04 CIVIC or MAZDA 3?

[wilcats]

ngayon ung launching ng mazda 3 hatch... same 1.6, n still activmatic. mas mtaas lng price ng konti sa S variant. somwhere aroung 730-750. dko sure. sabi lng ng fren ko tga mazda eh.

[wrecker]

aesthetically the mazda3 looks better than the civic, although the current model's facelift is very good. it looks distinctly different from its 2003 predecessor.

the numbers of the 3 looks good on paper as well.

i havent' driven one yet, so can't comment on its feel and power.

the thing that makes me think twice about it is that it doesn't have a track record yet unlike the civic. we don't have an idea on its reliability, durability, and resale value.

correct me if i'm wrong, but its korean-made right? no offense meant to owners of korean cars but to this date i don't think its quality is up to par with japanese standards.

but i do like the 3, its sportier...

[mazdamazda]

mazda is a japanese brand.

the mazda3 is being built and exported (alongside the lynx, tribute, escape) in sta. rosa, laguna.

btw, koreans are already doing great progress on quality - kia & hyundai specifically. don't underestimate them.

[chieffy]

Originally posted by wilcats
ngayon ung launching ng mazda 3 hatch... same 1.6, n still activmatic. mas mtaas lng price ng konti sa S variant. somwhere aroung 730-750. dko sure. sabi lng ng fren ko tga mazda eh.

730-750 hmmm :jump2:

[baiskee]

OT: chief, nakalimutan mo ilagay yung FHM collection sa trunk oh..maleta lang nandun eh.

[chieffy]

OT:
baiskee yung maliit na maleta tsikot t-shirts laman at panay FHM yung na sa malaki har har har

[wilcats]

Hi tsikoteers. I finally got to test drive the mazda 3 this afternoon. It was the S variant in methane blue color.

My friend from Mazda was the one who drove it first, so i had the chance to mess with the front panel switches and stuff.
The ride was smooth and quiet, just like the civic 04 of my other friend. Then it was my turn to drive it. I quickly switched to activematic mode,
and the red gear indicator appeared on the speedometer. I was like "whoa"! cuz twas my first time to drive a car with a
transmission like this. I floored it then shifted at around 6,000 rpm without releasing the throttle, and the shift was still
smooth. the acceleration was quite ok, pretty impressive for an engine with 105ps. (there were 5 us inside, with the a/C fully turnd on) The activematic really helped in pushin
the engine to reach its peak power. i heared deep vrooms inside the engine bay, specially when it reached 5,000rpm(Zoomzoomzoom!). after a couple of shifts, I switchd back to A/T mode and the shifts were smooth as silk again. But then we approached
a nice curve so i tried drivng through it with speed in activematicmode. The handling was precise and quick, body roll was kept at minimum. My GF drove it too and she
loved drivin it, it was easy to drive daw. (then i said: sympre A/T and hindi pajero yan!) hehe! So lets now go to the
interior department. On my first look, i was impressed with the design. The radio is built in with a 6disc indash, but with no mp3 capability.
The gauges felt cheap, i turnd the lights on but i didn't even see the red illumination, its hard to read ur speed during daytime. but i liked the individual cylinders that houses each dial. i also found cheap plastic around the dashboard and the doors.
I heard some plastic bangs when i closed the door. It didnt feel as solid compared to the civic. But i love the seats and the top of the dash though, the seats were made of good material.
space at the back is just right, no flat floor like the civic. the steeringwheel felt good and i love the steering mounted
radio controls. It would be tough accessing the scattered center controls of the radio when driving. A/C is fine,
compartment is spacious, Dash is a lil bulky(i prefer the wide view of civics) but you have an option to adjust ur seat height and its telescopic steeringwheel.
on the exterior, the body looked really good, despite the cheap plastic mesh grills that come with the S and V. fuel consumption is between 8-11km/L(mixed cityhighway) according to
my friend. But everything else is fine.

