Ownership Verified: 2013 Mazda3i Touring Hatchback

mooglebunny

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2010
Messages
1,294
Location
CA
Car(s)
2013 Mazda3i Touring SkyActiv
Hi guys! Mooglebunny here, it's been quite a long year or two for me and a lot of cool things have happened. I moved a couple of times, graduated from college, landed a $15/hour job with benefits and paid holidays, bought a new cell phone which is a Galaxy Note 2 (which I took these pictures with) and whatnot.

Now that I actually have a job that I reasonably like and am pretty good at (tech-related, actually) I can afford my own car! So I bought a new 2013 Mazda3i Touring 2L Skyactiv Hatchback. It's basically Graphite Gray.

Some features:
Manual Shift Mode- Switch from Drive to M and then you can change the gears manually by pushing up or down. Being a Skyactiv model, it has a 6 speed transmission/gearbox. That 2L is good for around 155HP according to Mazda, but it is sufficient for the car so no complaints.

Four wheel disc breaks- Very, very nice. Stop the car pretty well, much better than the Mirage (which I'd hope would be the case)!

Drive and passenger climate control- Driver and passenger can have different temperature settings!

Advanced Keyless Entry and Push button start- There are small buttons on the driver/passenger/hatchback that can unlock or lock the car so long as you have the key nearby. The button start is kind of neat I guess, it takes some getting used to.

6 speaker stereo- Stereo isn't the best, but it's not the worst. It does the job. It also has bluetooth, so I can connect my Note 2 and listen to music or answer phone calls with ease.

I just have a few basic starting pictures of the 3 below.

20131223_141548.jpg

Proof Picture! I have the Mazda3. Climate control buttons.

20131223_141623.jpg

Front seats. They are much more comfortable than the Mirage, and I actually FIT in the car without having to sit awkwardly close. It's pretty amazing.

20131223_141710.jpg

Right side picture with the front passenger door open. Well, it's a Mazda3. :lol:

20131223_141729.jpg

Picture of the back seat from the front seat. It's actually reasonably spacious, it can fit my roommates who are taller than me reasonably well even in the back. Although, the Mirage can basically do that too.

20131223_141831_-_Copy.jpg

Hatchback and the Skyactiv logo.

20131223_141751.jpg

Yup, it's one of the Mazda3 models with the silly face. That's fine though, doesn't bother me much.

20131223_142320.jpg

Picture of the advanced key along with a partial shot of my Lenovo X220. I pretty much don't have to take it out of my pocket.

Overall, the Mazda3 has a slightly longer wheelbase, is slightly longer and taller than the Mirage, but it feels much more tossable and agile. Power steering is also insanely nice, completely overestimated. I was driving the Mirage today to get some stuff done and it was so much more heavy to steer compared to more modern cars with power steering.

I've had it for about two weeks and I really like it so far. It has about 300 miles on it currently. :)
 
Last edited:
First, yay :clap:

I think that's the first time in a long time someone's been amazed at four-wheel disc brakes in a new proper-brand car :lol:

How do the buttons work for locking/unlocking, are they actual buttons or touch sensor thingies?
 
The only experience I had with four wheel disc breaks are from my Grandmother's Forester. That is a lot heavier than the Mazda3, but it is actually very nice. It stops very promptly, unlike the Mirage where it feels like I'm really working to get it to stop sometimes. I had the brakes checked today in the Mirage too, it's actually all working as intended so.

There are three small little buttons, one on each of the front door handles. You can push them with the key nearby (IE in your pocket) and they automatically unlock or lock the doors depending on if they were locked or unlocked. There is also one on the hatchback on that right taillight that locks or unlocks the whole car. :)

Edit: Here is a better example:
20131223_153559_1_.jpg

Driver Side Door

20131223_153612_1_.jpg

Passenger Side Door

20131223_153606_1_.jpg

Hatchback door.
 
Last edited:
I'd guess the big difference you feel is not the rear discs, but rather the new braking system. The front wheels do the majority of the braking anyway.

Hmmm on the buttons... I've got two sensors on each door, with the sensor on the inside of the door handle doing the unlocking and the sensor on the outside doing the locking. As a result, you just grab the door handle and pull as if it was never locked. If the key is on that side of the car it'll unlock. Is it one fluid motion for you to push and open? That's what I appreciate about keyless entry :)

The one on the right taillight looks like a spec of dirt, or a large insect :( that looks like an afterthought. Mazda, not cool. At least based on the pictures :dunno:

What's that red exclamation mark button for? :hmm:
 
The ! is the panic button. Basically, if you see someone at your car or you lose it in a parking lot or something you can hold that and your car's horn goes off and all the lights flash.

