[Allez]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

It's not great for Mazda, but Mazda also constantly had problems keeping themself afloat, so it was a necessity.

As for my opinion on Mazda... A bit of a rant ahead.

I have to disagree with you there. It's a company I feel conflicted about. I mentioned I like their newer designs and the reliability of their SkyActiv stuff, but passion? I am not seeing much nowadays. Now I understand that they are a small company, but killing Mazdaspeed branch and not offering anything really performance-oriented are hardly worth calling passionate. I love the ND2 Miata, but I am looking for something that can give the M cars and our SS 1LE a run for their money, or even something that can keep up with Golf R.

I mean, FFS, the king of toasters - Toyota, has been more passionate. Sure, Zupr4 is a lot of BMW but there is no question about Yaris GR. Even Hyundai has their Veloster N that's catching some traction. Where is Mazdaspeed3? Oh, dead, because apparently it's "childish". Yes, Mazda said Mazdaspeed is childish. I guess AMG, RS, 1LE, Shelby are all childish.

I know it is too much to ask for another rotary; a lot of RX-7 and RX-8 guys have accepted that. But when the brand can't muster up a hot hatch, yeah, I can't really call it passionate.

IMO, Mazda's fatal flaw is marketing. We can dump on BMW for selling X12345678 but that's also how they can reel in the money to make the M cars better. Mazda wants to go upbrand nowadays, but that could be an uphill battle. We will see how that goes...

Point taken. I think our views of what passion in an automaker is differ. Obviously Mazdaspeed is no more, and there is no hot hatch or RX-7/8, but does that mean Mazda has no passion for cars? The things that distinguish Mazda from many other companies are that their cars handle better than most of the competition, are fun to drive, and now have nice interiors. When I bought my CX-5 I did look at other small SUVs including the CRV, the RAV4, and the Crosstrek. The others were boring. As I stated previously I love driving the CX-5 on windy roads. When my brother bought his Mazda6 a few years back he told me that it was the only car in its class that had a 'soul'. BTW, his other car was a Porsche Cayman.

So no, Mazda does not build a hot hatch, or a muscle car, or full-on sports car. But what they do make are cars that are built well and are a joy to drive. To me, that's still passion.

We can agree to disagree.


My apologies, I think this has gotten waay off topic lol.

[Blobby]

Originally Posted by Allez

Point taken. I think our views of what passion in an automaker is differ. Obviously Mazdaspeed is no more, and there is no hot hatch or RX-7/8, but does that mean Mazda has no passion for cars? The things that distinguish Mazda from many other companies are that their cars handle better than most of the competition, are fun to drive, and now have nice interiors. When I bought my CX-5 I did look at other small SUVs including the CRV, the RAV4, and the Crosstrek. The others were boring. As I stated previously I love driving the CX-5 on windy roads. When my brother bought his Mazda6 a few years back he told me that it was the only car in its class that had a 'soul'. BTW, his other car was a Porsche Cayman.

So no, Mazda does not build a hot hatch, or a muscle car, or full-on sports car. But what they do make are cars that are built well and are a joy to drive. To me, that's still passion.

We can agree to disagree.


My apologies, I think this has gotten waay off topic lol.

“I sold a car” isn’t a very specific topic. I think this is a grand thread.
The CX5 has a measly 180hp but it feels much happier to use that power than the Camaro did IMHO. The Camaro would sure let me know when I was getting over 150hp out of the engine. The Mazda seems to effortlessly and quietly break 4K rpm and leave traffic in the dust after the light turns green. That may have been ACTUALLY effortless for the Camaro, but it certainly didn’t feel or sound like it. I haven’t tried yet, but I foresee interstate on-ramps being a good deal less exciting.
The Miata Has less than 200hp and is regarded by many to be the best sports car ever conceived. I certainly wouldn’t complain if they bumped the HP up a couple fifty horses tho. I do find it annoying when journalists highlight generational updates getting a boost of 6hp. I get excited at the beginning of the sentence and am immediately let down.