So what's my final verdict on the mazda 3? will i now prefer the mazda3 over the 04 civic? I dunno. maybe... i really havent
decided on that yet. I just enjoyed my testdrive and well, it felt good. same reaction i had on my friends civc, but i guess with more
ooohs and coupled with a few dissapointments. So i see them as balanced. i still have 3 months to decide panaman eh, and we'll never know,
the civic 8th gen sneakpeaks might show up in a few months... Time will tell. hehe! L just post here again when i finally made my decsion. ;)
ciao tsikoteers!!

[wilcats]

BTW, the HB mazda3 is 755,000, features the same with S variant minus the steeringmounted audio controls. And its only limited. only 20 units per dealer. so thatl be 60 all in all. kinda wierd lookin though, parang wagon eh. for me ah. pero it looks so pogi on gunmetal 17inches with skirts and spoiler. just add 200,000!!!! (no way! 2.0 knalang!) pro, pogi sobra. ;)

[chieffy]

200k for 17" gunmetal mags, skirts and spoiler!!! hold-up!!!! 2.0L na nga lang....sayang tinanggal pa nila yung steering mounted radio controls sa hatch...a sales consultant texted me yest to tell me na meron nang hatch na naka display sa Greenhills...buti ka pa nakita mo na...nakakatawa niyan eh sa Wed pa raw nila(Greenhills branch) malalaman yung price...saang branch ka pala nagpunta wilcats? Alabang or Q. Ave? ano nga pala standard mags ng hatch 15" lang? :dead:

[glntVR]

ang mahal naman nun! bakit naman 200k ang upgrade? let us say the mags cost 100k imposible naman 100k din ang spoiler at skirts.

[glntVR]

wrecker: mazda is definitly not korean. its Japanese. hehehe... and show some respect to korean cars today. they have really improved a lot.

[wilcats]

Sa Alabang ako nagpunta. ung mags kasi 20k each so dat 80k. gulong pa. tpos ung skirts 24k and 16k, cuz prang 2 sets sya eh. meron pang nkakabit sa door panel. then ung spoiler pa. mhal sobra pero gwapo tlga.:drool:

[wilcats]

Sa Alabang ako nagpunta. ung mags kasi 20k each so dat 80k. gulong pa. tpos ung skirts 24k and 16k, cuz prang 2 sets sya eh. meron pang nkakabit sa door panel. then ung spoiler pa. mhal sobra pero gwapo tlga.:drool:

[chieffy]

20k each ang mags medyo mahal pala...ano brand?... kasi b/new 17" volk rays na united arrows nasa 70k lang may gulong na na LM702....

can't wait to see the hatch...coding ako di makaalis he he....

[wilcats]

same nun sa 2.0R kya lng gunmetal... wla pa gulong un ah! taga sobra sa pricing! mas mura tlga sa labas. mron nadaw sa greenhills ung HB.

[ecbio]

Mga bro, ask ko lang yung prefer nyo, yung Mazda 3 HB (P755T) or Mazda 3V Sedan (P780T)? I can't decide which one to buy e

[marv0083]

go for sedan more safety options and much loaded compared to the hatchback

[OTO]

I think the 3 is a better choice. Why?

There are a lot of Civics on the road.

The 3 has a better auto design.

[marv0083]

not only design ive tested it and its ok and have many good feed back

its not all in the design it has good cornering

go to this site http://teamrage.5.forumer.com dyan mag basa ka tungkol sa mz3

although there are some minor bugs pero meron complaints din sa mz3 suspension pero localize ito sa 1 unit and the check engine light problem mga 2 units na meron nito

sabi raw sa first batch lang daw ito pero sa succeeding oks naman na

pero right now mas gusto ko mz3

[Karding]

When I was in the market for a Civic 2004, nalimutan ko na may Mazda 3 pala. Sayang, the price difference was only 500 more on the 3. Even the base model was rated with GOOD by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ranked first on subcompact sedan of 2004. At hindi pa super common like the Civic. pero okay lang, nabenta ko na ang 04 Civic ko, hindi na ako 'another civic on the road' driver.