My friend bought one to replace his VW GTI which was stolen and burned. He hated that car and could not wait to get rid of it.

 

It was between the Mazda 3 and the Matrix/Vibe for us when buying a used car a few months ago. We needed a car with a hatch big enough for the dog and decent rear seat room for the little one. It needed to be comfortable enough for semi-annual 15-hour road trips. The Fit wasn't even on our radar as it seemed too small. Then we test drove one on a whim and never looked at another Mazda or Toyota. Sure the fit doesn't have the 3's nicely upholstered seats or fancy dashboard, but what it does have sealed the deal for us:
- better fuel economy
- higher safety rating
- cheaper insurance
- more space in front and rear seats
- better cargo hauling
- lower price (in the local used car market 08 fits were costing the same as 06 3's)

I normally buy cars 3 or 4 years old and keep them until they're completely dead. The reputations of Honda (owned 2 previously) and Mazda for quality and long-term reliability favour Honda in a major way.

We bought an orange 08 fit sport and have never looked back. Despite being the 'sport' model it's no sports car, but still lots of fun. In terms of driving pleasure it's not far behind the 3 and miles ahead of the matrix.

 

I wouldn't buy it because it is a Mazda!!!!!!!!!

 

.......

Occasionally, we forget that Canada is a different nation than the USA. You do not find identically corresponding models of given automobiles on both sides of our [friendly] border. If I recall correctly, Canadian Fits do not come with a spare tire.

 

SkyActiv 3s are out now...

2012 Mazda 3 SkyActiv Review: Car Reviews

2012 Mazda 3 Skyactiv-G First Drive

A 6MT with 18,950 MSRP and 6AT at 19,800 MSRP, for the 5-door i Touring... bit more than the Fit, but you get 6-speeds and more power, and the MPG should be better too.

 

OK the i-touring is VERY tempting.
-6th speed
-a few extra MPG (hopefully this stays true in the real world)
-bluetooth
-4 wheel disc brakes

but
-$2k more than the Sport MT Fit
-foglights = extra 200$
-no USB audio (could use bluetooth instead)
-no theft alarm (optional)
-less cargo space

Time will tell...
Can't wait to see what they do with the redesign in a few more years. I'll be in the market in 3-5 years so that should be perfect timing.

 

because the fit can fit a k20a and rape.
mazda 3 cannot.

 

Hate the way the first link guy says "Maaazda"

 

I was considering the Mazda 3 back when I bought my 2009 Fit. I wish I did go with the Mazda thinking back because, except for the slick rear "magic seat" I don't like the cheap interior at all. On the expressway it requires extra attention to keep it on track making for a tiring drive. The worst of it all is the weak air conditioning that can't keep up with the Florida summer heat!

 

You ask why buy a fit over a mazda 3? Ok here goes my opinion

I come from a family that has literally owned nothing but Hondas. We currently own 5.

This will obviously bias is in my opinion sometimes because honda transmissions are really good and 2 the controls tend to be simple for HVAC and radio so that's what i'm used to. Anyway.

So I was deciding whether to buy a honda fit base (manual) or the mazda 3 skyactiv (manual) hatch a couple things. I did end up with the honda fit. I will discuss what I don't like about the fit, but I won't discuss overly much about the fit in its own category besides a comparison context.

I did sincerely want to think the mazda 3 was much better. I really had a good impression of it going into the test drive. My friend had a 2.5 automatic and it was a lot of fun to ride in and it seemed quick.

Anything I liked or didn't like about the mazda 3 is in one of these categories
Summary
Mazda 3:
Pros:
1. Smoother ride
2. Quieter
3. Definitely more comfortable
4. 6 speed transmission (sort of)
5. Better Looks
6. Faster
7. Power front seats

Cons:
1. Shifting Feel
2. Not as fun actually to drive
3. Center Arm rest crowds you shifting arm
4. Visibility
5. Cargo Space
6. Shifting Feel
7. Cost
8. Cup holders
9. Steering Wheel Controls
10. Console Controls
11. Versatility of Space

Pros Explained:
1. 2 & 3 Smoother ride and quieter and comfortable
The ride was not as choppy as the fits it was more relaxed and the interior was definitely quieter. It was definitely more comfortable so on longer trips the car would be less tiring that's for sure.