[Seniorrs]

I had a 2014 mazda3 I bought new and drove 74k miles.Best driving car I've ever driven.But I have to say I like my camaro more.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by Allez

Point taken. I think our views of what passion in an automaker is differ. Obviously Mazdaspeed is no more, and there is no hot hatch or RX-7/8, but does that mean Mazda has no passion for cars? The things that distinguish Mazda from many other companies are that their cars handle better than most of the competition, are fun to drive, and now have nice interiors. When I bought my CX-5 I did look at other small SUVs including the CRV, the RAV4, and the Crosstrek. The others were boring. As I stated previously I love driving the CX-5 on windy roads. When my brother bought his Mazda6 a few years back he told me that it was the only car in its class that had a 'soul'. BTW, his other car was a Porsche Cayman.

So no, Mazda does not build a hot hatch, or a muscle car, or full-on sports car. But what they do make are cars that are built well and are a joy to drive. To me, that's still passion.

We can agree to disagree.


My apologies, I think this has gotten waay off topic lol.

I have to admit I was being a bit ranty, but you know, I wouldn't be angry at all if I don't care about the brand on a whole. See how I just brushed over and dismissed Nissan? Not worth the rant.

You have a solid point. The brand doesn't have anything performance-oriented, but the stuff they do have, they do pretty well. I had a friend's 2018 Mazda6 GT 2.5T for the last winter and yeah, I had some fun daily driving it around for a family sedan. It was also great that Mazda employed a trick that would help reduce the Eco/Boost effect (either you drive it like a grandma or you get way worse gas mileage than EPA estimates). It doesn't help with the EPA ratings, but it helps with real-world driving and that's pretty neat.

And their exterior actually does look great. Feels like their design has a bit more "soul" than others.

Originally Posted by Blobby

“I sold a car” isn’t a very specific topic. I think this is a grand thread.
The CX5 has a measly 180hp but it feels much happier to use that power than the Camaro did IMHO. The Camaro would sure let me know when I was getting over 150hp out of the engine. The Mazda seems to effortlessly and quietly break 4K rpm and leave traffic in the dust after the light turns green. That may have been ACTUALLY effortless for the Camaro, but it certainly didn’t feel or sound like it. I haven’t tried yet, but I foresee interstate on-ramps being a good deal less exciting.
The Miata Has less than 200hp and is regarded by many to be the best sports car ever conceived. I certainly wouldn’t complain if they bumped the HP up a couple fifty horses tho. I do find it annoying when journalists highlight generational updates getting a boost of 6hp. I get excited at the beginning of the sentence and am immediately let down.

I mean, in the winter, I felt more fun in my Mazda3 hatch than my Camaro, since I can still flog it in the Mazda3 a bit, while I have to drive like there is an egg under the gas pedal in the Camaro. Summer would obviously turn the things around.

Keep in mind that most Mazda engines are undersquare and naturally aspirated, so low-end torque isn't a big issue and there is no turbo lag. The turbo engine they have is pretty good for a family car where you aren't revving the heck out of it.

As for Miata, I love it. I have driven NA and ND2 and they are both extremely fun cars. The problem is that modern technology has enabled us to bend physics to a certain degree. You can corner well even in a 3300+lb beast nowadays. It's a different type of fun, certainly, but yeah, imagine if Mazda's chassis engineering knowledge goes into an M car competitor type of deal. That would be a blast.

[Allez]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

I have to admit I was being a bit ranty, but you know, I wouldn't be angry at all if I don't care about the brand on a whole. See how I just brushed over and dismissed Nissan? Not worth the rant.

You have a solid point. The brand doesn't have anything performance-oriented, but the stuff they do have, they do pretty well. I had a friend's 2018 Mazda6 GT 2.5T for the last winter and yeah, I had some fun daily driving it around for a family sedan. It was also great that Mazda employed a trick that would help reduce the Eco/Boost effect (either you drive it like a grandma or you get way worse gas mileage than EPA estimates). It doesn't help with the EPA ratings, but it helps with real-world driving and that's pretty neat.

And their exterior actually does look great. Feels like their design has a bit more "soul" than others.



I mean, in the winter, I felt more fun in my Mazda3 hatch than my Camaro, since I can still flog it in the Mazda3 a bit, while I have to drive like there is an egg under the gas pedal in the Camaro. Summer would obviously turn the things around.

Keep in mind that most Mazda engines are undersquare and naturally aspirated, so low-end torque isn't a big issue and there is no turbo lag. The turbo engine they have is pretty good for a family car where you aren't revving the heck out of it.

