well... ive been researching both cars and both are very good compettition with eachother. What is making me consider the 3? I found out that i can get almost any car at invoice rather than msrp. that does include the 3 and the tC but i can combine rebates with this lower price. for example, if i get the 3 for 15,XXX and theres an available for 3000 dollars off for recent college grads..... i graduate on the 22 of october so i would only pay 12k which if i want i can use those extra 3k to boost up the features to beyond that of the tC......

i am still considering the tC but im seeing a lot of complaints about it which scares me. im also noticing more tC then mazda3 these days. we will see what happens.

 

The only way you would have that 3K to spend is if you have the cash to put down. All that 3K back would do is drop your monthly payments so you would still need to save up the money. Also look at it this way, a Mazda 3 is a Focus, is a Volvo S40 & might be more that I cant think of. If you can wait a while, wait tell the 06 tC it should have all those problems fixed & only need to work out the little wrinkles then.

 

yea, before i got the xb i was thinking of a mazda 3 also, but then i found out that it basically failed most if not all of its crash tests. and that's never good.

 

The Mazda3 is a great car, but to me the tC edges it out.

After much research and comparison, I was ready to buy a Mazda3 - would be driving one now, except Mazda has the same problem as Scion...they aren't making enough with SAB. I needed a black 3s 5-speed with moonroof and SAB, and no such car existed in my area.

Then I read the first reviews of the tC. Realized I needed to drive one (and found it hard to even find one to drive, no one had one on the lot - which apparently is in violation of the Scion covenants). Finally found one to test drive, and loved it. Re-drove the 3s just for comparison, then re-drove the tC. I preferred the tC's driveability. Took a while for the interior to grow on me, but it has (still wish I could get the 3s shift **** on the tC).

Also, if you could pay straight invoice, to get a Mazda3 equipped like the standard tC (17" alloys, moonroof, ABS) would still run $18,500. Chances are the dealer is going to hold the line at ~$300 over invoice (I found that a firm price floor). And there are currently no rebates on the Mazda3 - they're too popular right now. College grad rebate only runs around $500, and you can get that off the tC as well, I believe. (But if you wanna buy a Saturn, well, you're in luck... ;))

I think the tC drives better, and has a quality edge. Also, I've begun to notice lots of Mazda3's starting to show up on the road, and I don't like the look of them as much when they're in motion as I did at the dealer. Then there's that extra couple thousand I'm saving - I'm putting part of it towards leather seats, and pocketing the rest. :D

All in all, I think you wouldn't go wrong with the Mazda3, but I like the tC better, all things considered. Check out http://mazda3forums.com for opinions by owners. They seem to have the same issue with the A/C (I think this is common now with non-CFC A/C) , road noise is objectionable to some, and the 3i seats are not that back-friendly (3s has an adjustable lumbar support). But hey, no panoramic moonroof to pop...

 

That isn't true.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Cars/3023.html

 

sweet! its got a crash vid!
like i said... im still considering the tC.

i would likely regret getting a car that doesnt have "social space" but we'll see what happens.

invoice on the tC is 15, 152 which means i can get the auto for the price of the manual.... give or take a bit.

to the defense of the 3 though... it is by no means a focus. i really dont think mazda would allow ford to make the same mistake twice.

 

I drove the Mazda 3 three times when I was searching for my next car. The first drive was great. I really liked it and was sure that there was a good deal to be had near or below invoice. I had picked out two colors I could live with and the dealer could not locate either. I let it go for a while and never heard back from the dealer. Few months later, in the heat of Houston July afternoon, I decided to go to a different dealer. They had several cars, but neither of the two colors I wanted. I drove both the manual and the automatic. That is when I noticed a real problem with the cars. When you drive the car quickly, any time you mash the accelerator pedal to the floor, hot air replaces cold air coming from the A/C. It will continue to blow hot air until the back off. I thought it was a fluke and the salesman had no idea, so I drove another and it did it too. The A/C compressor kicks out under hard acceleration. I guess this allows the engine to use its power to drive the wheels and not have to spin accessories. I had a car years ago that did the same thing but I was living in the great white north at the time and it was not that much of a problem. With our 6 month summers here in Houston, I could not live with hot air blowing on me when it is 95 degrees outside and 120 degrees inside the car.

 

How are you doing this? Scion has fixed pricing.

Like mentioned above it shares the same platform with the focus, and S40.

 

I seriously considered the Mazda3 as well. A friend of mine has had one since last year and likes it a lot. I've ridden in it and driven it. It's a great car (incidentally, he did get the side air bags, 5-speed and moonroof. I hadn't heard that they were in short supply. Maybe they're reaching the end of the model year and the new ones aren't in yet or something.) So, here's what made my buy the Scion...

1) More features for the money. The big sunroofs, the mirror turn signals, the stock MP3 stereo, one-touch up and down on both windows, etc.

