Automotive → 2006 Mazda 3 or 2006 Civic EX?

Which one would you guys prefer.

After doing more research, i'm leaning more towards Mazda..it's got a bigger engine, and i heard lots of good things from them and my company has a pretty good discount package as well

TIA

I like the look of the Mazda3 better, but that's personal preference. I also have a Mazda6 that I really like so I'd be more likely to choose a Mazda again.

Depends. Mazda 3 has 20 more HP (160 for the Mazda, 140 for the Civic.) Civic gets better gas mileage. Mazda = 25city/32hwy, Civic = 30city/38hwy. In my humble opinion, the Civic is a better car. Edmunds rates the Civic as the lowest "True Cost to Own" in it's class, as well as "Most Wanted" by consumers. If I were you, I'd check »www.edmunds.com and read some info there, and then hit up the dealers, drive them and see what you like better.

Edmunds review on the 2006 Civic: »www.edmunds.com/new/2006 ··· iew.html

Edmunds review on the 2006 Mazda 3:
»www.edmunds.com/new/2006 ··· iew.html

good luck!

Both are awesome cars but I would personally go with the Mazda 3 because it's more refined.

Both are reliable and well built. Whatever you choose, you're making a good decision. Plus it gets good gas mileage too

LOL! finally the post i have been waiting for lol. MAZDA3 for sure. man bang for the buck. And imo, i think it looks better.

yeah it does look pretty cool except the bottom bumper there... it looks like it's missing a peace at the center and one can see the bottom of the car..what's up with that??

I just recently (last month) traded in my '03 civic ex sedan for a 2006 mazda 3s gt.

I have to say that the mazda3 is a better car in almost every way. The features that come with the car for the price are unbeatable, not to mention you get a 4 year/50,000 mile warranty, and free roadside rescue with it for 4yrs.

That is not to say the civic isn't equally as good. However, to me at least, the new '06 model looks ridiculous. Once I saw it I just couldn't do it.

After narrowing it down to a used 05' accord ex, and a fully loaded mazda3, sans the navi, the mazda3 won out.

We test drove both the 06 Civic and the 06 Mazda3 GT. My wife fell in love with the surprisingly cool dashboard of the Civic. I liked the power of the Mazda3 but Civic is not that bad either. Tried to make a good deal out of the 3 but the dealer didn't budge. We'll be going to the Honda dealership and see what they can offer us.

I own a Mazda6 and I can comment a bit on Mazda in general. If it's quality you are after, go for the Honda. Honda will unquestionably have better quality. Reliability will also be better on the Honda overall, although this is the first year for the new '06 Civic so expect some minor issues. The 2005 Mazda3, its first year in production, had some problems that Mazda had to fix. Mazda also had some nagging issues with the Mazda6 that they were reluctant to fix under warranty, but relented once owners threatened a revolt.

There is a big difference between the two models however. The Mazda3 is built in Japan, whereas the Mazda6 is built in the U.S. I have noticed that overall build quality is a bit better when Japanese cars are built in Japan vs. the U.S. However, this is not always true since Honda and Toyota have been able to build cars of high quality in the U.S. for years. But remember, Mazda is Ford-owned, so Mazdas are built at Ford plants in the U.S.

I have not driven the Mazda3, but I did consider downsizing to it from my Mazda6 once gas looked like it would stay above $3 a gallon. From everything I have read and heard from fellow Mazda owners, the Mazda3 is fun to drive, had peppy power had a beautiful and sporty interior, and handles great. You also may be able to snag it at a great price since dealers are willing to deal on the Mazda3 now, vs the Civic which will be selling at MSRP for a while since it is a brand new model.

Plus check the warranty. Mazda offers a 4 year/ 50,000 mile bumber-to-bumper, whearas Honda may still be sticking to the outdated 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.

Also, check these forums:

»www.mazda3club.com/

biggerbrother,thanks for your informative comment!

After researching for awhile i know that the mazda3 is made in Japan, and to me that is a huge selling point since as you said mazdas are madein Ford plants and generally Japanese plants will produce better quality products.

As for Honda's warranty, i was told by the sales team that Honda has upped it's standard warranty to 5/50,000 but of course this is far different from it's official Boucher of 3/36,000

There are Mazda $500 off coupons on ebay.
They expire at the end of this year.
I sold one and still have two left.

If at all possible, the best place to purchase the mazda3 or any other car for that matter (subject to availability) is thru Costco's auto program. I purchased my mazda3 at 500 over invoice. There are some cars on there that are sold at invoice as a matter of fact. It was a lot better than haggling, and costco was really good on following up to make sure that everything was being done correctly for me.

To the OP, i would recommend that you get out there and test drive both cars if you haven't done so already. Don't let peoples opinions sway you-let them guide you to your decision. See which car you like better, what you can afford, and what each offers over the other the will make your money seem the most well spent.

jolton ,i guess you didn't read the entire thread?

I did test drive both cars..actually i test drove the Civic EX, Hybrid, Mazda 3 5-door,sedan and even the Mazda 5!

Also about these no hassle plans..i have the Mazda S-plan (i work in the Automotive industry) and i felt that i could probably get a much better price if i just walk in and start my own bargaining. The thing is.. this Invoice Price is just so different from place to place.. Mazda 3 5-door invoice is $19,500?? on Edmunds it's invoice is listed at $18k or so! WTF??

My uncle has a Mazda3, I think it's a 2005 model though. The interior in the Mazda3 is FAR better than the Honda Civic.

In my opinion from the many vehicles I've seen come through my shop Honda's win hands down. Honda's just seem to last and need less repairs no matter where they are made. I drive a Civic that I resurrected due to the owner not maintaining the proper oil level. Once I replaced the engine it's given me no problems.

