Even as my Protege5 was disintegrating before my eyes, I found myself falling for another Mazda.
I had convinced myself that surely, for Mazda to remain a going concern, they must have solved their rust problems by the time the Mazda 3 was introduced in 2003 as a 2004 model.
I didn’t set out to buy another Mazda, but after several months of shopping cars in this class, nothing else really appealed to me. In the spring of 2007, I saw an ad in the paper for a hail damage sale at Luther Mazda in Brooklyn Park, MN. They had a list of cars that had been damaged by a recent storm. I had seen these sorts of ads before and assumed it was just another scam to draw in the gullible, but this ad was quite specific. It listed the model, color, transmission, and such; enough detail to sound plausible. They claimed all of the dents had been repaired but they couldn’t sell them as new.
This was about the time that Paintless Dent Repair started to become a thing. You could go and get trained, buy your tools and then set up a mobile PDR shop servicing dealers and owners alike. I headed over to the Mazda dealer during lunch hour to check out their inventory. They had a couple of Mazda 3 hatchbacks that interested me, one a blue-green and then a purple number. My salesman du jour explained the repairs they had done to both cars, I couldn’t see any damage. He pointed out one little dent in the aluminum roof strip on the purple one that they couldn’t remove. Apparently PDR doesn’t work on that sort of dent. The asking price was a fair amount below dealer invoice and I was hooked. Both of the Mazdas were equipped pretty much the same, 5 speed manual, cloth interior, no options. I just needed to decide on a color, both looked great.
I ended up settling on the purple car, it was a fairly rare color in Minnesota, which is sort of surprising when you think about it. When I drove it to work the first day, I got a lot a comments about my Viking devotion. While I’m a casual fan of the Vikes, I thought I could get more mileage out of the story by claiming a different inspiration for my choice of color.
Sheb Wooley’s 1958 novelty hit, Purple People Eater. Which, to be honest, all I knew of it was the title.
The car was a bit roomier than the Protege5 it replaced. The Mazda 3 was one of the first to use Ford’s C1 global platform, which eventually came to underpin a slew of Volvos and Fords. I had actually test driven a Focus around this time, but for some reason, Ford had kept the aging C170 platform for the 2007 refresh of the North American Focus, instead of shifting to the C1 as was done for the European version. I liked the Focus, but the idea that Ford had withheld the latest sort of turned me off. We would cross paths again with the C1 when we bought our 2012 Volvo C30, but that’s another story.
I found the Mazda 3 design to have a distinctly European flavor. I had rented an Opel Astra in Italy just a few months earlier and really liked the look. I could see a lot of the Astra in the Mazda, especially around the hatch and the way the roof sloped back to meet it. Both cars were launched around the same time, so I’m sure it’s just one of those things that happens frequently in car design. I do like those wheels better than the fussy Mazda alloys though.
I also got a strong French vibe from the Mazda. Although the Renault Clio shown here came a bit later, it did predate my 2007 purchase, so maybe it was just a subliminal thing. In any event, I really liked how Mazda and Renault handled the trailing edge of the rear door, very tasteful. Mazda has always hit above their weight, design-wise anyway. A Car and Driver review noted that chief designer Hideki Suzuki cited the Peugeot 307 as an influence, so maybe that was it.
The car was reliable over the course of almost 5 years of ownership. I think oil changes and a set of tires were about all I spent on maintenance. My memory is that it was a bit more sedate than the Protege5 that preceded it, not quite as lively. With the 2.3 L making about 160 hp, I had no trouble keeping up with urban traffic in the Twin Cities, but it didn’t feel quite as nimble.
The interior was virtually indestructible with all of the hard plastic surfaces, not that I minded since I was still hauling kids and their gear on a daily basis. Mazda had switched from the black on white instruments to orange on black, not an improvement in my view. Overall though, the interior worked pretty well. I remember going to REI to buy two 24″ bikes for my daughters and I managed to both in the rear hatch.
I had no real complaints with the car until the very end when I spotted a bit of rust on the tailgate at the edge of the window. I tried to find a picture of similar rust on the internet but no luck, so maybe it was a fluke. I did, however, find plenty of examples of rusting wheel wells, so obviously Mazda hadn’t solved this issue yet.
