I can’t speak to the current batch of Mazdas, but in 1985 we bought a 626 (mid-level sedan, roughly equivalent to a Honda Accord) and it was the first car either of us had ever owned that got to 100,000 miles. Back in the 1980s, that was NOT a routine thing to expect of a car.
We ultimately gave it to my husband’s parents, who got a couple more years out of it before it was no longer worth maintaining.
Mazda has won the title of Most Reliable Brand from Consumer Reports for the last several years. I’ve owned a 2006 Mazda3 for almost 17 years and 180k miles and it has been a great car. My mom has a 2012 CX-9 SUV and it hasn’t had a single issue in 10 years and 130k miles. I plan to buy another Mazda whenever car prices drop back to realistic levels.
Subaru makes nice cars and CR also rates them highly. They’ve had some significant problems in the past with oil consumption and engine failures. There have been class action lawsuits. But they allegedly have fixed the problems.
My complaint with Subaru is that they’re very boring to drive. They’re generally underpowered (slow) and the vast majority (if not all) have CVT transmissions. I’m not a fan of CVTs (even though Honda, Toyota and a lot of other companies use them). Mazda is one of the few companies still using a conventional six-speed automatic.