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Used 2011 Mazda 3 Consumer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
88 reviews

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5 out of 5 stars

great car.

mike, 11/30/2016
updated 12/02/2019
2011 Mazda 3 s Grand Touring 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

this is my commuter. i have taken it on only a couple of road trips. on the road trips i used cruise control and watched the gas mileage, and low and behold, it actually does get 29 MPG. not so when commuting though for obvious reasons. i almost have 70,000 on it, and the only problems i have had so far, is the driver side visor clip. the part that holds it in place broke. cost me $2.50 at the dealership and didn't require tools to change. also a few times it hasn't started right up. i know the spark plugs are due to be changed at 75,000 miles so i am guessing that may have something to do with that. i do my own maintenance so i'll change them at the next oil change. stereo is great! love the bluetooth. seats are comfortable. it has a more sporty ride, and has a bit of road noise. but i came out of a mini cooper so this car is softer and quieter than that car. update at 82,753 miles. --------------------------------- still happy with my little car. runs great and no real issues accept the blue tooth in the radio disconnects with my phone a lot. still plays music good, but in the middle of a call it will connect, disconnect, connect, disconnect. not sure why. great car still. comfortable and runs good. --------------------------------------------------------------------- update at 112,062 car still doing ok. plastic interior pieces are breaking. the sun visor stay clip just broke a second time. and the sunroof control panel switches are all broken. i think they used a little too brittle of plastic. mechanically it is doing well. still on original front brake pads! changed the Accessory belt at 100,000. it does grind second gear upon aggressive up-shifting now. i did change the gear oil at the maintenance time with a quality German synthetic oil. how ever i am wondering if maybe i should have bought the oil form Mazda now. time will tell. i now am driving a mega commute. lots of freeway miles running at 70mph. the miles left gauge and mpg gauge are no longer accurate from some reason. says i am getting 31 mpg which i know is not possible.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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4.75 out of 5 stars

An excellent, beautiful handling car for the money

ohioan2, 09/21/2011
2011 Mazda 3 s Sport 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 5A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Two-plus months and 2,900 miles on my Velocity Red hatch and I'm loving it. Fun to drive, handles like a dream and I enjoy my daily commute in comfort and style. Plenty of power when needed, with great torque, on the 2.5. You're giving up some gas mileage, but I'll pay for the trade off. Still averaging 30-32 mph with mix of highway/city driving, much better than my old V-6. It's nice to be crusing in something different and sporty in the sea of Civics and Corollas. Looks aggressive with those 17-inch alloys, side body crease swoop and is ready to prance. Even the smiley grill is growing on me, although the fog lighs and front license plate wipe off some of the smile.

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4.75 out of 5 stars

Great Car for the Money

darth_flatus, 09/12/2011
2011 Mazda 3 s Grand Touring 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 5A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Bought my 5 door Grand Touring new about a month ago. Absolutely love this car. I consider myself a car "junkie" who loves to drive. I drive about 1,000 miles per month for work, and let me tell you, this car makes it a completely different experience to drive. The handling is great, the 2.5L engine feels like a V6, the seats are comfy...I could go on and on. My friends, family, and neighbors are all intrigued by the look of the car and once they get in and ride in it they walk away impressed. The backseat is a little tight on leg room, but, my kids fit just fine. Averaging 25 MPG do far with mixed but mostly city driving. Good numbers when you consider the power the engine puts out.

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5 out of 5 stars

Awesome First Car...Zippy Driving:)

Josiah Klossner, 01/23/2016
2011 Mazda 3 i Sport 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 5A)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful

This car is the first one I have owned and I actually like it a ton! It's light on it's feet and fun to whip around corners. I often describe it as zippy! The acceleration is really only okay since I have the 148hp 2 liter engine (it goes from zero to 60 in about 8.7 seconds). That being said, it's a heck of a lot better than some of the cars my friends drive that are older and under powered. I always say that the great thing about having a car that isn't too powerful is that you can slam on the gas and hear the engine roar for a bit without going to much above the speed limit and thus receiving a speeding ticket. Overall though, I can't complain about acceleration, it doesn't take that much effort on the pedal to perform normal highway and thruway driving.The steering feel is my favorite part as it is responsive and engaging. In the winter, as long as I drive like a grandma on snowy roads I'm good! Tokyo drifting is sometimes fun though! However, steep driveways aren't fun. To be fair though, I have all seasons and haven't put forth the $$$ to invest in winter tires. As far as the interior goes, it definitely seems to have a better quality to it than other compact cars that I've been in of it's generation. The dash has a softer feel and the body panels on the doors seem to be in there pretty tight! Some of the door panels in the back feel a bit cheap, but they are of sound construction which is all I care about since I spend all my time in the drivers seat! My only real gripe is that a small bit of the dashboard above the radio/time display has managed to detach itself from the top of the display, leaving a small gap there. It's easy enough to ignore, but it's still a tad annoying. Other than that, the seats in the front do a good job of holding you in and making you feel comfortable! I can't quite say the same for the rear seats, leg room is rather tight and if you're fully loaded with passengers in the back, woe to the poor chap who is in the middle as there is a significant hump on the floor. The trunk is sufficient for me, a single college student, and it usually holds my stuff for most trips. If I'm driving two people on a trip though, I usually have to use the back seat as well (not everyone packs as light as me either). As far as fuel economy goes...it could be better. Considering fuel economy scores of other compact sedans of my car's generation, this one isn't really too fantastic, but it ain't bad either! As a poor college student I don't mind the loss of a few mpg, it makes up for that with its driving dynamics. I probably average 28-29 mpg in the summer. That drops to about 23-25mpg in the winter (although it's January and I got 27mpg on my last fill-up). again, I really can't complain considering the fuel economy of some of my friends under powered rides...hehe! As far as repairs go, I've had tie rods replaced three times!!!! THREE! I got the left outer one replaced for my inspection in 2014, my inner left one replaced for the 2015 inspection, and I got my inner right one replaced this past December (2015). I'm currently bracing my bank account for the outer right tie rod come next inspection! Other than that, I had my rotors replaced for my first inspection in 2013, and new brake pads. Other than that, it's just been regular maintenance. Although there are some other problems due to the previous owner to whom I want to walk up to someday and say....YOU FOOL!! Seeing as most people haven't had any issues with tie rods on their Mazda3, it looks like it's a wonderful model as a whole for reliability! there are some possibilities for why my tie rods keep needing replacement. 1. my mechanic is a horrible person, 2. I go around corners like a maniac too often, or 3. I got a lemon Mazda3 with sucky tie rods. So overall, it is a wonderful, fun to drive, economy car! I don't regret getting one and despite its flaws in my particular circumstances, I really really like it! If you're looking for a used economy car that's cost effective and this model is one of them and you like cars that aren't boring to drive....don't second guess yourself! That was totally a run-on sentence.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
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4.13 out of 5 stars

Fun to drive but noisy.

mka2, 06/13/2012
2011 Mazda 3 s Grand Touring 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 5A)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful

I bought the car at the end of 2011 and currently have 10k miles on it. It's fun to drive, corners on a dime, very responsive and accelerate smoothly. The interior is nice however the seats are not comfortable. Controls are well placed and the car has a lot of nice technology. The GPS is difficult to operate and very annoying. A $200 aftermarket GPS will solve this problem. From day one, I thought the road noise is a bit much however after the first tire rotation the noise became unbearable. Mazda is aware of the quick tread loss and will not do anything about it.

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