My recent rental car experiences

[NormanConquest]

So been traveling a bunch the last two months here brief reviews

Kia Rio in Eastern Europe
Okay #### box that gets the job done, has a personality of it own sometimes says has no coolant then when driven hot it perfectly okay. Very boring car overall with nothing positive about it except fuel economy

BMW 740i
I love this engine since I own it but my God it loses so much personality when place in a boat. None of the tech was impressing or I felt I have to have on my vehical. Remind me of the old 70s cadillacs where it just a rolling coach

Nissan Rogue
I hate this car so much, only redeeming feature that I could find is the steering wheel shape.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by NormanConquest

So been traveling a bunch the last two months here brief reviews

Kia Rio in Eastern Europe
Okay #### box that gets the job done, has a personality of it own sometimes says has no coolant then when driven hot it perfectly okay. Very boring car overall with nothing positive about it except fuel economy

BMW 740i
I love this engine since I own it but my God it loses so much personality when place in a boat. None of the tech was impressing or I felt I have to have on my vehical. Remind me of the old 70s cadillacs where it just a rolling coach

Nissan Rogue
I hate this car so much, only redeeming feature that I could find is the steering wheel shape.

I had a Nissan Rogue given to me as a rental once when I was traveling on business. It was so bad, that I didn't even make it out of the rental lot and turned it back in demanding a different car.

It was honestly one of the worst vehicles I have ever been in over $20K.

[NormanConquest]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

I had a Nissan Rogue given to me as a rental once when I was traveling on business. It was so bad, that I didn't even make it out of the rental lot and turned it back in demanding a different car.

It was honestly one of the worst vehicles I have ever been in over $20K.

Yea terrible car, the Sentra and Altima are far superior cars in the Nissan brand.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by NormanConquest

Yea terrible car, the Sentra and Altima are far superior cars in the Nissan brand.

Well, that isn't really saying much, considering they all come with the "Fun-Sucker" transmission, aka the CVT.

I swear some engineer came up with that and pitched it to the execs back in the 1980's at Subaru (I believe that the Subaru Justy was the first mainstream car to have one). He comes in and says "Alright guys, I know that the automatic transmission is really boring compared to the manual transmission. But...wait till you see what I've got in store for you now!"

[Shiza]

My last business trip I had a 2018 Mazda 6. I was surprised the how comfortable the ride and techy the car was. Heated/cooled steering wheel and seats, wireless phone charging. Even had a message on the dash when turning the car off to check the back seats when I would leave my bag in the back.


Side note. I love creature comforts but hate driving assists. Would be nice to have such things in my E90 M without needing to upgrade to the F8x.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Reed

My last business trip I had a 2018 Mazda 6. I was surprised the how comfortable the ride and techy the car was. Heated/cooled steering wheel and seats, wireless phone charging. Even had a message on the dash when turning the car off to check the back seats when I would leave my bag in the back.


Side note. I love creature comforts but hate driving assists. Would be nice to have such things in my E90 M without needing to upgrade to the F8x.

Yep - I personally love the Mazda 3 and 6 in the current iterations less one major flaw; the engines.

They are such weak power plants for vehicles that pitch themselves as sporty alternatives to Honda and Toyota. I'm not expecting an Audi S4 competitor here, but goodness, give me at least 200hp as an option in a high-line Mazda3 and maybe 240hp as an option in a top of the line Mazda6. Those tiny NA 4cyl engines they are using are anemic.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

Yep - I personally love the Mazda 3 and 6 in the current iterations less one major flaw; the engines.

They are such weak power plants for vehicles that pitch themselves as sporty alternatives to Honda and Toyota. I'm not expecting an Audi S4 competitor here, but goodness, give me at least 200hp as an option in a high-line Mazda3 and maybe 240hp as an option in a top of the line Mazda6. Those tiny NA 4cyl engines they are using are anemic.

I had a 2016 manual 3GT hatch. Was a great handling, practical car that satisfied me as a daily driver. It allowed me to ignore the Smog Machine GTI when I was shopping.

But, that 2.5L was an anemic POS that gave up the will to live at 5k rpm and got lousy mileage. Just an awful engine.

Some lady ran a red light two blocks from my kid's daycare. I stopped partially in the intersection, but she still clipped me, removing the front bumper cover, but no other damage. Seemingly. Apparently it bent the front subframe, which totaled the poor thing.

Bought a GTI and have a laugh every day at how very nearly every part of it makes a better car. The only thing I do miss (aside from the style) is the playfulness. The GTI is pretty buttoned up. But the 3 would lift throttle oversteer beautifully. Limits were pretty low even on good rubber, but it was fun, predictable and repeatable.

[Shiza]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

I had a 2016 manual 3GT hatch. Was a great handling, practical car that satisfied me as a daily driver. It allowed me to ignore the Smog Machine GTI when I was shopping.

But, that 2.5L was an anemic POS that gave up the will to live at 5k rpm and got lousy mileage. Just an awful engine.

Some lady ran a red light two blocks from my kid's daycare. I stopped partially in the intersection, but she still clipped me, removing the front bumper cover, but no other damage. Seemingly. Apparently it bent the front subframe, which totaled the poor thing.

