# Honda vs Mazda **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079 "2017-03-26T17:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/21 "2017-03-28T04:02:52Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The CX-3 is very small ute. Even the salesman said he didn’t see the point in it. I don’t see the point in them either, but that is one of if not THE hottest market segment in vehicles right now: Chevy Trax, Buick Encore, CX-3, etc. A lot of older people buy them, due in large part (IMHO) to the elevated seating position above a normal sedan, good outward visibility, decent MPG’s, many have AWD, and that transitioning in and out of these is neither a climb upwards like into a larger SUV or truck, nor a climb down like into a sedan. The seating is about hip height so you just kinda slide on in there. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/22 "2017-03-28T04:19:51Z")
I have a Mazda 2, a model which doesn’t seem to be available in the States. That said, after 9 years and 83,000 km, literally nothing has gone wrong, on no more that regular scheduled maintenance. The CX-3 has attracted a bit of attention from me - it looks like it’d be a good compromise size for me, if I wanted a bit more\* cargo size. As I’ve stuffed a clothes dryer in the back of my 2, I don’t really see the need to spend the extra money next time around. Still, it’s a tidy little vehicle, and if you think you’ll regularly need more cargo space, give it a look. Still, I have to stress: _always_ try the car on first! I first sat in my 2 those years ago, and everything fell instantly to hand. I’m a six-footer, and I’m quite comfortable in the driver’s seat. Higher speeds? Well, as you might guess, I do the vast majority of my driving in town, so not much chance to drive more than 60kph. Still, I’ve had it on the open road, and put it up to 150kph with no problems - it felt quite composed. \*higher, basically ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/23 "2017-03-28T04:41:45Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > I have a Mazda 2, a model which doesn’t seem to be available in the States. That said, after 9 years and 83,000 km, literally nothing has gone wrong, on no more that regular scheduled maintenance. > The CX-3 has attracted a bit of attention from me - it looks like it’d be a good compromise size for me, if I wanted a bit more\* cargo size. As I’ve stuffed a clothes dryer in the back of my 2, I don’t really see the need to spend the extra money next time around. Still, it’s a tidy little vehicle, and if you think you’ll regularly need more cargo space, give it a look. > Still, I have to stress: _always_ try the car on first! I first sat in my 2 those years ago, and everything fell instantly to hand. I’m a six-footer, and I’m quite comfortable in the driver’s seat. > Higher speeds? Well, as you might guess, I do the vast majority of my driving in town, so not much chance to drive more than 60kph. Still, I’ve had it on the open road, and put it up to 150kph with no problems - it felt quite composed. > > \*higher, basically The Toyota Yaris iA _is_ the Mazda 2, in Toyota disguise. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/24 "2017-03-28T08:52:15Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > The Toyota Yaris iA _is_ the Mazda 2, in Toyota disguise. Subaru BRZ is a Toyota 86 (and previously, Scion FR-S). Only Subaru without AWD. Mazda CX-9 was basically a Ford until the 2016 model year, now it’s its own thing. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/25 "2017-03-28T11:35:26Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Mazda CX-9 was basically a Ford until the 2016 model year, now it’s its own thing. Funny how that comes full circle. The (older) Fusion and Edge, although “Ford” designs, were actually created by Mazda back when Ford owned enough of Mazda to matter. It’s probably more accurate to say that the Fusion and Edge were basically Madzas (specifically the Mazda 6), rather than the other way around. (Current Fusion is evolved from Ford of Europe, and Edge has evolved away, too.) ---
**Author:** ![shh1313](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shh1313/32/8020_2.png) [@shh1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shh1313)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/26 "2017-03-28T13:16:22Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Nobody has ever regretted buying another honda. > > But since you mentioned Kia, look at the Optima. I think it’s much nicer looking and a superior car to the similar Mazda 6. Better engine too. > > But for a driver’s car in your price range, get yourself the VW GTI. I did it’s a contender. I don’t know anything about VW. I will pass on the warranty offer. So reliability is a must. I don’t drive everyday mostly in town but I do a lot of rural driving and 85 to 95 plus is normal around here. My husband is disabled so I make a lot of trips to Austin. I must have good curve traction and outstanding bet and go! Lets talk about deer I hit one at least every year or year and a half. When you have really bad wrecks they are high speed so safety is of it most importance. I’m a woman and I don’t want to get taken… I’m all ears for tips. I won’t be tradinding in my old Honda because it still runs like a sewing machine. Hey!! Thank y’all for your tips and expertise its greatly appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/27 "2017-03-28T13:22:29Z")
No idea what you just said but keep it between the ditches and shiny side up! ---
**Author:** ![shh1313](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shh1313/32/8020_2.png) [@shh1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shh1313)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/28 "2017-03-28T13:26:37Z")
FoieGrasIsEvil FoieGrasIsEvil said > [@](#): > > Do your automotive press homework I do but I also prefer to hear first hand experience and even better when you owned one or know people have. ---
