Not a problem in your climate and I don't believe Mazda are any worse than others.

The only issue I know of was on the Mark II MX5 which ran from 1998 to 2004. An alarmingly high number of these have corroded front chassis rails, even cherished ones with low mileage which were kept in a garage. The chassis rails are not immediately visible unless you know where to look.

On a new Mazda 3, not a problem.

How can anyone answer for a new model, only time will tell, VW's are rated but i see lots of Passats with rust riddled front wings.

Not seen one myself, would be very surprised if I did.

Getting completely under most cars after 2 or 3 winters would surprise people who seem convinced that modern cars don't rust.

Always have a good look under our cars every year. 8 year old Golf, no rust, 5 year old C-max, no rust, 6 year old Micra, no rust, 4 year old Kia Ceed, no rust, 5 year old BMW, no rust. From that I would say that 100% of our recent cars have no rust after normal use. No annual jet washing, no hosing undrer the wings, just a weekly/fortnightly clean. Last car I had that showed any signs of rust was a Puma and they have all rusted on the rear arches. Ours was 6 years old before it actually broke through. That model was not a good example, definitely caused by the carpet like material Ford fitted in the rear arches, it absorbed and retained water.

certainly better than the Suzuki in the other thread which was rusty on delivery

That was just a simple delivery defect that has been blown out of all proportion. A chip on the paint is hardly serious corrosion.

The leather is good quality and transforms the interior. The other advantage of it is that the power adjustment allows minute adjustments to be made. After the 2, which does have quite a hard ride, the 3 is a step change. However, it probably isn't the quietest car over rough road surfaces but it certainly isn't obtrusive. Mine is on 18" wheels as well which certainly won't do the ride any favours. From what I remember from the test drive on 16" wheels, the ride and road noise were much better. If there is more wind noise than some, I haven't noticed it. One of the reasons for buying a bigger car (and it is quite large) was as a more comfortable car for long journeys. After 1500 miles in three weeks, it seems to be doing well in that department.

I hope that helps. Maybe not a car for everyone but for me it ticks the right boxes and I am happy to live with any compromises that invariably have to be made.

My current car is a 1997 Civic VTi so my expectations are quite reasonable I suppose.

Somehow i doubt anything from the short list (nor much else new) will last as long or be as trouble free as that fine car.

We've had three Mazdas from new - a 2003 (53 reg) 323 that was kept for three years, a 2003 (53 reg) Premacy that was kept for 4 years, and a 2007 (57 reg) Mazda 2 that was kept for 4.5 years.

No problems as regards rust with either of them.

Nope, me neither, from a 6 or a MX-5. Mum has a Mazda 2 which is absolutely brand spanking new and it's a great little car.

What Car did a 2 car test including the 2 litre Mazda 3 petrol a few months ago, the other car was the Seat Leon 1.2 TSi.

The Seat was easily the quickest car except in the meaningless 0 - 60 test and the equally meaningless top speed. For example. In the tests that really matter in day to day driving the Mazda accelerated from 30 - 50 in 4th gear in 8.6 seconds, the Seat took 7.3 seconds. 50 - 70 in 6th in the Mazda took 18.0 seconds, the Seats time was 14.7 seconds.

The Mazda had 120 PS and 155 lbs ft of torque whereas the Seat has 105 PS and 129 lbs ft. The difference is where they produce it, the Seat is between 1400 and 6000 rpm, the Mazda between 4000 and 6000 rpm meaning little low down power/torque exacly like Avant and the in gear figures suggest.

My 140 PS Leon does 45 mpg overall, my neighbours previous model 2.0 Mazda 3 could only do low 30's. He now has a diesel.

Overall the Mada came second in the test with road noise, insurance cost and handling counting against it.

Edited by skidpan on 01/04/2014 at 09:16

I have a 2.0 SE-L 6speed and after 3months/1700 miles torque isnt an issue. Yes, if you're overtaking, 3500 revs and above it really comes alive but after 20years with Peugeot 1.8/8D, VW 1.9PD Diesels and Mazda 1.6TD diesels torque is very important to me and I am fine with the 2.0Skyactive 120. The revs I use are similar to my last 3TD. The Skyactiv 2.0 which is Direct Injection Petrol is much better than the old 1.6MZR in the Mk2. If around town I get 37-40 and reckon A road driving is 50-55MPG.

My 2009 2lt. is now 4 1/2 years old and not a sign of rust. It is cleaned every couple of weeks which might help. The nearside front alloy is showing some corrosion, but that's down to a parking misjudgement when I scraped a kerb. By the way,it's now on 53,500 miles and nothing has gone wrong, everything still works.

That's shocking. Was it exposed to road salt much?

>>>>>How can anyone answer for a new model, only time will tell, VW's are rated but i see >>>>>lots of Passats with rust riddled front wings.

>>>>>Not seen one myself, would be very surprised if I did

Be surprised. It is a very common and well publicised problem with the B5 Passats, forums are awash with stories of how badly VW UK have handled warranty issues with this and VW have even issued a tech fix for it but refuse to agree it is a warranty issue. I had a 2005 Passat and after 2 months of haggling and reading dozens of stories on UK and US VW owner sites finally for VW to cough 100% for the repair to both front wings. They paid for it via their customer services department as a goodwill gesture not a warranty acknowledgement.

I had a 55 plate that was recalled in 2007 for poorly applied rear wheel arch underseal to be checked and reapplied. The one thing I do every spring is pressure wash the arches and use fingers and wheel brushes to clean them - rear ones are always worse. I've seen one of my old Mazda's recently (6yrs old now) and bodywork in A1 condition. I'll agree that Mazda alloys need TLC, my dads 3 is 8months old and there is brake dust bubbling on a front alloy. Dealer will be treating the car to a new alloy wheel. The flip side is my last Mazda which had diamondbrite alloy protector brushed on every autumn (DIY task) and no degrading after 3.5yrs. Also made the alloys easy to clean in the winter.