This is more of a poll for fun. Before we bought our first MINI three years ago, we were looking at the Mazda 3. Once I told my girlfriend at the time (who is now my wife) that she could afford a MINI, that suddenly became the car for her (and for me now as well).

I've heard more than one MINI owner say they considered the Mazda 3 before purchasing a MINI. Now I'm just curious, how many NAM folks are there out there who considered the Mazda 3 before realizing how awesome MINIs are?

 

I'm thinking if anyone was intrested, it was not the 3, but the MazdaSpeed 3.

 

And big YES for me the mazda 3 turbo .. The women that had my mini before
traded in for the mazda 3 turbo 2007..


MC 2

 

Nope...we had look at and test drove the JUST Mazda3. Nice car, great handling, but NOT a MINI. Going to the PDX Auto Show sold us!!

 

I considered the Mazdaspeed 3. I don't think I could have convince the wife to let me sell my Honda Accord EX just to buy a Mazda 3.

 

I actually did consider the Mazdaspeed 3 when shopping for a new car, in fact here's the other 5 cars I was looking at:

1. Mini Cooper S
2. Honda Civic Si
3. Subaru WRX
4. VW GTI
5. Volvo C30

I actually did not even test drive the Mazda but have ridden in one. They seem to have really good power but I am not to keen on 4 door hatchback/wagon styling and they have a higher base price than mini. I drove everything else on the list and actually drove the mini last so I had alot to compare with, but nothing came close to the mini. I was pretty much sold as soon as I drove it. To any "haters" out there, all I can say is you just have to drive it.

Still waiting...08 MCS built and awaiting shipment

 

We've got both in the family...The Mazda 3 is an excellent car.....Feels like it should cost more than it does. My daughter now has 90K troublefree miles on her 2005. My Mini is sportier, and not quite as refined as the M3. A little closer to the bone handling wise and about the same in rated horsepower..
Depends on what you're looking for i guess (4 door versatility and a bit more room in the M3)...I like em both..

 

Talk about a quirky car, that Volvo is . And smaller inside than a Mini.

 

We bought a Mazda 3s sedan for our family car in 06. It was a good little car, but it just got replaced by a Clubbie! Mama likes it!

 

Yeah, I really didn't like the feel of the Volvo C30, the clutch and shifter both had very long throws imo. The clutch felt very odd to me as well, it had little to resistance when engaging it and almost threw my knee into chest when releasing it. Plus the shifter felt "rubbery" to me. The mini by far had the nicest clutch/shifter combo of all the cars I drove above.

 

My daughter has a Mazda 3 and likes it, but (sadly) very few cars can offer what a MINI does.

 

I testdrove a mazda 3 when I was shopping for what became me second MINI. I was put off by the price increase for the wagon over the sedan (or whatever marketing-speak they have for the body styles).

 

I considered it but did not test-drive it because of the price compared to a mini. I also considered another Subaru, either a WRX or the Outback Sport or whatever its called these days. The only non-hatchback I considered was a Scion tC, sacrelige I know, but I like them, and the mini obviously won out in the end!

 

My sister has a Mazda 3. Did someone above call the Mazda 3 an M3?????!!!!! What is this world coming to!?

It's a good car, but it's not sporty out of the box. The Mazdaspeed 3, however, seems to be a different story.

mb

 

yea someone did. But considering I saw some new M3's this weekend, you could buy 3 MazdaSpeeds for what they were asking for them.

 

My wife drives a 2004 Mazda 3 hatch. I like it! It's quick, handles good, has room. It certainly isn't a MINI, but sometimes thats a good thing. I'm looking to get a Mazdaspeed Protege for myself. Nothing drives like a MINI. Some cars come close.

 

To mini or not to mini? I agree with the answer of both in regards to what your looking for. However, the turbo charged mini blows away the Mazdaspeed 3. I have driven both. There isn't much of a comparison. The Mazda is nice, but it's not a mini.

 

Funny how many people do consider the Mazda3 who own Mini's, my mother has one and a bunch of friends, it's more of a practical car but a very good one (still made in Japan)We already have practicality in our other vehicle our Odyssey minivan, we did consider the Mazdaspeed3 after selling our 02 MCS but when our current 06 JCW came up it was a no brainer.

 

Hmm. really? I got the exact opposite feeling when I drove them both. Considering the Mazda has 264 HP and the Mini has 172 HP, also the torque is about 100 lbs. less also. I can see why I felt a difference. The Mazda is quicker to 60 mph also, 6.1 sec - 6.7 sec for the Mini. So i'm not getting you .

 

I had an 06 Mazda3 hatchback. We sold it after my husband surprised me with my MINI. It was a fun car to drive, but it never put the smile on my face that Blue Belle does. Also, in my opinion the road noise in a Mazda3 is horrible. I didn't really notice how bad it was until my MINI.

 

I gave a Mazdaspeed3 a big surprise, not a long while ago.

 

Ok, but i'm sure your car is not stock. Stock for stock a MazdaSpeed 3 is quicker than a Mini. I'm sure a Mini with say 230 whp is a match and then some for it .

 

After I sold my 2003 MC, I bought a 2007 Mazda 3. I sold the MINI because we had a baby on the way and I wanted a 4-door car. Also, my warranty was expiring and I didn't want to have an out-of-warranty MINI.

My 3 is the 2.0 liter base model, but it's fast enough for me, handles reasonably well, and is a great value for the money. I test drove just about all of the small 4-doors cars, and liked the Mazda better than all the other choices.

And, yes I do plan to get another MINI one day.

 

I have considered the mazda speed 3, and everything was nice, but the gas mpg really got to me. Im looking at the 2008 mini cooper S i fell in love with everything about it <3

 

Considered the Speed 3. Really considered the Speed 3...

Then tried braking hard, coming down a steep hill to a stop. The Speed 3 decided to have a think about it rather than actually get on and brake.

It was only a fraction of a second but that was enough.

One $415,000 medical bill for a car accident per lifetime was plenty.

We opted for the MCS. It might get up to speed a little slower... but it gets back down from it a little faster. And that's, ultimately, what'll keep you alive.

I'm still tempted by a Speed 3 as a second car - the whole two minis thing is WAY too cutesy for me. It beat the hell out of the VW GTi and R32. The R32 might have been a decent car but only selling it with Random Lurch Technology TM (no manual) really discouraged us from loving it.

Of course, now we have the somewhat more practical Mini, maybe I can justify getting myself that Lotus Elise I've driven, know is utterly impractical, yet can't help loving anyway.