Mazda 3 SP23s, Learn me..

[rj_astra]

but I'd certainly be pre-disposed towards getting a Euro than an SP23 (test-drive comparo's pending of course - who knows if there's some thing-or-other in the Euro which just gets up your nose even though it does everything else betterer).

Who wouldn't choose a Euro (or Mazda 6) if priced the same (and similar condition)?

[fury]

Yeah.. brother recently picked up a 2005 Mazda 6 with 130k for $7k. Same 2.3L engine, similar quality interior, shitload cheaper!

[ButtaS15]

Have an 05' SP23 5sp manual sedan. Overall happy with the car. As reported already good torque and a taut chassis for this kind of car. Only thing for me that dampens the sport pretension is the pedal placement. Spaced too far apart if you like to get funky with the footwork. As reported earlier beware of cars not serviced to log book. Sludging results in bottom end issues.

In my experience:

Pro's:

-Torquey
-Nice Chassis, good handling
-Interior (for age) better than similar aged competition
-Space - Not bad for size of car with a decent boot to boot
-Fuel economy - Ave 9lt/100 around the burbs (Hint cruises easily on the flats in top gear at anything over 50km/h)

Cons:

-Pedal placement
-Dash crack (Common for SerI model. Apparently addressed in SerII).
-Replaced water pump (common issue - leaks from bearing)
-Replaced thermostat (common issue - gets stuck open resulting in engine being very slow to warm/worse fuel economy)
-Replaced engine mount (common issue). Had Ford stamped on it so not surprising:D
-Road noise - Fixed by changing to Toyo TEO tyres

[Captiva Fan]

Who wouldn't choose a Euro (or Mazda 6) if priced the same (and similar condition)?

Well ... someone looking for a "small mid car".
7-8 years ago I found my sister, who knew she wasn't really in the position to be uber-fussy, an 8yo '95 Accord for ~$10k. She had to accept she'd have been getting a considerably older or higher-km's Civic for the same money; I'd driven them back to back & the Accord was a massively superior car in every way, but I know she still believes that a Civic would've been better (eg. she thinks it'd be appreciably smaller & hence would be easier to get into the tight-to-turn-into garage - given the cm or two's difference in width I believe she's kidding herself, but I'm pretty sure she still believes it).
It's the same logic as most people who buy an "SUV"; they're not looking for particular functionality, they're looking for a particular image or styling or shape.

[nutttr]

I'd go Accord euro too over the Mazda... I've driven my wife's work Mazda 3 (1.5 years old, basic engine model but options like sat nav, auto, etc) and I don't rate it. It turns well but the auto isn't responsive and it feels slow and road noise is surprisingly bad for a very new car... Interior feels quite average and the design isn't to my taste.

BIL has an Accord euro about 6 years old and it is quieter, faster and the auto feels nicer. Advantage is a used one is impressively cheap... From the outside they sound dreary though, but who cares for a daily? Both have been uber reliable and zero problems that I've heard about!

Mum has an old SP20 since new and other than the exhaust smelling like sulphur and going through many many cats under warranty, hasn't really had any problems in 12 years, now at 160k km of her driving with her foot resting on the clutch pedal and in massive traffic. Still on original clutch, gearbox and engine, but gearbox is definitely on the way out. It has copped a lot of abuse... I prefer the SP20 design/looks/driving to the SP23... But it is a much older car now!

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[WildZero]

That's a very good observation on the Mazda 6's. I had assumed they must have weighed a ton more than the 3's but there's stuff all difference in weight with a 95 RON-drinking extra bit of power over the SP23. Seems there's some prior shape 08-onward 6's in the same price bracket which is pretty compelling. Accord Euro is another decent suggestion, I have NFI about Hondas in general; And regularly give one of my coworkers shit for being a Honda fanboi, so that might be a bit hard to live down. But if one came up for the right price it'd be worth considering.

I notice Mazda calls for a 6 month service interval in these things. Is there anything to be concerned about if someone has serviced it at the 10,000km intervals instead, assuming none of the services were skipped?

[Bob Vegana.]

10,000km/6 months.

So either, or.

[rx213b]

Don't fall into the trap of comparing the pussbox standard 2L motor to the SP23. I had a loaner from the service department of the later model 2L BL in an auto and it was pretty gutless and boring.