Used Mazda MAZDA3 2.5 S Premium Hatchback FWD for Sale near Arkansas

Greg C

Reviewed a 2023 Mazda 2.5 S Premium Hatchback FWD on Jan 4, 2024

The Good: Interior looks great, exterior looks great. Oil pan plug and filter are very easy to access. Sound system is great (thanks bose). Media center knob is better than a touch screen. Manual transmission + snow tires makes this car one of the best Ive had in New England winters traction-wise. Good gas mileage. The Bad... THE WHOLE THING RATTLES on the interior and Mazda will not address it. They cannot guarantee it is a warrantee issue and will not look at the car w/o assessing the hourly shop fees, even though the car is well within warrantee . Car is just over a year old with <20k miles and rattles worse than the 22 y/o CRV it replaced. Engine is very underpowered and turbo charger is not available w/manual shift transmission. The key fob is annoying beyond words, the car seemingly decides when it will/wont lock which is a fun feature. Shift knob leather is very cheap and is already peeling from normal use. Rear window visibility is almost non-existent even with a hatchback. Heads up display cannot be disabled permanently, has to be shut off every time. Windshield spray goes everywhere but the windshield. Windshield washer fluid low warning takes over entire speedometer, seems safe. No heated mirrors in the premium package you are forced to buy to get the manual transmission. Unlock button on the rear hatch does not work for the passenger doors. First new car Ive ever owned and cant say I would buy another Mazda again based off of this experience. Again, aesthetically Mazda is not challenged by many other brands in this price range. However, the quality of the vehicle is definitely not what I came to expect from anecdotal evidence nor what I read online prior to purchase.