The Mazda3 was a good, if not exciting car. Had I wanted excitement, I should have bought the Mazdaspeed3. Alas, none of them were showing any hail damage when I went shopping. This remains my only purple car, it’s still not a color that one often sees on dealer lots. We ended up trading ours for a 2012 Volvo C30, getting a pretty decent price for it and thus avoiding the hassle of listing it privately.
I have driven the two liter ones a few times and I have always liked them. They handle better than you’d think.
Btw I’m fairly “Purple People Eaters” has been used as a description of Vikes or one of their lines at some point. So I guess it all comes together like that.
A friend bought a used Axella which is the JDM version automatic but a nice enough car to drive I had a turn in it following her in her previous Mazda when she took it to a wrecking yard in Christchurch, apart from brakes and bulbs and tyres I dont think shes done anything to it in 3 years despite operating a gardening service with it and hauling all her tools in it for a while until she got a ute, Mazda of course.
Oh boy, did I ever have the hots for these when they were new. In fact, several months before we were in the market for a car, a local Mazda dealer was having a hail sale and one of the cars (with all dents unrepaired) was a Mazda 3, stick, leather and in the color they called Copper Red that I just loved.
By the time we were actually in the market, we had almost decided on a Honda Fit, but there was a used Mazda3 hatch in the Honda lot, and I was hoping that Mrs. JPC would see it and want to check them out. Alas, my kids were nearing high school and the two boys were tall and not done growing. It was clear that the smaller Fit excelled in head room while the 3 did not, especially in the back seat. It is probably just as well as the Mazda would surely not look as good at age 14 as the Honda does.
The color on your car reminds me a lot of my 93 Crown Victoria painted what Ford called Dark Cranberry, though it was purplish in only certain light conditions. I had to look yours up (Dark Cherry, it turns out), because I did not remember that color on Mazdas at all. I guess I was so in love with their Copper Red that I couldn’t see any of the others. 🙂
I had one as a rental in the late 2000’s and quite enjoyed driving it.
I too looked at these when they were new but for some reason slightly preferred the looks of the sedan. Seems like the hatch outsold it about 3:1 or so based on what I notice on the streets nowadays. Purple’s cool, too, my first association relating to things Purple and Minnesota is always Prince though.
If I recall correctly, Prince was a die-hard Vikings fan so I’ve always suspected (someone would likely know this) that “Purple Rain” wasn’t exactly coincidental.
You could have said it was inspired by Prince’s “Purple Rain,” and it would have had a Twin Cities connection!
https://youtu.be/TvnYmWpD_T8
I had a newer 3 as a rental in Oregon, maybe a 2012, and really enjoyed it on the mountain roads around Mt Hood. It was the first modern 6 speed automatic I had driven and honestly, it was perhaps more fun than an MT, at least as a novelty. There was a long delay at the in-town rental agency (with Portland’s excellent transit from the airport I realized I could save time and avoid the usual airport tax by renting downtown) and the car wasn’t very clean, so the manager knocked a huge amount off the cost. I think I enjoyed the car for a full day for under $20 plus gas.
We had a Mazda 6 that was this color. Got a good price because the color was not popular here. We referred to the color as ¨Eggplant¨ or ¨Merlot¨.
The car was fine. Kept for 10 years an no real problems. We did really need to trade but my wife wanted a Forester (which has been wonderful).
My wife thought Eggplant too.
We bought a 2007 Mazda 3 for my stepson’s first car a year ago. Had to replace the transmission control module in April, but otherwise, it’s been fine and in good shape for its age and 114,000 miles.
He is not into cars at all, so I was the one driving this purchase. Part of my thinking was the Mazda would be similarly reliable to a Civic or Corolla, but cost less. I’ve driven Corollas of similar vintage and found them terribly uncomfortable (maybe it’s my build) and deathly dull in every way. I like Hondas, having owned a couple of Accords, but I’ve found I like Mazdas better.
Even at 15 years old, this is a sharp-looking car. I’ve taken it on my fun roads, and it’s a hoot. It’s also smooth and remarkably quiet on the highway (quieter than my wife’s 2012 Outback, I think). My wife and I both enjoy driving it.
My stepson heads off to the University of Oregon next month, and I hope the car continues to serve him well. It’s only an hour away if something happens, plus my mechanic gave me a referral to a shop in Eugene. My other stepson will be getting his learner’s permit this fall, so we’ll be doing this all over again soon. This one will likely have more opinions about what his first car will be.