Yeah I agree about the taillight one being a bit lame looking. There isn't really much I can do about that though now is there. :lol: Either way, I didn't buy it necessarily for the looks, more for how it feels and drives. I haven't had to fuel it yet since I got it. The Skyactiv is really a pretty fuel-efficient engine compared to the Mirage.

When I use the buttons I basically push (push again to unlock all if I have more than just me getting in) and then pull to open the door. I guess I wouldn't call it seamless, but the buttons on the doors are easy to push. You just have to reach for the door in a certain way to get it to work without moving your hand I guess if you have bigger hands than I do.
 
Yay, 3!

Love that the Mitsu lives, too. IT LIVES!
 
The ! is the panic button. Basically, if you see someone at your car or you lose it in a parking lot or something you can hold that and your car's horn goes off and all the lights flash.

:hmm: never seen one of those on any car over here, regardless of Asian, European, or American descent. Wouldn't it suffice to just press the lock button and get an indicator flash to shoo away baddies at your car?

Either way, I didn't buy it necessarily for the looks, more for how it feels and drives. I haven't had to fuel it yet since I got it. The Skyactiv is really a pretty fuel-efficient engine compared to the Mirage.

:clap:

When I use the buttons I basically push (push again to unlock all if I have more than just me getting in) and then pull to open the door. I guess I wouldn't call it seamless, but the buttons on the doors are easy to push. You just have to reach for the door in a certain way to get it to work without moving your hand I guess if you have bigger hands than I do.

I guess it comes down to which hand you use for opening, to allow your thumb onto the button without any weirdness.


Edit: If you're mean then the exposed keyhole on the driver's side suggests Mazda doesn't trust their remote systems :lol: Here's my driver's side door handle, cropped and blown up from another picture - too wet outside to take a dedicated one.

You can sort of tell the groove where the locking sensor is, and no keyhole to disturb the view :clap:
 
Last edited:
H


20131223_142320.jpg

Picture of the advanced key along with a partial shot of my Lenovo X220. I pretty much don't have to take it out of my pocket.

you either have very small hands or that is an freakin' huge key fob or it's just designed to be an self defence weapon aswell :blink:
 
:hmm: never seen one of those on any car over here, regardless of Asian, European, or American descent. Wouldn't it suffice to just press the lock button and get an indicator flash to shoo away baddies at your car?

How can you not ever have seen an Volvo key? The panic button is ancient!
189510491_5028c8350a.jpg

Or a Mercedez for that matter (least subtle ever)
231924d1239332824t-old-smart-key-guts-into-new-smart-keys.jpg

Not even a V-dub? :p
vw_remote_key.jpg

Yes yes we don't get panic buttons in the land of the twelve stars (except on sell identical models everywhere Volvos), but they do everywhere else. Given how people (do not) react to car alarms we don't miss much.
Also: Mazda key is clearly enormous (as is rear bumper). Should come with it's own handbag that thing (key, not bumper). Overall nice car!
 
Last edited:
How can you not ever have seen an Volvo key? The panic button is ancient!
View attachment 11369

Last Volvo I drove was a V70 in Sweden... but that had a large keyfob, no two-part affair. Also no panic button.

Or a Mercedez for that matter (least subtle ever)
View attachment 11370

Yeah I've had those keys, but that red circle wasn't there.


Again, all my VAG keys that look like that don't have a red button there :dunno: nor do those humongous push-in-a-slot-and-push-again-to-start VAG keyfobs without the flippidy key... nor Audi keys :dunno:
 
narf: Yeah it may just be an American thing with the Panic button. Not really sure, I'd just hit the lock button to be sure. My Grandmother's Forester key doesn't have a specific panic button, but if you hit the lock button 3 times I believe it goes off as such. On the 3, if you press the lock button twice in a row on key the horn honks once I believe to let you know it's locked. The 3 itself has a red flashing security light when it's not on so that's a reasonably decent thief deterrent. The only people who have really "checked" my car out are the car people at work like a couple of the supervisors and so forth and more for admiring. One sometimes makes a point to park his Crown Vic next to my car. :lol: I do really like how it drives though, it's so smooth and corners so nicely. :wub: The key system has the key hole on the outside because the remote batteries are only rated to last about 1 year and have to be replaced. It's more for in case the battery totally dies that you can still drive the car until you (or the dealership) replace it.

Ninjacoco: Yesss it does still live. I just went and got it cleaned out and everything. I vacuumed what I could and washed it as well as I could since it'll most likely be driven by my dad, LORD OF CARS (He seriously has 4 even though he's super poor, 3 are specifically his). It still really needs a thorough clean-out. But the thing still drives like it always has, and is still in reasonable shape minus the small transmission leak. Mazda3's so smoooooooth though.

