Considering I had a 99 Mazda Protege I was trading in that was falling apart...hell no, I didn't look at ANY Mazda. I don't care if the Mazda 3 is 1,000,000 times better than the old Protege, no Mazda's for me ever again.

Hey...you know you can beat an RX8 in a race? It's simple...after a mile the 8 will run out of gas and need an oil change. A winner is you.

 

I almost bought a Mazda3. I had a Mazda dealer at the end of my block. It was so convenient...except that they are inept or if you prefer...they suck. They had a nice fat 4 digit "market adjusted price" item on the 3s. Their salesman tried to lie to me about that item, and didn't know much about the car other than pushing me to buy it. I went to Longo and had the best car sales experience ever. It actually went down to the price and dealer experience for me as the cars were prety much equals.

 

Mazda 3 was what I wanted first. I didn't want a 2 door because I knew I'd be hitting that throttle and eating up gas. But then....then the tc came out. I did insurance research and it turned out the tc was cheaper to insure. That made me lean more towards the tc. I immediately went to test drive it and touch it....I fell in love. So I went for the tc....never even touched the mazda 3.

 

my roommate has one so i know all about the crappy gas mileage it gets.

i voted yes but i didnt look at the 3 until after i bought my tc. after i bought my tc i started to say you know what that 3 is pretty nice. i still love my tc more though and wouldnt have changed my decision if i could do it over again.

 

my bro got the 3, before i got my car, my 1st choice was RSX, then i saw the tC then got that instead

 

Yes, indeed the Mazda3 had to have been the #2 choice for most tC owners!

 

I was initially checking out the 3 and the 6 before I even considered the tC. Also was looking at an '04 TSX. I have no issues with more than 2 doors. Just doesn't bother me. Sometimes it is just so nice to have more than 2 doors. I couldn't find a 3 or a 6 with the options I wanted at the right price, so I finally gave up on those and then I discovered the tC. Once I drove one and saw the price, it was all over.

 

I was actually really close to getting a 3 myself, but then i realized you have to spend much more just to get all the nice features that a tc already come with. The only nice 3's are the top of the line ones. The stock or lower model 3's look crappy and are damn near a kia. Plus, its harder to find the exact one you want since their are many different models and options to get. Buying the tc was much easier because i didnt have to worry about which ones had what features.

 

Had the 3 not been made by Mazda/Ford and not looked so cheap (when it in fact costs more than a tC), I might have given it more consideration. Accord Coupe V6 was #1 on my list until the tC came out, and TSX was a distant #2. There was no contest for me, though, after the tC came out.

 

The Mazda 3 felt soo cheap too me. I didn't like how it handled/brake and the one I test drove was making creaking and cracking noises on the suspension....

The (auto) TC I drove felt weak but was more my styling. I got an Manual TC and can say I am satisfied.

 

You know, rather than ask "Mazda 3 : yes or no?", it would probably be better to have a poll listing different cars (RSX, Celica, Mazda3, Tiburon, etc.) and ask people to pick the care they considered the most prior to deciding on the TC.

 

i think he did it like that bc most people generally consider the 3 the most when purchasing a tc. over most of the cars u mentioned.

 

Mazda 3 was my 2nd choice. I decided against it due to lack of standard features and because the radio would be hard to switch out in the future.

 

Get this. I have a Mazda Protege5. Loved the car until I had to bring it in for warrenty because the tranny was going. At first, I purchased a 06 corolla over the tc cuz thats what my dad wanted me to get. The day I the car into Mazda, I walked over to Toyota to see where my corolla is at. I found out that my salesperson lied about my corolla and that it wasn't being built for another week then 2 more weeks to ship it to the dealer. Then the dealership convinced me to get the tc that was coming off their truck so I said fine. They even took me back to Mazda to get my rental car. Mazda gave me a Mazda 3 as my rental as I was waiting for my TC. That almost convinced me to get the 3 since it was so much nicer than my p5 and it drove alot nicer than the corolla. Somehow I still ended up with my TC and I am happy with it for the most part besides my bad lucks with this car. I must say, I think the 3 has more pull than the TC on the highway and the 3 I drove was the lower end one....

 

the 3 is to much of an economy car and to bland for my taste. i did research on it and in my opinion it pales in comparison to the scion tc.

my other choices were the 06 civic si, nissan se-r spec-v, and the trd s/c tc. i chose the right car =) i couldn't be happier w/ my choice.

 

Sorry but IMO the 3 is UGLY! The 6 is better but of course more $. But I can tell ya that none of those get nearly as many head cranking looks and complements as the tC.