Little Giant Ladder

I need a new car... am considering a Mazda 3 S Grand Touring 5 door - maunual transmission, of course - with a few extras, namely the sunroof package and the navigation system. I need a small, fuel effecient car with great gas mileage (and a trunk space capable of holding the 13' little giant ladder) that isn't a snore to drive. All of my research says a Mazda 3 is the way to go, but I'd like to hear from actual owners about the cars' handling and performance.I currently drive a race modified '96 VW Jetta III... it won't take a Mustang in a straight line, but I can corner at speed with perfect drift. :) And, yes, I do know that there are much more fuel efffecient cars out there, but the journey is just as important as the destination... no Kias or any other A-B cars allowed. As in, a car that is completely boring to drive but will get you from point A to point B just fine.Thank you for your time, I appreciate your input...
- asked by hipcat

Answer #1
I Have a 1993 Mazda MX3 and I have had really goodluck with it. Right now I am having a littletrouble with it idling down and almost dying attimes. But as I said it is a 1993. It is a 6cylinder 5 speed hatchback 2 door. Like I said Ihave had good luck with it. I would Love to Buy aBrand New one when this one conks out.
- answered by Kathy E

Answer #2
What about the civic SI. Ive heard good things sofar.
- answered by damien2281

Answer #3
try the old Mazda Lantis or cozidos and tell meboth of them better than her
- answered by wcar a

Answer #4
Lemme give you a peice of advice. Rent One. I hadrented a car last week, It was luckiyl a mazda 32005 - had too much milage in just one year.about 30k plus miles. But the ride, is verysmooth, gripping, and still could do good milage.The price tag is also good on it.The reason I likemazda's over camries and accords' - they handlebetter. And I am diffreent ... I don't wanna beanother person with another camry. I like that yoylike the manula gear. Just for that You can runthe car forever. My freind has a manual... It'seasy to maintain,lasts longer then a automatictrasmission, and will easily do over 200k miles b4it dies... some cases 300k/.Good Luck I would gofor it. Try the mazda6 ;)too b4 makeing adecision.
- answered by jafferymm



Answer #5
I bought a new 2006 Mazda 3 5 door on March; itwas very nice car to drive.The car is 95% made inJapan; unlike Honda and Toyota are now fromAmerica factor.The base of this Mazda 3 is thesame as Volvo S40; Volvo and Mazda are both ownedby Ford.This "M3" is the best value for the money;I would recommand the 5 door (hatchback).Hope thishelp, good luck.
- answered by pilotinsky

Answer #6
Hey, hipcat! I saw your answer in the VW categoryand it led me here. Like you, I LOVE to drive,and I'll be 40 next week! I'm currently on my 3rdVW Golf 5-speed, all of which were purchased newand driven beyond 150,000 miles on the originalclutch. My 2000 model just passed that milestone,and since I drive about 600 miles per week, I'mconsidering replacing it and have also beenlooking at Mazda.Where we differ is that I'mlooking to go bigger because I have a 15 year oldson who's on the basketball team, so I need roomfor him and his friends. So I'm waiting for theMazda CX-7 to come out so I can test drive it. Itook a trip to the New York Auto Show just to seeit in person, and while I was there, I saw the newVW RABBIT! It's better looking than the Jetta andGTI, because they did the grille differently. Itwill be available this summer - so if you'relooking for a hatchback, I highly recommendit.*addendum*I went through the car washyesterday, and there was a Mazda 6 in front of meand an RX-8 behind me, so I asked each of thosedrivers how they liked them, and both emphaticallysaid they love the car and it's fun to drive. Unfortunately, neither of them drives as manymiles as we do, so I couldn't get insight ondistance driving and maintenance issues.
- answered by hearkat