Used 2012 Mazda 3 Hatchback Consumer Reviews
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
So Far an excellent car
minichrt1, 07/16/2012
2012 Mazda 3 i Touring 4dr Hatchback w/SKYACTIV-G (2.0L 4cyl 6M)
46 of 46 people found this review helpful
To keep this short and sweet my wife gets almost 500 miles per 11 gallons of fuel. It is a 14 gallon tank so when the fuel light goes on there should be 3 gallons left but it is hard to ignore the fuel light and the range being under 40 miles. Best example of mileage that we have repeated more than once... 60 mph in 6th gear on a straight and level stretch or road with the cruise control and AC on with 4 people in the car 44.7 mpg turn off the ac and it goes up to 47mpg. This is not drafting and the instant mpg readout will hold steady as long as the road is level.
Best ever! Continues to amaze me!
Jerry, 05/15/2020
updated 11/28/2022
2012 Mazda 3 i Touring 4dr Hatchback w/SKYACTIV-G (2.0L 4cyl 6M)
25 of 25 people found this review helpful
With over 137,000 miles, this wonderful car continues to feel just like the day I drove it off the lot. Alternator was replaced at 80,000 miles, tune up at about the same miles, front brakes at 115,000 miles and oil changes, windshield wipers and cabin filter. That’s the extent of repairs and maintenance. Really, this is among the best cars I have ever owned in my 50 years of vehicle ownership. Update: 144,000 miles and still great. Our daily driver, even on long distance trips. Update: 150,000 miles, one rear shock absorber aluminum mount failed a few thousand miles ago, total cost to replace both shock absorbers and mounts $300. Can anyone complain about that?! I will be having spark plugs changed this week for $155. Mechanic recommends waiting on coils. No change in opinion about this vehicle, just great! Update 156,000: everything I said above! Update 162,500: I hit a missing part of the road a few weeks ago. Felt the car "Shutter". I was concerned so took the car to our mechanic who did a thorough check of all suspension. Clean bill of health. Just an amazing vehicle. Have I said that before? Final update, 169,750: This is a sad day for me. We sold our other vehicle, became a one car family. Plan was to depend on our dependable Mazda3 for all transportation. Our kids said,"Really? Go get a new car." So...we did purchase a new vehicle and sold our beloved 2012 Mazda3. The young man who purchased our Mazda confided in me that he wanted a Mazda3 Hatchback! He purchased a gem and I am so happy my little buddy went to a good home. So, let's review the last 169,750 miles of this vehicles life. This is the best vehicle I have ever owned, 55 years of driving. It has been a true pleasure to drive, absolutely dependable, drives like the day I bought it, not a speck of oil burned, all...that's all features and systems are operational, and when we sold it, we received top dollar. I will point out that this vehicle was well maintained by an excellent local mechanic however as noted above, minimal repairs were required and maintenance was easy. If you are looking for a used vehicle, this is the best available. It's been 8 weeks since we sold my little buddy and I do miss him!
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
2012 Mazda 3 for sale near you
3 of 25 listings
- i Grand Touring Sedan w/SKYACTIV-GMSRP: $8,90018 mi away
- i Touring SedanMSRP: $7,9956 mi away
- s Grand Touring 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $8,999In-stock online
See all 25 listings
The Perfect Utility Commuter Car
tr_pe, 08/07/2012
2012 Mazda 3 i Touring 4dr Hatchback w/SKYACTIV-G (2.0L 4cyl 6M)
56 of 58 people found this review helpful
Having a 70 mile (round trip) commute to drive every day will make you think long and hard about what you want in a car. I waited about 4 months to write this review so I would have a large sample size to go on. About 80-85% of my driving are freeway miles, in San Francisco Bay Area traffic. Having now put about 9,000 miles on the car, I can tell you unequivocally that I made the right choice in a new vehicle. I am AVERAGING 39 mpg. I could probably get better than 40 if I slowed down a little. I've had the mileage get as high as 44.5 mpg over a 35 mile stretch with the cruise control locked in at 65 mph. YSeats are comfy for extended drives. Manual tranny and clutch are very precise.
