We just traded our 2006 mazda3 sedan for the above sedan. The older one had treated us well and we had no reason to change car makes.
First impressions:
- the new one definitely gets better gas mileage although I suspect driving it hard will have an impact.
- the new one has everything we wanted (cruise, outside temp reading, etc. etc.) except for mags and a split fold down seat. Before delivery I obtained an almost new set of mags from a 2012 mazda3 and had them switched over within a few days. We can do without the split seat as we rarely needed it in the old model.
- it seems a bit noisier inside than a comparable civic however it is better than the old car.
- lots of power with the 2.0 litre motor - don't need more. I did find that the older car with the 2.0 litre had plenty of power also - just need to drive it intelligently.
- 6 speed manual tran. is very slick and great to use.
- I like the shift indicator although I'm not using it that much. Also like the gas mileage readout - the old car had it and I'd miss it. The full screen readout with the bar graph is a mystery to me right now - need to figure it out before disregarding it.
- the backup camera is handy but I don't depend upon it that much.
- seating in the front is very comfortable and holds one in place very well.
The car is just that much more solid and substantial feeling - we are very happy with it so far.
I will be checking the odometer to see how accurate it is along with checking the mileage readout for accuracy - likely in the next week.
One question if someone knows offhand - what make, type and weight of motor oil is used in the car.
Thanks,
John.