TC: Thank you! I appreciate it! Me too! So far it's been very nice. :)

Bobele23: Yes I do have really small hands of about a 5 year old. The only one who had smaller hands on here a couple of years ago was Katwalk. The key also isn't the tiniest thing ever also, so it's kind of both.

AiR: Thank you! Yeah I know, the bumper is pretty big in comparison to the Mirage's bumpers which are smaller, sort of. But again, bought it for the drive, functionality, and feel, not the looks. :lol: Fortunately for me, I have giant, mostly empty, bags in which to carry things like my giant phone and my giant key for my Mazda3.
 
The only people who have really "checked" my car out are the car people at work like a couple of the supervisors and so forth and more for admiring. One sometimes makes a point to park his Crown Vic next to my car. :lol: I do really like how it drives though, it's so smooth and corners so nicely. :wub:

Yay :clap: working with car people is nice... barely anyone cared about my Eos :(

The key system has the key hole on the outside because the remote batteries are only rated to last about 1 year and have to be replaced. It's more for in case the battery totally dies that you can still drive the car until you (or the dealership) replace it.

I have a keyhole as well, but it's hidden under a plastic cap because you're not really meant to use it. I'm actually somewhat under the impression that the near-range keyless access and start features may work with RFID power, so they might work with a dead keyfob battery... have to try that some day by taking the battery out of one of the fobs.
 
Yeah, working with car people is pretty great I think because I can talk about cars while on breaks with coworkers. The majority of my coworkers basically have different types of interests that range from: video games, cars, actual table top games, phones, and technology. Really, it's quite nice because everyone is also different. Also, d'aw. There is nothing really wrong with the Eos. I think they are pretty nice looking personally compared to quite a few cars. :D

Yeah I'm not certain about the advanced key part working still if the battery is dead since I just got it basically. The manual says that it will still work even as the battery is starting to go out, but just not as effectively. I'll let you guys know what happens eventually. :) I'm just glad that there is a backup in case the batteries die.
 
I love your pros-list on this car. :) Manual shifting, disc brakes, good stereo.. not a lot of people would think to mention those.
 
:hmm: never seen one of those on any car over here, regardless of Asian, European, or American descent. Wouldn't it suffice to just press the lock button and get an indicator flash to shoo away baddies at your car?

They're not too uncommon. That's a Volvo key, btw. They've had them since the turn of the century, and a couple years before that on the American market. The yellow button is far more useful IMO... it turns on the parking lights all around, interior light and puddle lights as well if you have them.

 
Last edited:
They're not too uncommon. That's a Volvo key, btw. They've had them since the turn of the century, and a couple years before that on the American market. The yellow button is far more useful IMO... it turns on the parking lights all around, interior light and puddle lights as well if you have them.

:dunno: puddle lights and all that turn on when unlocking, provided it's dark. Why have an extra button :lol:
 
You must've got a killer deal on this if you didn't go for the redesigned 2014 model.
 
Ooh busy dealing with work stuff. Yes, I did get this car for a pretty reasonable price compared to what it was and it was brand new, which is why I also got it. Normally the cost of a Mazda3 with the package it has is around $21k, I got it for less than that (around $18k, which isn't a total steal, but enough to be a major factor in decisions). I believe that the new Mazda3 hatchbacks with the same package are a bit more like $22k now. You can only get the hatchback with that keyless entry package or better, the newer base model Mazda3s are the sedans as were the old base models.

Thank you frankiess. Yeah I know, but it is really nice compared to the Mirage. It's like a breath of fresh air with all of the features and whatnot. Disc brakes really make a difference in stopping power, I'll tell you. I'd have to really put my foot on the brake to get the Mirage to brake after I started driving the Mazda3 since it didn't have the same braking power. It was really quite noticeable. The Mirage also had a hodgepodge of stereo stuff since the CD player was half-broken on it and one of the connectors for a speaker came loose. (And it was just a CD player.)

I also finally got to show the car to my family last weekend and they were pretty excited and impressed with the Mazda3, which is something to note from my Dad who is all muscle cars all day everyday. My Stepmom also noticed that it was actually quite spacious in the backseat compared to my Grandma's 2007 Forester. She can't fit in any of the seats except for the Driver's seat, sort of, due to having long legs and other factors. Since she saw my Mazda, it sounded like she may actually consider buying an older-ish Mazda3 or 6 herself since she does need a car that isn't a nearly-broken F-150. :lol:
 
Top