Her + His Car Reviews
2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring
There are two sides to everything, right? To keep our car reviews innovative and interesting, we provide an animated, insightful, detailed and sometimes uncouth two points of view on the same car from - Her + His perspectives.
Her: Anne Fleming, Car Buying Advocate, women-drivers.com
His: Don Hammonds, Writer, AutomobileJournal.com
| HER | HIS |
|---|---|
| Price | |
| $28,470 | $28,470 |
| Performance | |
| The new 2018 Mazda3 showcases the SKYACTIV-G 4-cylinder engine that delivers 184 horsepower with plenty of get up and go. Acceleration is above average in its class while handling is quite nimble and responsive in this compact sedan. Riding on 18" alloy wheels help to set it apart. | Sparkling! Driving this car feels an awful lot like driving a BMW Three Series or an Audi A4. It's extremely responsive to drive input, and begs to be driven briskly--which I was more than happy to oblige to do so. Brakes and steering are topnotch. It simply does not get better than this in the compact family sedan category in my opinion. Save yourself thousands over the entry level luxury cars that frankly don't perform any better than the bravura performance you get out of a Mazda3. |
| Fuel Economy | |
| 33 mph in highway driving/ 27 mph in city driving and 30 mph overall. | 30 mile combined/36 highway miles and 27 city miles. Save $750 in fuel costs over 5 years compared to the average of a new vehicle. |
| The Car | |
| Mazda has this incredible way of adding luxury-type of value into a car that is priced "with the rest of them." It's up to you to do your homework and to test drive the car to really get what is packed into the new Mazda3. The cabin of this model is by far one of the nicest in its class. From 6-way leather, heated seats, to heated steering wheel to even color blocked heated, exterior mirrors, the blend of design and technology go hand and hand. Drivers side seat has lumbar adjustment - ahh. The car is a tad downsized and trunk space come at a premium. Spoiler added and Tire included. |
For as long as I can remember, car enthusiasts and auto writers have raved over the Mazda3, in every generational version. Why? For little money you get a little street racer that does just about everything a decent entry level luxury sports sedan does, and does it well. It has decent room, great economy, an interior to die for in a compact car, let alone market segment products several rungs above Mazda3. What's there not to love? Not a single thing! |
| Safety | |
| Lots to discuss in the safety domain: Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers. Keyless Entry, Push Button Start, Electronic Parking Brake, Blind Spot monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Tire Pressure Monitoring system, Smart City Brake Support, 4 Wheel DISC Brakes, Electric Power Assisted Steering, LED daytime Running Lights, Traction Control System, Front side Impact Air Bags, Front & Rear side Air Curtains. Child Safety Locks. Integrated Turn Signal Mirrors. | All the safety gadgets you'd expect and more. |
| Technology | |
| 7" Color touch screen display. Nice interactive Infotainment system. Multi-Commander Control, Rearview Camera, Bose® 9 speaker center point audio. Pandora, Aha, Stitcher Audio, AM/FM, HD Radio, 2 USB inputs, SMS/text Message Delivery and Reply/response, Bluetooth Hands Free phone.
In our Premium Package included Paddle Shifters, Navigation System, Adaptive Front Lighting System, Radar Cruise Control, Traffic Sign recognition, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, and Auto-Dim Homelink rearview Mirror. |
|
| Aesthetics & Styling | |
| Mazda's team worked smart to get this very design-centric exterior with its wider front grille, wider stance and lines that give it a muscular and fit appearance. Inside, it's all finesse with much higher quality materials and touch points than most of the competitors. A spoiler added in the back gives it a faster glance. We appreciate the tire in the boot - as many manufacterers are leaving this key feature out all together. | Great cool look and design on the 3. |
| Warranty | |
| 60 month/60,000 mile Powertrain Warranty, 36 month/36,000 mile Bumper to bumper and 24 Hour Roadside Assistance. | Three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a Five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. |
