05 Civic LX sedan vs. Mazda 3

[aznpoopy]

i need a new car, and i was curious what you guys had to say.

i am keeping the 240sx but i need a car that won't implode as i go to law school.

so yeah.

today i test drove a 2005 Civic LX Sedan, 5 speed. it was pretty fun to drive. the steering, throttle, clutch are all really mushy. getting the rpms where i want them is going to take some time. on the other hand, stalling the car is damn near impossible. i've forgotten what it's like to drive a car that doesn't drown out your thoughts with road and engine noise. the ride is very comfortable and the car actually has quite a bit of pick up in 1st and 2nd gear. it's more then enough to get on the highway.

spec wise it looks like this:
curb 2550lbs
1.7 liter SOHC iVTEC (this is the vtec that gets you real good mileage)
33/37 city highway
115hp 110tq

i was ready to buy it when i rediscovered the mazda 3. the mazda 3 is very similar price wise, except you get 150 extra pounds of weight, and a decent bit of extra power. i'm probably going to test drive one tomorrow.

spec wise
2700lbs curb
2.0 liter DOHC
27/34 city highway
145hp 130tq

but i was wondering if you guys had any thoughts as to which one would be a better daily driver. whatever i get is staying 100% stock.

remember the key here is
#1 reliability
#2 comfort
#3 cost of ownership

i don't give 2 shits about being unique, or if one is more moddable then the other. the extra power of the mazda is nice, but not a deciding factor.

[s13driver]

if it is a commuter car i prefer the 1.7 liter over the 2.0. also a rumor i heard about the mazda build quality wasn't that great. so i vote for the civic

[WILDACEX187]

i vote for the cheapest. the car u get will come with a warranty and chances are u'll want to get rid of it in the future (when warranty expires of course).

[MakotoS13]

i vote for the mazda3 2.3 that sucker is the BOMB. for a FWD econobox it was an absolute blast to drive and looks balls better than the civic.

10X the car

[infinitexsound]

i say neither get a scion tc.......

[MakotoS13]

The 3 is way better than the TC dude.

[sr240mike]

Well thats a very strong argument coming from you.

[aznpoopy]

i'm gonna cut this short before it turns into a makoto vs everyone thread.

i got a civic LX-se

i test drove the mazda3 and hated it

-seating position is really high and really awkward and really uncomfortable
-rear and side visibility is kind of shitty
-the dash and instrumentation is cheesy as hell
-the a/c didn't blow cold for 20 minutes, even though the car was warmed up when we first got in
-the car just feels heavy and sluggish cornering and braking (much more so then the civic, surprisingly)
-the car is ugly in person... IMO

there were some good points
-even the 2.0 liter engine pulls... and it seems to pull harder as you go up the rpms! really fun to 'get on it'
-the steering is felt nice and precise.

after a little haggling, the dealer offered invoice $14.3k (or so he claimed). that was for a base 3, manual tranny and air conditioning. steel wheels, no power anything, etc.

for less, i got the civic, came with power everything, 6 cd changer + mp3 player, alloy wheels / spoiler (yippee...), and keyless entry / trunk. 70+ extra miles per fill up made up my mind. gas prices are a biatch.

[TurDz]

If reliability is definately your #1 priority, you can't go wrong with the Civic. It's as simple as that, especially if you are not regarding the power or uniqueness as a deciding factor.