Mazda 3i Touring vs Corolla observations

[Exit9]

My family of four (including a 21 year old and an 18 year old) went on a 1000 mile road trip in my wife’s 08 Mazda 3i Touring over the holidays. Very nice car – does everything pretty much right (but so does my 09 Corolla). We can make the 9-10 hr one-way trip in either car without getting a bad backache (unlike the back misery from our 02 Echo trip).

After so much time in the Corolla, the first thing you notice is that the interior of the Mazda 3i is narrower, resulting in a closed-in feeling (unless maybe your family is skinny and/or young). Had trouble reading the 50-80 mph range on the speedometer during daylight due to red numbers and low ambient light, but night red lit controls display was good. Didn’t calculate MPG yet, but it is not as good as my Corolla. The Mazda’s 3i’s 2.0 Liter engine had more torque and hp – enough so that the engine seemed less strained during acceleration and was very quiet at road speed. Me, I would rather have the Corolla 1.8 Liter engine mpg advantage more than the Mazda’s extra engine power.

A couple of features of my Corolla were missing from the Mazda 3i touring. It didn’t have the headlight auto on-off feature, which I am used to and really missed. My wife had to keep reminding me to turn the headlights on and then off as this is not part of my driving routine on my Corolla or previous Buick Park Avenue. (Nothing like a dead battery from leaving the lights on after parking – have done it many times over the years. Maybe the Mazda beeped to remind you to turn off the headlights, but I don’t remember.) The remote entry key fob on the Mazda was also missing the trunk remote open button. This resulted in my fiddling around in the cold trying to find the keyhole in the dark while not scratching the paint. Never recalled having this problem on any other cars – must be I am getting too old. I am used to bringing groceries to the car and hitting the trunk auto-open button, then tossing the groceries in the trunk.

It is these types of well-thought-out little details that Toyota does that make their cars special and makes me want to buy another one (in addition to very good reliability/low maintenance cost).

[joeylgarcia]

a few good points for the 10th gen corolla.

[gokuandpiccalo]

Originally Posted by Exit9

A couple of features of my Corolla were missing from the Mazda 3i touring. It didn’t have the headlight auto on-off...

I have a Corolla 2009 CE and it has auto headlight on/off.

[PhatRoyale]

Originally Posted by gokuandpiccalo

I have a Corolla 2009 CE and it has auto headlight on/off.

Perhaps differences exist between US and Canadian cars?

[OkSlim]

He said the features were missing from the Mazda.

He has the auto headlamp on his corolla.

[PhatRoyale]

I guess gokuandpiccalo misread the original post then.

[Exit9]

Another thing - it is a lot easier to put the driver's seat belt on in the 09 Corolla than it is in the 08 Mazda 3i Touring. In the Mazda you have to reach all around between the seat and center counsole trying to find the belt release in order to insert the belt tang. Gets real old fast. I would say Toyota just has better ergonomics all around.

[sinnaever]

Very good comparison...

I've noticed that just about every Car Review (from Magazines etc.) give the Mazda 3 the upper hand only because it is "More Fun to Drive" and not because of how well it is put together, or the standard features.

I'll give it to Mazda's suspension. It drives nice and takes corners well.. but when it comes to everything else, i'd still prefer a Toyota. Toyota's are more about "it works the way you would want it to" and not so much "this is our vision of a fun compact sedan"

My Mazda loyalties went out the window when the Mazda 3-Series (323, Protege, 3) no longer offered AWD.

[SuperchargedMR2]

I've always owned Toyotas as they are well built and do most everything better than other cars. They are the the decathalon athlete that finishes 2nd or 3rd in every event but wins first place overall.