Bought a GTI and have a laugh every day at how very nearly every part of it makes a better car. The only thing I do miss (aside from the style) is the playfulness. The GTI is pretty buttoned up. But the 3 would lift throttle oversteer beautifully. Limits were pretty low even on good rubber, but it was fun, predictable and repeatable.

Ah well you seem to be comparing a Mazda3 GT to a GTI. That's apples to oranges. The Mazdaspeed3 was meant to compare with the GTI and during it's limited run I'd say it did pretty well. It's a shame they haven't made a speed version of the new car.

[Red Bread]

Just going on price. Paid within $500 for both. And no, the MS3 was a terrible, flinty, yet heavy piece of junk. Borrowed a friends for a month and was extremely happy to give it back. I had the first generation Mazda 3 at the time and it was 550 pounds lighter than the second gen MS3, not sure what Mazda did to screw the MS3 up so badly.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Reed

Ah well you seem to be comparing a Mazda3 GT to a GTI. That's apples to oranges. The Mazdaspeed3 was meant to compare with the GTI and during it's limited run I'd say it did pretty well. It's a shame they haven't made a speed version of the new car.

The problem is that the current Mazda 3 GT is priced within $2,500 of the VW GTi. So irrespective of what the marketing departments are saying, people are comparing the two cars when cross shopping a purchase.

In this regard, it doesn't stack up.

Heck - even a bottom rung Mazda3 compared to a VW Golf doesn't really compare. That 1.8TSi feels quick - something the 2.0L in the base Mazda3 does not.

[Shiza]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

The problem is that the current Mazda 3 GT is priced within $2,500 of the VW GTi. So irrespective of what the marketing departments are saying, people are comparing the two cars when cross shopping a purchase.

In this regard, it doesn't stack up.

Heck - even a bottom rung Mazda3 compared to a VW Golf doesn't really compare. That 1.8TSi feels quick - something the 2.0L in the base Mazda3 does not.

Wow. Times have changed since the first gen. I just built a new Mazda3 and it was $27,500. That's absurd. The GTI is definitely a better choice for the price.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Reed

Wow. Times have changed since the first gen. I just built a new Mazda3 and it was $27,500. That's absurd. The GTI is definitely a better choice for the price.

Yup. If you load them up - the Mazda tops out at $29,800! LOL. I'm a huge fan of Mazda, I've owned a Mazda3 GT hatch and also several Miata's - but they really need a more potent power plant as a option to stay relevant.

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

Yup. If you load them up - the Mazda tops out at $29,800! LOL. I'm a huge fan of Mazda, I've owned a Mazda3 GT hatch and also several Miata's - but they really need a more potent power plant as a option to stay relevant.

Just the current ND Miata lump would be a start. My 2006 3 had the NC motor and it loved to rev. The 16 had the stupid SkyActiv and it just hated to rev. I took the deck sticker off hoping that would help, but nothing changed.

I've driven the 2.5L turbo in the CX9 and it's torquey, but even more anemic at higher revs. Absolutely not a sporty engine.

Sadly, I do think the autos work better than the manuals with the SkyActiv motors, but I'm not going near an automatic.

[Shiza]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

Yup. If you load them up - the Mazda tops out at $29,800! LOL. I'm a huge fan of Mazda, I've owned a Mazda3 GT hatch and also several Miata's - but they really need a more potent power plant as a option to stay relevant.

I've owned a couple Mazda's as well, FD RX7 and a first gen speed3. They were both great cars. If I could do it all again I'd keep the RX7. But new car prices just keep going up and I could never justify $28k for a Mazda. Well maybe an RX9 if that ever happens

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by Reed

I've owned a couple Mazda's as well, FD RX7 and a first gen speed3. They were both great cars. If I could do it all again I'd keep the RX7. But new car prices just keep going up and I could never justify $28k for a Mazda. Well maybe an RX9 if that ever happens

My dad just sold his original FD. Dammit.

[Shiza]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

My dad just sold his original FD. Dammit.

The Market for FD's, NSX, Skylines, and Supra's is ridiculous right now. Couple years ago you could pick up a clean FD for $8-10k, now the same car would g o for at least $20k. Reminds me of the air cooled market.


lol we are wayyyyy off topic

[Red Bread]

In theory you can Turo an FD. We're totally on topic.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Reed

The Market for FD's, NSX, Skylines, and Supra's is ridiculous right now. Couple years ago you could pick up a clean FD for $8-10k, now the same car would g o for at least $20k. Reminds me of the air cooled market.


lol we are wayyyyy off topic

Currently got my eyes on this one. Yummy....

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1993-mazda-rx-7-42/



.

[Red Bread]

That is seriously clean. My dad's Bose setup stopped working and no one seemed to know how to put Humpty back together again.

[RM7]

Hands down the worst for me have been chrysler/jeep products. This was a patriot or something similar. I wasn't sure what this meant, maybe that the vehicle was stretching/getting longer due to some sort of gravitational warp? The upside is that they screwed up my name when I took the car and I tried to sort it out for a few days and just gave up on the run-around I was given. When I returned it eventually they had no record of me having it and it cost me nothing. I could have sold it on the black market and no one would have known.