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Used 2018 Mazda 3 Consumer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
62 reviews

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5 out of 5 stars

A great compromise between practical and fun

Brad Payne, 01/01/2018
2018 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
16 of 16 people found this review helpful

I have owned this car for 2 months and am still amazed is only a 2.0L 4 cylinder and is less then $30k. It is a blast to drive. Handles great, accelerates well. The interior looks and feels like a high end SUV. I'm still amazed by the features and quality for the price. The NAV is better then average, but as usual, your cell phone is better. (Mazda, please consider Android Auto / Apple Car Play!). The controls for all the technology are simple to use. The Bluetooth and TXT to Speach works great. The Lane Correction continually sees tar repair seams in I75 as edges in the road. This is by far my biggest disappointment. I have disabled it to prevent it from trying to steering me into another lane, Which it attempts to do on a regular basis. The radar cruise control makes long drives on the highway so much less fatiguing and yes, it still works with the Manual Transmission! The heated seats heat up fast and the heater steering wheel is a nice touch. The seats fold down easily and the hatchback opens to allow about a 28" tall object. With the seats down, I have about a 40" Wide by 50" deep buy 28" tall usable cargo space. If you need the practical car that has a decent cargo room but drives like a sports car, this is a great fit.

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

2018 mazda3 sport Excellent car.

Wstraube, 06/10/2018
updated 06/11/2019
2018 Mazda 3 Sport 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
23 of 24 people found this review helpful

2018 mazda3 sport with PREFERRED EQUIPMENT PACKAGE $1,000 16-inch Alloy wheels Bright beltline trim Heated body-color dual power doormirrors w/ turn signal lamps Premium cloth-trimmed sport seats Rear seat armrest w/ cupholders Auto On/Off headlights Rain sensing windshield wipers Advanced Blind Spot Monitoring14 with Rear Cross Traffic Alert15 With rebates and dealer sale price just under $20k out the door. We purchased this car for our daughter who is starting to drive in the next few months. I know new car for a teenager! I felt the same way, but we looked at late model used cars and what you got for $10k-12k was not worth it. Four year old Chevy Cruze with 65k miles for 10k. No warranty no history. Real crap shoot. In my opinion most people who buy inexpensive small cars can’t afford much and don’t do the routine maintenance. By the time you put tires, brakes and change all the fluids etc. you are close to what something new would cost. The dealer we purchased the car from is my wife’s Mercedes dealer and we really like them. So we had history with them and that was another deciding factor. Other cars in this category were more expensive, Kia, Cruze, Honda and Toyota. All over 20k before tax and title. All except the Ford Focus. They are closing them out and the SE was just over 15k. We did a test drive and I got to tell you what a cheep car the focus is! Just inside and out no comparison to the Mazda. It’s not surprising that ford is going to stop making cars and move towards trucks / SUV’s. I think you can tell a lot about a car company by how much effort they put into their small cars and the focus seems like ford needed a car for this category and didn’t put much effort into it. At retail of 22k there is no way you would buy this over the others. Even the Chevy Cruze is a better car and I’m not a GM fan. The only way I see ford selling these cars is to heavily discount them. First impression of the Mazda3 is how nice it is inside. For the Botton of the line “sport” it doesn’t feel cheep. Again compared to the ford, wow. It’s amazing how these small car have evolved. Just all the small touches, all the safety features, airbags, backup camera, Smart City Brake (very important for new drivers), blind spot warning. Push button start, temperature gage, two trip computers, auto lights and wipers, cruise control, A/C, locking gas cap, mpg computer, etc. In the old days bottom of the line cars didn’t come with any of these features. You didn’t get A/C or an automatic transmission. Now it’s all pretty standard. With the smaller 155 HP motor this car has plenty of pep. With three of us in the car and the A/C on it had plenty of passing power on two lane highways. It even has a “sport”mode that I haven’t tried yet. So far we are very impressed with this car. We got the mica blue with the aluminum wheels. Beautiful little car. I think Mazda make some of the most beautiful cars and suvs out there. Toyota’s have gotten so bizarre looking these past few years. There was a red mazda6 on the lot with a black and cream interior for $30k. Just a beautiful car. Looks like a much more expensive car. Much better looking than the Mercedes on the same lot for $20k less. If Mazda can make their “cheep”car this nice I’m sure their other higher models are excellent. I think Mazda is doing a complete model change on the 3 in 2019 so I’m guessing why we got this under $20k. I know other cars in this class rate higher but this car is worth a look at if you are in the market for a $20k-22k car. One year of owning the Mazda and it’s been a great car. My 16 year old daughter is now driving it and it’s a nice, safe economical car for her. No problems at all so far. Just oil changes. For the Michigan winter we had last year we put michelin x-ice snow tires on it and it went through anything. I highly recommend snow tires. I know they are expensive but worth the money when you figure your kid with very little winter driving experience is driving it.

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

My 4th 3

Doctor J, 12/28/2017
updated 07/10/2023
2018 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
30 of 33 people found this review helpful

My wife and I are sold on Mazdas. She has a 2017 CX5 and I just purchased a 2018 3 Grand Touring with 6 speed manual. They are designed well, good workmanship, up to date electronics, and very reliable. The 6 speed manual is great fun, an easy and tight throw to the shifting and very responsive in every gear. On highway trip yesterday got 37.1 mpg.

Safety
5 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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5 out of 5 stars

Return buyer

Victor S, 11/11/2018
2018 Mazda 3 Touring 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Have a 2010 now a 2018 hatchback too. Hatchback gives way more versatility for active people. Put on a hitch receiver for a bike rack. Smooth riding smooth shifting and great gas mileage. Car looks great. Hope this one is as reliable as the first one, which still drives like new with 120,000 miles. Happy so far.

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

Like All Cars: Mixed Bag!

Gary, 12/19/2017
2018 Mazda 3 Grand Touring 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Great-looking car and there are some good deals out there to be had. Handles well, and has a comfortable interior and lots of nice safety features. Not a roomy back seat, no CD player, cumbersome infotainment system for the novice, smallish trunk, and more road noise than I would like. But fun to drive and pretty good on gas. I'm hoping it will be reliable.

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