2) More power. The tC and Mazda3 are very close on paper, but I found the torque of the tC to make it feel faster.

3) More room. Yes, I realize the 3 is a 4-door and the tC is a two door, but I don't carry 4 people that often. The tC has more than enough room for 4 people on day trips without the rear seat passengers getting cranky. Also, with only two people you have plenty of room for large cargo due to the hatchback and folding seats. The extra room is partially a result of the...

4) Longer wheelbase. The tC has a 2.4 inch longer wheelbase, yet is almost 5 inches shorter overall. For me, this keeps the look of a "small car" while giving you lots of room and a better highway ride than the Mazda3. The 3 does kind of "hobby-horse" over expansion strips on the highway. The tC feels more like a luxury car.

5) Equal or better handling and better ride. The Mazda3 with the 17" wheels is not nearly as comfortable as the tC with the 17s. It almost seems to me that the 3 wal designed for smaller wheels/larger tires then the 17s were slapped on. The tC seems like it was designed from the ground up for the 17s and the ride reflects that. Even with the TRD springs, the smoothness of the suspension is better than the 3, and with that addition the handling is much better than the 3.

6) It's a Toyota. I know some people say the Scions are built to a different standard than Toyotas. Fact is, they come off the same assembly line, and are built with many of the same parts that go into other Toyotas. I expect my tC to last at least 200000 miles, even if I don't keep it that long. Hell, I had a 96 Tercel that had more miles than that when I got rid of it, and it's still going strong right now. If any Toyota product would have questionable reliability, it would have to be the Tercel, and that one was more reliable than any other car I've owned. I've owned some Mazdas and have read plenty more about them (and my dad used to sell them) and I know they're not nearly as reliable as Toyotas. I was all set to buy a Mazdaspeed Protege and even had a deposit down, but they were delayed so much I decided to call it off. Reading about them now on message boards I realize I really dodged a bullet on that one.

For me, it wasn't a tough decision. If I really needed a 4-door (or 5-door) I would have gotten a Mazda3. I liked the hatchback on the tC, I loved the styling inside and out, and the features couldn't be beat, all for a price the Mazda3 couldn't touch.

 

no offense, but i really will believe it when i see it....maybe you have some special connection, but even employees at dealerships can't get discounts. unless they discount it for everyone....and seeing as how this car is the hottest thing out right now.....i just don't see that happening. again, no offense.

 

you know what im tired of people complaining about the stupidest ____ on other post like "my sunshade is fine but on this other one it wouldnt fit the side window so much and there was a glimmer of light but mine diesnt do that" i mean really 95% percents on the complaints on this bord are the most inane bull____ i have ever heard. take this one for example " there is heat coming from my gas pedal im scared does anyone have this prblem" no ____ its next to the firewall .... really i just come to these boards to see if any new parts are out yet.. but anyway i have had my car now for 5000 miles!!! and i have not yet have had one problem.

 

I also weighed the tC against the Mazda 3 as well as the RSX. As you can guess, I picked the tC and have been happy since. But the Mazda 3 and RSX are very good cars. You can't go wrong with either of the 3. The big pluses for me was the uniqueness of the tC, being a 05 model, Toyota built, and cheaper than the other two.

Good luck with your decision.

Kevin

 

I think you got the wrong message here, this is talking about a Mazda 3 to a tC. Not a complain about your car.

 

Yep... nice post....

People dont understand it too much in the USA, but tC has been built on the chasis of near luxury car (Avensis is better at everything than Camry), and scalled down in price while other cars in this price category were built off cheaper cars and then built up in price.

That is why the ride is soo much nicer, the suspension is soo much better setup and the room is so grand. Slightly tuned up tC will be very close to tuned up Celica, which is better handling car than RSX...

 

i know i was just referring to what he said about all the complaining and how it makes him want a mazda 3..

 

I traded a Mazda3 in on my tC.

 

for those of you wondering, my job has an auto buy program that allows me to buy cars at invoice rather than msrp. its not a huge savings but its better than full price.

 

Mazda3 also shares its platform with the Volvo S40, so I think it has a few luxury-car credentials of its own. (Geez, I hope I don't talk myself out of the tC just as my dealer has my car at the top of their preference list...)

Remember that 90% of the talk of tC problems is people talking about all the talk of tC problems.

I think the main mental obstacle to get over is the conventional wisdom that you're a fool for paying MSRP - automakers and dealers know how much they want to sell their cars for, so don't think for a minute that they aren't prepared to make a good profit on "invoice" sales.

 

Yeah I already said it shared with the S40. I had this big dream to get a new S40 until I found out its just a high class Focus. If it was based on something a little longer to give great rear leg room that would be nice. I got friends that are 6'+ that end up setting in the back seat at times, so the more leg room the better.

 

I think the manufacturers have given up building rear seats for anyone but kids now. Lots of so-called midsize cars don't have much rear headroom/legroom.