4. 6 Speed Transmission
I so would like to have a 6 speed in the fit. If they use it as a highway gear you use above 70 or something you could bring the rpms down which quiets the interior alot and it would improve the mileage ( I tend to drive conservatively so I get 40-42 mpg on freeway with the fit. On slower roads like 45-50mph back roads I get up to 47-48mpgs!). Anyway like the fact you have 6 speeds its just looks good. I've only ever driven 5 speeds my whole life.

5. Looks
I really love the way it looks. Its much more styled then the fit is and it certainly looks sportier.

6. Faster
Sometimes the fit does seem like it has to try a bit harder then it should to accelerate. I loved that the mazda accelerates up to speed with ease. It really does want to drive fast. It just put a smile on my face when I merged out into traffic without having to give it much throttle. The fit feels a little frustrated at times on the freeway and the engine noise become pronounced when you get up to 70-75 mph.

7. Well the fit doesn't have that at least in the base its sort of nice to have.

Alright time for the beef and there is a lot:
Cons:
1. Transmission & Shifting Feel
This is where my bias draws its first blood. I swear I could watch a whole movie between gear shifts. The amount of time it takes to switch gears is astounding. Being a honda the fit shifts effortless into any gear instantaneously from any other gear aside from 1st and reverse of course. This is what I have come to expect as "normal". Like a optimized computer program.
gear:2nd - done, next gear:__, 3rd - done, next gear__, etc

as soon as you think it its done. The mazda 3 can't do that no matter how hard I pushed and pulled it still took about a second to just perform a gear change between any 2 gears. Back to the program analogy:
gear:2nd ---- done, next gear__, 3rd ---- done, next gear__, etc

That's what it felt like. Who really like waiting for the key on the keyboard to show the font on the screen a half second later. It slows down your typing some.

I even had to repress the clutch pedal sometimes to get it to go into gear.
As far as I can tell this does 2 things. First it means if someone is about to rear end you etc and you need to downshift now! to pull away so you can get out of the way your screwed in the Mazda, if you saw it coming. So safety is hypothetically a concern. Second, whats the fun of driving a car that makes you wait around. Why try to shift as fast as you can which is what instinct tells you to do when you get the adrenaline pumping if the car doesn't let you shift fast. Its like trying to calm you down and not let you have fun. Its like your parents telling you to drive carefully except they have the car reminding you for them.

So the transmission isn't as good at shifting as a honda unfortunately if my beef stopped there I probably could have lived with that. Its not that bad I suppose ... sigh. It gets worse. So I said its more comfortable to sit in and for highway cruising well when they did that they seem to have forgotten you need some elbow room. The arm rest definitely seemed to cramp my shifting (although I didn't realize it had an electric seat so it was a little out of adjustment. There was no salesman with me in my test drive. -_- and remember! I'm used to a honda without that haha), but in the fit (without an armrest) anyway your arm is free to move about where ever it wants when you shift. With the mazda it like forces you to shift with your hand in a specific plane. Sliding your arm across the arm rest to shift. That would be fine if it shifted quickly and easily like a honda does. It makes shifting uncomfortable and makes the car even more of a buzz kill to drive in my opinion.

2. & 3. Not as fun to drive:
As you can probably tell by now I find the responsive shifting, noisy fit, more fun to actually drive. The fit tends to feed your ego and although at times it feels like its trying to hard, mostly it gives you the feeling you are driving faster then you really are. Since the mazda 3 is really more refined and quieter and more comfortable its more conducive to cruising then having a little fun with it. (I never did drive the 2.5 liter which I've heard does put a bit more pep in the 3. Sometimes I wish I did but the dealership attitude doesn't exactly make me want to go back.)

