found them fine though we haven't really had any additional snow to speak of. Overall they are adequate but depending on how your roads are there you may want to go with Winters. My Mazda dealer was selling a set of Hankook winters with 16" steel wheels for around $960cdn. I'm going to live with these tires for this winter (cash flow) and get myself a set of winters and steel wheels next fall.
"3) Color - I'm having a tough time with this one and I know color is a personal preference - but there are 2 or 3 that look awesome (Tit grey, Blue mica, and the silver) - I'm just loking for a few comments on what htis group prefers."
>This is a tough one because they do have great colours. It was probably the first time I hadn't already decided on a colour when I gave the deposit to the dealer. I was really up on the Titanium Grey but yeah it didn't look that hot dirty, once I got a good glimpse of the Velocity Red I was sold. I liked the red on my Pro5 but the red on the Mazda 3 is a whole bunch better. The Winning Blue (only blue available on the 3 Sport) just wasnt' doing anything for me. It's a nice colour to be sure but I just couldn't see myself living with it for a long period of time. Past experience with blue cars told me they were a PITA to take care of.
"4) I love the sporty feel of this car - but has anyone taken it out for a long drive? How's the comfort and noise on the highway?"
>I did, on my second test drive (when I brought the wife to gain approval) I took a Titanium Grey 3 Sport out on a good 80KM test drive on the highway out to a bedroom community outside of town. The average speeds on that highway are 110-120KMs/h. Compared to my Pro5 it's a whole lot more quiet than what I had to deal with before. It handles expansion joints and road irregularities a lot better and besides all the other features and improvements of the car it's highway noise levels and manners were pretty much the closer for me. It's not going to be quieter than a BMW or Audi but it's certainly quiet enough and now that the stereo doesn't completely suck you can hear it over wind noise (which is also quieter now).