Nice looking car, I like that blue.
I had an ’05 for four years. Mine was the same colour as gdwriter’s above, but a two litre Maxx Sport – which near as I could figure meant neat bodykit and alloys but pretty standard inside. The owner’s manual was full of references to stuff mine didn’t have. Mazda had some neat colours in those days; your eggplant or whatever would’ve been high on my list too.
You’re right in saying it didn’t feel as nimble as the earlier Mazdas, and it you think your 2.3 felt sedate, spare a thought for those of us with the base two litre! Handling was great, that was never an issue, but in comparison with earlier Mazdas it felt heavy. But drop that seat and it’s amazing what it would swallow.
As a previous owner of a 08 C30 T5 6-speed I very much look forward to reading about your C30 experience. As you wrote earlier the Mazda 3 and C30 shared a common platform. I know whenever I worked on mine about half the parts were labeled Fomoco. I miss mine but after 250,000+ miles of daily spirited driving it was getting very tired.
Your comments about rust—- I drive a 2009 mazda5 grand touring. at 144k rough urban miles, its got lots of rust around the wheel wells. But, it’s always been in the Midwest and I’ve never been able to garage, so what do you expect?
We’ve had a number of Mazda’s in our family, including a hatch and sedan of this vintage. The hatch was sold when we bought a CX-5 for my wife. The sedan is over 215,000 miles now with a daughter, but in rust free Colorado we haven’t had the body cancer that you midwesterner’s get to enjoy. To my mind, they’re not perfect but they’re spunky, fun and not like the hundreds of thousands of Corollas and Civics that ably ply our roads.
Oh, and the sedan is still on its original engine and transmission with one clutch change. Without the rust they can last a long time!
My Uncle had a blue one like this, it got replaced with my Grandma’s old 99 Corolla after she stopped driving and it didn’t pass inspection due to rust a few years back.
Rust was the main thing that kept me from considering a Mazda when I decided for a 05 Pontiac Vibe in 2013. Other than the rust, they had a lot of appeal to me for exactly the same reasons you like them.
This is one of the cars I’d like to find to replace my ’00 Golf. I don’t care for the 2014 up Mazda 3 specifically the center stack, but like these older ones. However, I really am a hatchback lover, and these seem to be much scarcer where I live as hatchbacks. Add to that these get bought to have megamiles put on them in our rather large state, and it is hard to find one that doesn’t have too many miles on it.
I’d get another Golf, but I think only the GTi is available. Also want cloth rather than vinyl upholstery and unfortunately this one should be an automatic. My Golf is manual, but no one else can drive it, and I’m getting to the age where I’ve been incapacitated a few times (my legs, believe it or not) such that pushing on a clutch pedal has actually been painful.
The Mazda 3 is one of the few compacts still available as a hatchback, with cloth interior. Sounds like I’m pretty picky, guess I am, but am just trying to replace what I already own except with an automatic rather than an manual, and of course as a Mazda 3. Don’t want a CUV nor SUV, I like a roomy car but don’t want something that comes as AWD or 4WD, even if it is also offered with FWD or RWD.
Recently acquired a 2013 Mazda3 i SV base sedan with port injected 2.0 MZR 148 HP 5 speed auto, last of the MK2 models, higher trims have the new design direct injected 2.0 155 HP 6 speed auto. From what I’ve seen in real use average MPG is 29 vs 33 with the newer drivetrain.
I had considered this model to replace the 302k mile ’86 Jetta, and wanted a sedan style compact vs hatchback, I have a pickup for larger loads when needed. 30 years of great service, I replaced my old ’70 C10 after 30 years back in ’06, and I’ve deferred a lot of maintenance on the Jetta over the last few years, and this year was 30 years from when I got it in ’91.
A friend of my nephew has owned it since new, despite the fact it was his first car at age 18 its been well maintained and got new tires and battery this year. His family is quite well off, and he borrowed $1000 from his dad to buy a 2013 Fiat 500 (down payment, don’t know what he owes the dealer). Dad wanted his money back quickly, so my nephews friend and dad brought it over and sold it to me for the $1000 needed. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Wasn’t about to turn down such an offer, has 101k miles and runs great. I’ll be 95 if I keep this one 30 years😁.