4. Visibility
I also had this problem with the subaru imprezza as well.In the fit your only blind spot by eye is someone positioned just right 2 lanes over on the drivers side. You can see just about anywhere else. The fit almost feels like a glass cathedral theres so much visibility. The driver side pillar blocks your view much more in the mazda and the back window is smaller so its harder to see out of. (Although I remember now test driving the sedan so the hatch would be slightly different.)

5.Cargo Space
This is a biggy. The seats in the mazda don't fold flat. Ok well that wouldn't be a problem if the looks of the mazda 3 didn't make the trunk small as well. The fit just holds so much stuff you almost have to start comparing its cargo capacity to some SUVs or something like mazda 5. Cars way out of its class. The fit is the only way to go if you need to move a lot of stuff.

6. Going into Reverse and shift handle feel
So I like a 6 speed. To go into reverse you push the grip down ok. Well whenever you shift you always sort of push down. So this results in a very vague feeling on the shifter when you shift. It just doesn't make sense. its basically always moving up and down whenever you touch it so you never can really have a good firm grip on it. Once again making it less fun to drive.

7. Cost
So the mazda 3 costs $21000 for the base skyactiv model with destination fee. The fit costs $5000 less and in many cases has more features to offer. You better give more then just some more hp for an extra 5k

8. Features (Cup Holders)
So the mazda 3 has 6 cup holders which is typical for its class, but the fit has 10! 8 of which are up front. Cup holders also serve as places to temporary leave things. The fit also has cell phone holders and 2 glove boxes and an extra storage compartment underneath the rear seat. The mazda has but 1 glove box and 4 cup holders. Why should I pay more to get less of this versatility

9. Wheel Controls
The fit has on the base only controls for cruise control but they are very easy get to with your 1 finger while you keep you hand on the wheel and don't get in the way when you use the wheel. Because its so easy I use it almost constantly because they fit has quite a bit of getup and go even in 5th you just slow down and speed up with the cruise control. The mazda 3 on the other hand holy cow. Its more crowded then an airplane cockpit. I don't see how a car with so many buttons on the wheel to distract you can be fun to drive plus you mash then every time you turn the wheel in a hurry. Also to use the cruise control unless you have very long fingers require you to take your hand off the wheel and I found you had to reach underneath the wheel to access then otherwise you bend you hand in a funny way. I do miss the audio controls on the fit base that you get on the sport. It would be nice for going through you ipod it would be so much easier to scroll using a finger instead of the console knob and your hand.

10. Console Controls
I used to Hondas which have very simple setups. I was overwhelmed by the number of buttons on the console of the Mazda 3 and they seemed small and unorganized. They just are not intuitive like the fits is, but if you used to mazdas it make not be that bad just hondas aren't usually that complex.

11. Versatility
The fit has more cup holders, more glove boxes, more storage spaces, more ways to fold the rear seats, larger rear hatch opening, fold flat rear seats. These all make the fit much more versatile then the mazda as far as I can tell. It may have had 2 power ports instead of 1 of the fits but besides that it is generally less versatile.

This comes up often in google searches of a comparison of the two so I wanted to input my 2 cents even if its an old thread

 

i still cant get myself to like the mazspeed3's front.

the car's interior is small, especially the foot wells.

i test drove the speed3 one last time before buying my '12 sport last year. the fit is just a overall better car and bargain imho.
the speed3 has lots of power, but for a dd, the fit sport MT has ample power imo.

 

I think if you are buying used, the Mazda 3 can probably be had at better prices than a Fit and it's easy to find a ton of 3's around, Fit's are in minimal supply from what I experienced when I bought our 09 at Christmas. Used ones are really hard to find and there aren't many good deals out there.

The Mazda 3 handles better and has more power, but it feels more like a car while the Fit seems much more open feeling with a more upright sitting position and it has great cargo storage options.

 

I recently had this decision to make - a new 2013 Mazda3 vs new 2013 Fit Sport, both with automatic transmission. I chose the Fit.

I agree with everyone who says that the Mazda is sportier looking. And based purely on its specs, it accelerates faster, plus it is somewhat larger (compact vs subcompact). On the other hand, the Fit is so very versatile and has such great seat arangements, which is partly why a person buys a hatchback. And the Fit is reviewed by practically everyone as having great handling and being great fun to drive (but the Mazda is no slouch in these categories either). So, what to do?

