Best Hatchbacks
Mazda 6
4.3 (215) Summary
- Starting Price $32,990 to $49,990
- TransmissionAutomatic and Manual
- Drive TypeFront Wheel Drive (FWD)
- Fuel TypePetrol
Hannah NSW 3 posts
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Handles like a dreamMy first new car. Have had my eyes on it fora while. Love the interior and drives smoothly.
Mazda 2
4.3 (184) Summary
- Starting Price $15,320 to $24,150
- TransmissionAutomatic and Manual
- Drive TypeFront Wheel Drive (FWD)
- Fuel TypePetrol
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Andrew S. 7 posts
DJReally easy to live withI have owned my April built 2023 Mazda2 G15 Pure manual (the only way you can get a manual) for 5 weeks and have taken it on two long trips totalling 1800 kms. The car has a slick shifting six speed manual gearbox (the best m... Read moreanual I have owned) and I have found it a delight to drive. I traded a 2010 Mazda3 SP25 manual. It is snowflake white with tinted windows (included in the price and floor mats).
The car is a 1.5 litre engine with a mild hybrid (only available on the manual) and for the Pure (base model) it has manual controls for the air conditioning and wired apple car play. It also has blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane keep assist, lane departure warning and smart city brake support (rear). Not bad for just over $21 000.
On the open road the car kept up with the traffic and shifting the manual box was a delight. Keeping it in the power band (over 2000 rpm) allowed for brisk overtaking and the beautifully communicative steering always kept me informed as to the placement of the front wheels. The small 15" alloy wheels never felt underdone especially in tight corners and the car averaged between 5.4 and 6 litres per 100ks and it begs to be driven spiritedly.
One of the best inclusions on this car is the LED headlights which illuminate the road very well. Reviewers have often criticised the MZD connect infotainment system, yet I always had Apple Carplay and the reversing camera was easy to see. At night I turned the instrument brightness down and this helped the camera display the surrounding area without glare.
There are some quirks in this car, first if you leave the LED lights on then when you turn the ignition off the headlights go off and when you open the driver's door the parking lights go off. A neat inclusion is the ability to set the headlights so they come on when you unlock the car but the headlights must be in the on position on the stalk. The wipers are excellent both front and rear and I am happy to determine what speed I would like them to operate.
Overall, a truly excellent city and highway car. I am really happy with it.
Mazda 3
4.2 (537) Summary
- Starting Price $20,490 to $41,499
- TransmissionAutomatic and Manual
- Drive TypeFront Wheel Drive (FWD)
- Fuel TypePetrol
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Tom Barton AU 20 posts
BPA lovely and well-finished car but with some caveatsI love my SP 25. It has loads of torque and has loads of sheer grunt. In fact you have to be careful on low speed roads as the car tends to cruise away and over the limit unless you keep an eye on the head-up display. The ... Read morefit and finish, especially of the interior, is just excellent. Typical Japanese quality. My only negatives are as follows:
-The entertainment unit always turns on automatically when you start the car. You have to manually turn it off each time if you want a quite drive. There is no permanent stop to this and I think Mazda should do a software update to rectify this.
-Similarly Istop comes on when you start the car and you have to turn it off if you don't want to use the feature. You cannot set it permanently to off. Again, a software update should be provided to rectify this.
-The low speed ride is a bit harsh...it seems it's either full power or nothing. The dealer has offered to re-calibrate my transmission on the next service so I will see if this fixes it.
-If you are on the ground cleaning the lower bumper area whatever you do DON'T lean on the lower bar to help yourself up. It seems to bring the front bumper clips apart at the front wheels. The only way to fix it is to push the bumper back into place and then lift that very same lower bumper which seems to bend things back into place.
-The body panels are worryingly thin. If anyone wants to rest their backside on the car, especially on the rear quarter panels, tell them to take a flying leap and leave the car alone. Mazda has used very thin steel in an effort to keep body mass low but I think they have made it too thin.
-My car is that beautiful "Soul Crystal Red" colour and it is a gorgeous colour indeed, especially with the black mag wheels BUT... if you scratch the car by accident forget about touching it up or even getting a detailer to touch it up. Mazda uses a special paint process to create this colour involving a primer, a base coat of one colour, the more candy-apple red as the next coat, a tinted clear coat and then a final clear coat. It seems to be impossible to touch up and if you do the repair will stand out like a dog's gonads. The only answer is to have the whole panel resprayed. This seems to be a common problem with metallic finishes on cars these days so next time I will buy a plain Jane colour because they are a cinch to touch up. Stone chips can be touched up if they are small.
-The over-shoulder rear visibility is very poor due to the tiny windows at the rear quarter panel. You will find yourself relying on the blind spot monitor a lot.
Apart from all of the above the car is wonderful to drive, handles as if it is being magnetically held onto the road and is quiet inside, save for the lovely throaty roar from the exhaust. It is, indeed, a fun little pocket rocket.
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