Well the search is officially over.

We didn't leave the local dealership last night till 10pm. We worked hard to get a decent deal for the Atomic Blue Civic EX fully loaded with Dealer options. We almost walked away due to the fact that this dealership adds on it's standard options to ALL of it's vechicles! That's right ALL of them! We as cosumers dont' get a choice between the out of the factory model at all. First they wanted 1000 over MSRP because of these options. Options are:

Tinted Windows with lifetime warranty
Wheel Lock
Mud Guard
Paint stripe
Paint protection

They refused to go down on the price so i asked for the All weather mat and after 30 mins of haggling they finally agreed.

So in the end we paid 20k flat for the Civic EX with the above options, all weather mat included of course.

Edit to add:

»motortrend.com/features/ ··· he_year/

Congratz! Pics of your new ride!

Congrats about the new Civic man! I hope it works out well for you.

-Dragasoni-

It's a little bit late, but the Civic also won Car of the Year for 2006.

»www.cnn.com/2005/AUTOS/1 ··· ortrend/

It competed against some quite tough competition.

With the current weather situation i will have to delay my picture taking.

THe car is super nice. I found small things that i really like, e.g. 2 power outlets, 1 Aux port for Ipod, outside temperature, constant day headlight.

My wife is a little nervous about driving this thing 30 miles away, so i'm driving it to work which is only 8 miles away.

And about break-in the new cars.. is this a myth where one has to drive below 55mph for the first 500 miles and not in constant speed, no cruise control and all that ?

How to break in a car is one of those forum topics that never gets resolved. There are three schools of thought: one group has their own private idea of how to go easy on a motor mostly around not making it "lug" at low rpm and high loads, one group says to follow what the manual says because if the engine blows up they can't accuse you of doing anything wrong, and the third group touts some popular google hits on the subject that argue you should drive it like you stole it, because that seats the piston rings.

I tend to follow the manual, but feed some speed into it here and then.

As someone told me recently "you need to blow the carbon out of the engine ocassionally."

-- Elias

$20K for a Honda Civic

Drive it as if you would any other car.....Don't be afraid to give it a good WOT every drive or so.

It's worth every penny IMO.

Baah.. you should have waited for the Mazdaspeed version of the Mazda3 to come out!

said by Autoweek :

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Mazdaspeed 3 to Get Detuned Mazdaspeed 6 2.3L Turbo

From the date of its launch, the Mazda3 has been nothing less than a success story for the Japanese firm. Over the past year, the sedan and five-door Sport models have picked up where the previous-generation Protegé left off, racking up a healthy array of awards. With an attractive blend of upmarket quality and European-influenced performance, all at an affordable price, its no wonder that 3s are becoming extremely popular across the country.

Mazdas next step for its compact all-star is to crank up the heat with a Mazdaspeed treatment. The pumped up 3 will expand on the sport-tuned range which currently consists of the featherweight Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata and the soon-to-come turbocharged, all-wheel drive Mazdaspeed 6.

Unlike the Mazdaspeed Protegé, the companys initial attempt to gain ground in the sport compact marketplace, the forthcoming Mazdaspeed 3 will be a serious street machine with true performance credibility.

The heart of the hot 3 will be the same turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four featured in the Mazdaspeed 6, but detuned from 260 to 220 horsepower to maintain distance between the two models. The powerplant is based on the normally-aspirated 2.3-liter unit with variable valve timing, found in the top-of-the-line Mazda3 and entry-level Mazda6.

With less horsepower under its hood and a lighter, more compact frame, plus to reduce development costs that would have to be passed on to the consumer, its nearly certain that the tuned 3 will remain front-wheel drive. The powertrain configuration, most likely backed up by a six-speed manual gearbox, should result in 0 to 60 mph times of around 6.4 seconds and a top speed of at least 155 mph, equaling that of its midsized sibling.

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Mazda is all about Zoom Zoom Zoom...

Honda on the other hand is the master of Manufacturing products... Before y'all start Le "Flame" wars I own neither... Honda produces all sorts of things from a single plant. It produces mopeds to Mini Vans from single Manufacturing...

Toyota had gone to Honda to learn how Honda can make Hybrids and Std engines in a same manufacturing. Toyota would produce 1 hybrid every week and Honda would produce 7 hybrids in a day...

Mazda is all about commercials and I have not seen one good Mazda product. Can someone tell me who owns Mazda..? Did someone say FORD? I rest my case.

Now if you want to own Ford, than you are "Fobulous"
But, if you want to own Mazda, I would stir you to the neighbor dealer "Honda"...

Again, IMHO!

Wow, a whole lot of biased bullshit and no hard evidence to back up your "opinion".....

Hmm... you mention you don't want anyone to start a flame war, yet then you proceed to start one.

Perhaps your unaware of the fact that the Mazda6 has one over 90 International Awards or maybe you failed to read the rave reviews the car got in nearly every automotive enthusiast publication? Maybe you failed to hear about the RX-8 and all the awards garnished it and the new rotary engine? Or maybe you didn't hear that the Mazda3 is one of the best selling small cars, also getting rave reviews? By far it is the sportiest of them.

Next you'll be calling Volvo garbage because Ford makes them too.

So please, don't bring your ignorant fanboyism here. What's sad is that you own neither a Honda or a Mazda so you really have no authority to speak about either.

FWIW, the stuff about the hybrids was pure bs too.

Rather than reply to the next post of nt wizard, anyone who is interested about cutting through the (snip) go here:

There is a TON of good information on all manufacturers.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hy ··· Vehicles

It takes 4 more pistons to make a V8 than a 4 cylinder! OMG!