Well, bottom line - I got sticker shock when I priced the Mazda3 hatchback Touring model - over $21,000 vs mid $18s for the Fit Sport without Navigation. So, basically the Fit was a better value for what I want in a car. So I didn't even take the Mazda for a test drive, because the extra money wasn't worth it to me just to get a jazzed-up car.

Plus, the Fit felt better to me just sitting in it, and other intangibles (better view, etc). And I actually LIKE the way the Fit looks, although I agree it is kind of dorky and I did worry that people might laugh at it (some do, some don't). So, as with many things, it depends on what strikes your fancy.

 

Mazda 3 "i" and Skyactive are not really any much faster than the Fit. The "S" is a bit faster but at $25k? I suppose extra torque from displacement in the midrange makes for more usable power in daily driving situations. The Fit's lower final drive helps make up for the smaller motor.

 

Well, that's good! I like to hear anything that tells me I made a good choice!

It's funny that this is a thread at all, I think, because even though these 2 cars were my final choice, the more natural/reasonable pairing would be the Mazda2 vs the Fit. The reason I personally didn't even consider this is because it seemed that if you were thinking about getting a Mazda2, you'd get a Fit instead, not much contest (although I suppose some would disagree). So it is interesting that folks kind of are comparing the Fit against a more expensive car.

 

I agree and I was impressed with the Mazda 2. It handled great and was quieter than the Fit. The equivalent models are almost identical in price, fuel mpg, acceleration, etc. The Fit has the really big advantage of almost 4 times the cargo room though, that was what sold me.

 

We drove a rental Mazda 3 sedan w Skyactive engine from Galveston Tx to Charlotte NC, just over 2.000 miles. Driving similar to the way I drive my fit (pretty tame except for several hundred miles at 75-85 mph!)w got 38.9 mpg. About the same as our 2011 Fit base w AT although I not done as much sustained driving in the Fit. So the I would say the advertised MPG is obtainable with the M3 skyactive - at least in the sedan

I really liked the M3, was somewhat quieter than the and I found the seats to be more comfortable to me, but my wife preferred the Fits seats. But a big reason I have the Fit is the cargo space as we go to our beach house 3-4 times a month & I don't think we could get it all in an M3 wagon.

 

why? Rust is one reason. Mazdas rust quickly, especially in Quebec with our atomic road salt. I see plenty of Mazdas that are only a few years old and have considerable rust around the wheel wells.

My 2007 Fit's still relatively rust free! Yay!

 

No you're not recalling correctly, at least not fully. Only CDN autos don't come with spare but a sealant repair kit. Manual CDN Fits have a spare. It's so both trannys meet CDN fuel economy rankings for sub compact. With the auto being heavier by nature, the delete the spare to save weight to meet the standard, but it is offered as an option, which most people if they're smart, get the dealer to throw it in if they really want it.

As far as which car to choose. I too was considering a Mazda 3 Sport as well since I would get a % discount since we bought a 2010 Mazda 5 new as our family car. Being that the 3 is a compact vs the Fit as a subcompact, the Fit has way more room, especially in the back seat. Plus the rear doors open much wider than the 3 which makes my life much easier loading both my kids still into their 5 point harness car seats.

I'm also a life long Honda guy to so familiarity was a factor, as was the fact my buddy is a service advisor at my Honda dealer and takes care of me. Not that he really gets me much better than normal since my local Honda dealer is one of the highest ranked dealers of any brand in our area and has never screwed me. Excellent customer service in sales and service go along way to ensuring life long customers. Every other car dealer I have ever dealt with, pales in comparison to my Honda dealer in treating a customer well and with respect.

Love how my 2012 Fit Sport drives and have no regrets.

*update*. Also forget to include insurance. The Fit was way cheaper on insurance than the 3 for some reason, at least around here. And I have a clean record

 

Personally I don't like the styling of the Mazda 3. That silly grin on the front really irritates me.