Ed's Mazda 3s Page

Ed's 2005 Mazda 3s At the end of November 2005 I purchased a new 2005 Mazda 3s.
Yes, I could have got a new 2006, but the '05 was a decked out "s" with the sport package, etc. and I got a good end of year deal on it.

Specs:

2005 Mazda 3s 4-Door (in Sunlight Silver Metallic)

Engine: 2.3L 4-Cylinder DOHC 16-valve with variable valve timing and dual balance shafts

HorsePower: 160 @ 6500 rpm
Torque: 150 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm

Packages:

AT1 - 4 speed sport shift AT
1AB - ABS/SAB/SAC PACKAGE: 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist; front side-impact air bags; side-impact air curtains with front and rear coverage.
1MC - MOONROOF & 6-CD PACKAGE (however, I worked in a deal to swap out the 6-CD Player for a single-disc player that will play MP3 files off of a CD.
1SP - SPORT PACKAGE: 17" alloy wheels with P205/50R17 V-rated tires; side sill extensions.

Review / Test Drive:

I'm very happy with it so far. As with anything though, it has a few quirks. I just thought I'd share the good and the bad.

Pros:

#1: FUN TO DRIVE!!!
Best horsepower and torque in its class. "Zoom Zoom" is definitely truth in advertising!
Great handling and turning. I've made some hard turns/corners in the 3 that my Accord would have overshot or slid straight on.
LOVE the optional sport shift AT mode...great for cornering, passing, and short stops.
Storage: CAVERNOUS storage...huge glove box, deep dual-zone center console, bottle holders in doors, cup holders for rear passengers.
Radio / Sound System - It sounds great. One thing I really like is that the audio controls include not just Bass & Treble, but also a MidRange tone setting.
Side Turn Signal Indicators - I cut in and out of traffic alot, but I always use my turn signal. It's great to have them on the side of the car too so people can see me coming (and going).
Cruise Control - Pressing + (Resume) or - (Set) when cruise is engaged bumps your speed up/down by 1 mph. This is great when you're going through highway areas where the speed changes (construction zones, etc.) as you don't have to use your feet at all to reset the cruise speed and can just tap the button x times. It's also nice that it has a Cancel button so you don't have to tap your brake to disengage it temporarily.

Cons: (These are mostly minor refinements, but details I'd like to see addressed.)

Fog Lights can only be turned on when headlights are on. Should be able to turn fog lights on with parking lights only.
Fresh/Recirculate Air - Cannot use Recirculate with any defrost setting.
Would like to be able to use defrost with A/C instead of Fresh air in order to keep exterior smells & fumes out of cabin.
Windshield wiper intersection in driver's view.
Where the passenger wiper blade stops is directly in front of the driver's line of sight.
So, when the driver's wiper blade goes down, this area tends to streak or smear b/c it only gets one pass at wiping/clearing the water/grime pushed there by the passenger wiper blade.
Radio Station Presets & Station Scanning...
If you tune a station using scan and then press the up/down button to go to a preset station, it always takes you to the first preset station rather than the preset that is directly before or after the station you tuned to manually.
Console lighting toggle and trip odometer buttons are difficult to locate/press while driving.
They should be located further to the right/left of the steering wheel or elsewhere (maybe on the steering wheel).
Trunk has no handle.
Would like at least a small recession that would make it easier to lift open the trunk when it is unlocked.
Map Holder not in passenger seat.
The Map Holder (seat back pocket) is on the driver's seat instead of the passenger's seat. This makes it very hard to reach from the driver's seat. It should be in the passenger's seat so you can simply reach across and back to access maps.
Radio / Sound System does not have Aux jack.
Would LOVE it if it had an auxillary input jack. The new 2006 Honda Civics have one (along with a power supply) in the center console...now THAT'S cool!
Gas mileage needs improvement.
EPA Estimates are 24-29, but I'm only getting 24-25 miles even with a lot of highway driving. Would like to see average of 26-27. The 2006 models should be better since they have a 5th automatic gear now.

Notes:

Unsure about brake wear and bias setup. I'm noticing a good bit of brake dust on the rear wheels as opposed to the front which is what I'm used to seeing on my 1996 Accord and other cars.
The suspension is stiff. While this makes for great handling and gives you a better feel for the road, you WILL feel the road and it will jostle you around a bit. I wish there was an electronic toggle for the suspension stiffness but that would probably be way to expensive.

Hits since 1/01/2005: