**Full Disclosure: I test-drove the 2016 Mazda 3 i Grand Touring for review purposes thanks to Drive Shop. No compensation was received & all opinions are my own.
Would you be surprised to know that I cannot drive a standard? When I was in high school, a friend tried to teach me but I didn’t have the patience to learn then and I haven’t found the patience I need to learn in the years since.
The Mazda 3 i Grand Touring came to me with a manual transmission. Lucky for me, my husband can drive a standard! While this is my review, anything that has to do with actually driving the car will be my husband’s opinion.
When Drive Shop dropped off the Mazda 3, they told me that if I wanted to learn how to drive a standard, this would be the car to do it with. The dashboard tells you when to shift gears. Ultimately, I decided to just be a passenger in the Mazda 3.
At first glance, the Mazda 3 is a sporty looking family car. As a sports car, I love that it has 4 doors rather than 2. The interior is much more spacious than I thought it would be – there was plenty of leg room for my growing boys. My husband said the driver’s seat wasn’t the most comfortable seat he’s driven in but it wasn’t the worst, either. The boys and I were very comfortable in our seats.
I was impressed by the fuel mileage. We only filled it once while we had it and it cost less than $15. The combined mileage should be around 33 mpg. It was a little better than that for us. And I loved the water bottle holders in each of the doors.
My favorite feature was probably the dual zone climate control (because I like it much colder than my husband does!). The whole dash was amazing. You could control the music, navigation, etc. from just below the gear shift.
My husband thought the Mazda 3 was nice drive. I felt comfortable in the passenger seat, too.
Now that you want to go buy the Mazda 3 (with stunning red stitching against the black material) you should know that the car starts at about $18,000.
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