2000 mile review
zoomzoom2012, 12/24/2012
2012 Mazda 3 i Touring 4dr Hatchback w/SKYACTIV-G (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
37 of 39 people found this review helpful
Looked at the following Hatchbacks. All Subaru models Nissan Rouge GTI Focus Mazda 3 After looking at everything I was willing to buy, I purchased a 2012 I-touring with Skyactiv Engine and Auto Trans. This power plant it awesome. It is the smoothest I have ever driven. Power really comes on at 2800 to 3000 rpm giving me ability to choose gas mileage or Zoom zoom. The interior is 'Spartan' but still an upgrade from my 2002 Wrangler. I really like the BT hands free phone function. According to the computer I am getting 32.1 MPG since buying the car, (50/50 hwy and city). I checked at the pump and my numbers came back 31.8, that to me is pretty good.
My manual has great “zoom zoom zoom”
R Dub, 09/03/2018
updated 09/07/2021
2012 Mazda 3 i Touring 4dr Hatchback w/SKYACTIV-G (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
14 of 14 people found this review helpful
2018- First off, mine’s a manual. I have excellent get-up-and-go (yes, with AC on) unlike some other reviews I saw on here, & I’m guessing it’s because I’m selecting the gear for acceleration. I’ve had this car for 5 years now. I get 32 mpg- some city, but mainly half mountain pass commuting and half So Cal stop-and-go traffic fwy commuting, with my average weekly commute currently at about 300 miles. To me, with rough mileage like that, 32mpg is excellent. I love scooting on up the mountain in this car, it’s always a pleasure to drive. It’s got great zip & has excellent handling. My husband says the road noise is higher than average but it has never bothered me since I put non-factory tires on it- it’s amazing what a good tire can do. Other cars I’ve driven on these same roads are a manual 2002 Nissan Altima, a manual 2001 hyundai tiburon, and an automatic 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sport Unlimited. They’ve all had good pep (thankfully the Jeep was post 2012 with the beefier engine!). The Altima performed very well, but my Mazda3 has performed the best on the mountian with the steep incline and some tight turns. No mechanical problems thus far. The dash glue can’t handle So Cal summers apparently, and a couple of years ago, the dash material separated by about an inch from the top middle instrument panel. The fake chrome paint stuff on my steering wheel emblem and the regular paint on my steering wheel buttons is starting to show quite a bit of wear this year which is annoying for a 6 yo car. I plan to drive it into the ground, so reselling this won’t be a problem & if all the markings go, I know what the buttons do, so not as big of a problem for me. Mine’s a hatchback & with the back seats laid down, i can fit four of those big rubbermaid bins in there plus extra room for smaller items on top. I think that’s excellent gargo capacity. I’m having a baby soon & I tried out the carseat in the back in all 3 seats and it fits well & is easy to lean in to maneuver and adjust straps. The depth is a little short in the back which has never been a problem with adult passengers, but with the bigger car seats you do have to make sure the front seats aren’t positioned all the way back. I’m 5’6” & my husband is 6” & we both feel comfortable in it. It takes full synthetic for oil, so an oil change is $45 on the cheap end on up to $90 depending on who does it, but keep in mind it’s synthetic and you get more miles between changes- 7000-8000 With synthetic instead of 3000-5000 with regular oil, so it’s comparable since oil change frequency is half. UPDATE-2021- it’s been another 3 years. The wear on the steering wheel emblem and buttons has gotten a little worse and the paint on the “spoiler” on the hatchback is sun damaged. The paint on the rest of the car still looks great. Still zippin’ along. No mechanical problems. Gas mileage is between 27 & 30mpg - no more mountain driving, now I do city and freeway. One infant or all-in-one carseat is fine, but the second one will limit the driver’s space. When we have another kiddo, I may need to get a different car just because of that.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value