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Cars: 2015

Re: Cars: 2015

Now I feel that maybe the "Mazda 3 sucks in snow" people are being alarmist, and it'll be about what my Sentra is in snow (which is - fine, because I am cautious). But what if it isn't? What if it really sucks, and I have to put winter tires on my car every year? I am not signing up for that. I was awake until 1 am thinking about this, so I need to make a decision soon. :p The Subaru has about the same horsepower my Sentra has (and I don't consider the Sentra "slow"), so it's not a downgrade. Gah. They are just too close to pick.
 
Re: Cars: 2015

Think about the cars people were driving in winter 40 years ago. Then think about all the new technology and improvements since then. Just saying.
 
Re: Cars: 2015

jen said:
Now I feel that maybe the "Mazda 3 sucks in snow" people are being alarmist, and it'll be about what my Sentra is in snow (which is - fine, because I am cautious). But what if it isn't? What if it really sucks, and I have to put winter tires on my car every year? I am not signing up for that. I was awake until 1 am thinking about this, so I need to make a decision soon. The Subaru has about the same horsepower my Sentra has (and I don't consider the Sentra "slow"), so it's not a downgrade. Gah. They are just too close to pick.
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How often do you drive in snow? Back roads, interstate, in town, do they treat them? Etc. In Maine all season tires work for some. I drive a lot on all types of roads, snow tires are a must.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Re: Cars: 2015

The Mazda 3 does not suck in the snow. The tires Mazda puts on them aren't great at it. If that's not something you're willing to deal with and the cars are really close in your mind, getting the Subaru is provably worth it for the peace of mind.
 
Re: Cars: 2015

walrus said:
How often do you drive in snow? Back roads, interstate, in town, do they treat them? Etc. In Maine all season tires work for some. I drive a lot on all types of roads, snow tires are a must.
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I'm not driving in unplowed rural areas or anything - but my neighborhood usually gets plowed later than most others. I've always used all seasons, and never had reason to get winter tires (and my cars have been small). There's one tricky hill in my neighborhood, but I avoid it when it snows. I'm not really asking if I need winter tires in general, but if there's something specific to the Mazda 3 that makes it unusually hard to deal with in snow, compared to other cars like it. Like soh mentioned about the brake shoes, and I've seen a few other things mentioned by random internet strangers (something about higher torque?)

state of hockey said:
The Mazda 3 does not suck in the snow. The tires Mazda puts on them aren't great at it. If that's not something you're willing to deal with and the cars are really close in your mind, getting the Subaru is provably worth it for the peace of mind.
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This is kind of how I am leaning now - I'm going to regret a car that might have snow issues more than I'm going to regret not upgrading the engine from my current car. Now I just need to keep the same decision until 7 pm or so. :)

Which trim do you have? I think the Touring comes with all seasons, and it looked like the lower trim didn't.
 
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Re: Cars: 2015

Mine is a touring. I can't remember the exact tires I have, I'll post that when I do. They are great in the dry and wet, but bad on snow. They are all-seasons if it never snows more than a couple inches at a time. :D

And I apologize for the confusion i must have caused earlier, when I said "shoes" I meant tires. The brakes are fine, very linear. They have somehow made braking fun.
 
Re: Cars: 2015

state of hockey said:
Mine is a touring. I can't remember the exact tires I have, I'll post that when I do. They are great in the dry and wet, but bad on snow. They are all-seasons if it never snows more than a couple inches at a time. :D

And I apologize for the confusion i must have caused earlier, when I said "shoes" I meant tires. The brakes are fine, very linear. They have somehow made braking fun.
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gotcha. but you are not making this decision easier. ;)
 
Re: Cars: 2015

They are Dunlop SP Sport 5000. Technically all-seasons, but the traction just isn't great in snow on lighter vehicles, IMO. Fantastic grip on dry roads, they don't even chirp in parking ramps. You can see a very clear pattern on review websites. People giving them a 4 or 5 live in the south, people that live up here give them a 2 or 3.

I've had two Mazda 3's, this one and a 2005. The 2005 was a good winter car with winter tires.
 
Re: Cars: 2015

During my vacation this past week, there was a local car show in one of the towns (Copper Harbor, MI). They shut down part of the main drag, and the cars leave town in one big line, drive some sort of loop around the area, and come back into town and park in the closed-off part. Not kidding, that line of cars driving was 15-20 minutes long. EVERYthing from hot-rods to an old-school ambulance (like you saw in the Looney Toons days) to muscle cars. It was friggin' awesome.
 
Re: Cars: 2015

Signed the Subaru deal on Friday (halfway between the TrueCar price and KBB "fair deal" price, so not bad), picked it up Saturday. Enjoying it so far. All in all, not that painful. My salesman was not a greasy, lying slimeball like the last one I had.

soooo much new technology since my last car purchase. I am getting the hang of Apple CarPlay, since my GPS died. Not sure if I can listen to music while running navigation, though... so may be in the market for a new GPS.

Also, I had Best Buy install a stereo in my last car - they will re-install your factory stereo for free when you get rid of the car. So I did that on Saturday, listed it on eBay, and by 10 pm, sold it (plus the steering wheel interface) for $130.
 
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Re: Cars: 2015

I've had 5 different CVTs in the garage so far (Outbacks, one Crosstrek). Nary a whisper from any.
Admittedly, I buy a Subaru, run it to about factory warranty mileage in 15-18 months, and trade.

My biggest knock?
I wish parts of the option package from my last Outback was available on the Crosstrek: better GPS; better winter package (heated rear seats); better seat adjustments.
That said, the base radio/entertainment package on the Crosstrek (option group 23) is better.
Functional to drive: Outback.
Fun to drive: Crosstrek.

All that said, when my dealer had a WRX STI Type RA in the room recently ... < sigh >.
It was spoiled when another Subi fan clued me in that the perf really isn't that much better than a standard WRX STI (but you pay nearly $13k more).
 
Re: Cars: 2015

So apparently I can't use my iPod AND use Apple CarPlay (even though there's 2 USB ports). I can listen to the radio or music on my phone (but I don't keep music on my phone). However, I managed to replace the battery on my GPS, so it's all good. I am still astounded that it came back on after I put it back together, much less with full battery power. :eek:
 
Re: Cars: 2015

just noticed this area of the USCHO board....that said any info on a International Harvester Scout 2 would be nice ,gonna pick 1 up in the next yr or so...
 
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