**Author:** ![shh1313](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shh1313/32/8020_2.png) [@shh1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shh1313)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/29 "2017-03-28T13:35:49Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Just out of curiosity, what year, engine, any why? It’s one of the best cars I’ve driven aside from a honking, huge Expedition Max (although, I do have a Mustang on the way, so time will tell). 2017 it was a rental, but was squirrelly in the rear end. My major beef plus I’m short and did not like pullng in parking. It must did not handle like my Honda harder to park ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/30 "2017-03-28T13:36:16Z")
> [@shh1313](#): > > When you have really bad wrecks they are high speed so safety is of it most importance. I recommend looking at the [IIHS list](http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/TSP-List) of Top Safety Picks. Some of the cars mentioned in this thread are on the IIHS list. ---
**Author:** ![shh1313](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shh1313/32/8020_2.png) [@shh1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shh1313)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/31 "2017-03-28T14:46:36Z")
Geez! Grrr spell check !! I apologize… also AWD is a must!! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/32 "2017-03-28T14:48:47Z")
> [@shh1313](#): > > Lets talk about deer I hit one at least every year or year and a half. It’s an older story, but since you brought it up… I hit a deer in my '91 Mazda Protege. It was the summer of '94, mid-afternoon, on I-43 in eastern Wisconsin. I could see the deer from a half-mile off, standing in the median of the Interstate. When I got to about 50 yards away from her, she started across the road, and I hit her at about 60 mph. She hit directly on the front bumper, rolled up the hood, then hit the “A pillar” between the windshield and the passenger-side window, which threw her off the car. The passenger side of the windshield was spiderwebbed, the hood was now concave, but the front bumper was in good shape (and this was before airbags were mandatory, so there had been no airbag to go off). I was completely unhurt. A Wisconsin state trooper arrived on the scene. He and I inspected the car, and he noted that the radiator was undamaged, and certified that I could drive the car, if I taped up the windshield on the passenger side (since it was sagging). I drove the car a mile up the road to an exit, went to a truck stop, vacuumed up the glass shards, and used duct tape to secure the windshield, then drove the remaining 100 miles home. The auto body shop needed a week to rebuild the car’s front end, but they were able to do so, and I drove the car for another 7 years. That was one tough little car. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/33 "2017-03-28T14:58:15Z")
> [@shh1313](#): > > Geez! Grrr spell check !! I apologize… also AWD is a must!! Audi. BMW. Mercedes Benz. All fast, handle well at high speed, available in AWD, good crash ratings. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/34 "2017-03-28T15:17:15Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Audi. BMW. Mercedes Benz. > > All fast, handle well at high speed, available in AWD, good crash ratings. Yeah but all with expensive repair bills and not great reliability track records long term. They’re also expensive to buy unless you go back a few more years. OP: you hit a deer almost every year to year and a half? That sounds…insanely unlucky. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/35 "2017-03-28T15:34:13Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Yeah but all with expensive repair bills and not great reliability track records long term. They’re also expensive to buy unless you go back a few more years. > > OP: you hit a deer almost every year to year and a half? That sounds…insanely unlucky. This [VW Golf AllTrack](http://www.caranddriver.com/volkswagen/golf-alltrack) should make for a more reasonably priced AWD deer killer. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/36 "2017-03-28T16:29:21Z")
As would the [Subaru Outback](https://www.subaru.com/vehicles/outback/index.html) or [Forester](https://www.subaru.com/vehicles/forester/index.html). I’ve driven both and if you want handling room, reliability, and AWD they really should be on your short list. I really liked the sight lines on the forester although I would spring for the XT or XT trimline for more go-go. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/37 "2017-03-28T16:32:43Z")
Plus I believe all Subarus are all-wheel-drive and generally get high marks for safety. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/38 "2017-03-28T16:55:22Z")
I don’t think the outback and forester earn high praise for handling, do they? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/39 "2017-03-28T17:16:49Z")
I’ve had a Mazda 3 from 2004 and now 2014. I went into the used car shop originally to buy a Honda or Toyota, and just fell in love with the Mazda 3. The first one went 130,000 miles before I sold it to buy a 2014 model. The 2004 model had nothing but routine maintenance done on it. Loved the car–lot of fun to drive, especially at that price point (I’ve only done the manual transmission version, but my cousin has the auto one and that’s great, too.) The new one has very good mileage by American standards. I average 32 miles per gallon of city and highway driving (my driving is probably split about 2/3 city, 1/3 highway miles.) On the highway, I average about 42. That’s a lot more fuel efficient than the 2004 model, where I averaged about 27 mpg and topped off at 33 on the highway (but more typically around 31.) I love the car. I suggest putting it through its paces on a test drive and see what you feel about it. I like the interior, the control layouts, pretty much everything about it. I’m not a hard-core car guy, though, but I do like a car that I feel comfortable in and has a bit of oomph to it. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079/40 "2017-03-28T17:32:20Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I don’t think the outback and forester earn high praise for handling, do they? They’re not in A6 Avant/ M3 wagon territory but I didn’t have any issues with the Forester ripping though the corners on the Malahat on Vancouver Island including a fairly violent swerve to avoid a tree branch on a blind corner and I have a Legacy Wagon as my daily driver and it’s lots of fun in the winter months! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honda-vs-mazda/783079.md?page=3)