I drive around town in a 96′ Mazda 626. I’ve had the car for many years. We purchased it used but it had low miles and it was in great shape.
My husband’s car is “younger” than my car (his is an 03′) yet his car always seems to have more problems then mine.
Even though my Mazda has seen better days it’s still running and gets me from “point A to point B”.
Recently I had the opportunity to try out a brand new Mazda – a 2015 Mazda Mazda3 s Grand Touring (4 door) Sedan.
I enjoy reviewing new cars. My car doesn’t have all the “bells and whistles” like new cars do – especially things that are standard these days. My car doesn’t even have a CD player! I still have to listen to cassette tapes (I have a lot of them too).
First let me tell you about my first impression of the 2015 Mazda Mazda3 s Grand Touring. I LOVE the look of this car. It has a sporty appearance to it, which I like. It’s not a very big car. It’s a compact size but not too compact where your passengers feel like they are driving around in a sardine can.
I’m a “plus size” woman. Sometimes I don’t feel very comfortable in cars because of the way the seats are made. When I drive my husband’s car, for example, the piece where you snap the seat belt into always digs into my hip. I also don’t like the shape of his car seats. My car however fits me fine.
The seats in the 2015 Mazda Mazda3 s Grand Touring are very comfy. I even like the support on my back. When you are driving a car you want to be comfortable.
I was also the passenger in the car and I was equally as comfortable with the passenger side seat.
The backseat is a bit snug for people with long legs. My son is tall and has long legs. Thankfully I’m short so I was able to push the passenger seat up more to give him more leg room (he had to sit behind me in the passenger side of the car). You may want to keep that in mind if you have a child with long legs and/or who is tall. My daughter is petite and she was fine in the backseat. My son fit fine in the front passenger seat too. It was just the backseat he found a bit snug.
The 2015 Mazda Mazda3 s Grand Touring is not without it’s “bells and whistles”.
The car comes with a display screen on top of the dashboard, not built into the dashboard like some cars. The display helps you to control many aspects of the car. It’s very “user friendly” and you can navigate through the options with a swipe of your finger and pressing areas on the screen with your finger.
You can connect with various apps with the press of the screen (apps like Pandora and even Yelp). You can also control navigation (GPS) so you know where you are and how to get to your destination.
The car is set up for Bluetooth so you are able to connect your smartphone to the car to play music and talk on the phone.
My favorite feature is the music. The sound system in the 2015 Mazda Mazda3 s Grand Touring is AWESOME! Whether you are listening to the radio or music from your smartphone the sound quality is crystal clear. It has great base too. I like a little “thump, thump” when I am listening to music in the car by myself (I wouldn’t have music too loud with others in the car).
It did take me a bit to get used to the display being “on” the dashboard rather than built in but after a few days I didn’t notice it anymore.
You can also control some of the features with buttons and a dial found on the part between the front passengers (for the life of me I can’t remember the technical name for that space). The controls can also be found on the steering wheel.
One feature that I have never experienced before is the “above” the dashboard MPH display. Instead of glancing down at your dashboard to see how fast you are going you can keep your eyes straight ahead (and one the road) because your speed is displayed more at “eye level” with your view of the road (for lack of a better description).
There is a small, clear, plastic-like screen that pops up when you turn the car on. You speed is digitally displayed on it when you are driving.
This feature took me the longest to get used to. I’ve been driving for nearly 30 years and I’m so used to looking down on my dashboard to see how fast I am going. I think if I had the car longer then a week I’d eventually get used to it. Thankfully your speed is also displayed on your dashboard the “old fashioned” way.
This car had a sunroof too. I love sunroofs! I wish my current card had one. And it had a key-less start up option (just press a button and your car starts – I love it!).
I liked how this car drove. It has GREAT pick up. When merging into traffic the car rides so smooth. You don’t even notice it when you have to accelerate a bit (to mere into traffic to make sure you are going to appropriate speed). There is no hesitation or “bucking”.
I drove this car both on town roads and highway roads. The car feels right at home in either driving situation. The ride is smooth and quiet. It’s a great ride.
My husband was impressed with the car’s performance too. He took the car to work with him one day. He has a lot of steep mountain roads to deal with and he liked how the car handled all the “ups and downs” of the mountain roads. He didn’t notice any hesitation in the car or “bucking” either. Just a nice, smooth ride.
It did well with gas consumption too. With my car I have to fill up almost once a week – and I barely go anywhere. This car seemed to get better gas mileage. It’s estimated that the car gets 28 MPG city and 38 MPG highway miles. My job is about 14 miles (round trip) so you can see how long I can go with this car before having to fill up again.
I am NOT a car aficionado. I don’t know about the techie stuff like horsepower, engines and mechanical stuff like that. I can only explain things in “layman’s terms”. If you want to mechanical details for this car you can visit the Mazda website, Mazda.com. The brand is also on Facebook and Twitter.
Overall I really like the car. It has a great, sporty look to it. I love how smoothly it drives and all the wonderful features it comes with. The only thing I would ask for is a bit more leg room for backseat passengers and maybe a wee bit bigger trunk.
Believe it or not this beauty STARTS at under $20,000. In this day and age it’s hard to find quality cars with a starting point under $20,000 these days. Of course the more features you add the more the costs. The car I had was fully stocked with features so it cost a lot more.
As a current Mazda driver I am very impressed by the 2015 Mazda Mazda3 s Grand Touring 4-door sedan.
Kimberly
*I received a loaner for free. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.