Aren't we talking about the small rectangular space next to the shifter, not the space on top of the dash where the nav screen resides? ( shown in the following pic with the nav remote installed)
All N/A 3's w/out nav just have a non-functional plastic cover over the top of the dash. The first time I saw the small cubby next to the shifter I thought " Would my cellphone fit there?"
Now talking about the spot where the NAV screen would be... the Mazda 6 without Nav uses this as another glove compartment. I wonder why this is not the same case on the Mazda3 sedan? It'd be a great place to install aftermarket stuff. It would tucks away nicely with the lid shut.
I was hoping for a pop up lid on the dash but no such luck. I'm gonna try and see if I can order a dash from Europe and have it installed so I CAN have the pop up lid. But only if that is less than a few hundred bucks (ya right... I'll never get it).
When I test drove the 3s sedan, it didn't have a pop-up compartment (like the 6) where the navigation system. If it did, it sure wasn't noticable. I don't remember about the spot next to the shifter. I think it was solid plastic.
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