As for Miata, I love it. I have driven NA and ND2 and they are both extremely fun cars. The problem is that modern technology has enabled us to bend physics to a certain degree. You can corner well even in a 3300+lb beast nowadays. It's a different type of fun, certainly, but yeah, imagine if Mazda's chassis engineering knowledge goes into an M car competitor type of deal. That would be a blast.

I think just being on this forum most of us are car guys/gals/people. We can all appreciate a car built with passion. Otherwise we'd all be driving Corollas (no offense to Corolla owners )

[Hops]

Originally Posted by Nilly Welson

WTF is a CX5?

I kind of pride myself in knowing very little about SUVs since I really can’t stand them…. But I even knew the cx5 was a some kind of Mazda suv, can’t help but admire someone not knowing

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by Allez

I think just being on this forum most of us are car guys/gals/people. We can all appreciate a car built with passion. Otherwise we'd all be driving Corollas (no offense to Corolla owners )

Funny thing, I actually learned how to drive a stick with a Corolla, but I know what you mean. A car is more than an A-to-B tool for a lot of us on the forum.

Originally Posted by Hops

I kind of pride myself in knowing very little about SUVs since I really can’t stand them…. But I even knew the cx5 was a some kind of Mazda suv, can’t help but admire someone not knowing

TBH, I don't know much about SUV, either. I have driven a few and can appreciate the practicality and space, but personally, I would be happier in a hatchback or wagon if I need to sacrifice some performance for practicality.

[Blobby]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

Funny thing, I actually learned how to drive a stick with a Corolla, but I know what you mean. A car is more than an A-to-B tool for a lot of us on the forum.TBH, I don't know much about SUV, either. I have driven a few and can appreciate the practicality and space, but personally, I would be happier in a hatchback or wagon if I need to sacrifice some performance for practicality.

I think The Expedition and Tahoe (and their rebadged luxury counterparts) are the only American body on frame SUVs left… along with a couple Japanese ones. I really wonder if all these unibody SUVs aren’t just tall sedans. My thought is that the engines are just making hatch backs with a seat higher off the floor, a bit more ground clearance, and bigger tires. I want to say that what is considered an SUV today was called a crossover (or something similar) a while back.

[super_sxxy322]

Toyota now owns a 5% stake in Mazda. Vehicles will soon be built in the same factory and engineers from both brands are merging ideas.

Radom point. Just saw some comments about the Ford separation and chimed in...

[Fraxum]

Originally Posted by Blobby

It’s a sad day in some respects, but it’ll end up being for the better. My wife traded her Camaro for a dark blue 2021 CX-5 Touring. We needed a family car and she really couldn’t stand such a low sitting car any longer. 30k was the budget cap, and it wound up being between a Nissan Rogue and the CX-5. Reliability aside, she chose the CX-5’s sportiness over the Rogue’s bigger size and tech filled cabin. I think the Camaro helped give her a bit of a “driving connoisseur” taste in cars. I’ll still poke around the forum from time to time but will probably be much less active.

Great choice. The CX5 (and most Mazdas) are upscale at their price and fun to drive. My daughter has one. I will buy it to replace my 2011 V6 Rav4 when she trades it in. While a fair bit slower than the Rav4, the NA 4 cylinder CX5 is fun to drive. They also have the top CX9 model but prefer the smaller CX5.

[shaffe]

CX-5 is a nice ride. My Mazda gave me no problems in the 40K miles I had it.

[TXCSSU]

I think if I had to get a people hauler and wanted something that sat up high, I'd have to take a look at the Kia Telluride. While I'm not real big on the design, I love the features per dollar. The one thing that does turn me off about Kia is that they seem to have engine quality issues.

My current "people hauler" is a Chevy SS sedan, and while I love how great a touring vehicle it is, I've decided that I'll be parting ways with her soon. I told myself several times that this was going to be GM's last great 4-door V8 RWD sedan, and was going to keep it forever, but the thought of missing out on the fun of a manual transmission has me ok with parting ways. My "consolation" prize is going to be a 6-speed Camaro but in ZL1 dressing to help me "cope" with the loss of the SS Sedan. Hopefully I won't have to worry about kids anytime soon...nor later...

Congrats on the new ride, and on putting family first. It's not something everyone is willing to do!

[wintertopdown]

a woman or a sports car....hard to have both

[Anjilslaire]

Not really, married 28 years, Camaro & SUV, lol