Review: 2005 Mazda 3 Neo

There is hot competition in the small car market these days with almost every car company on the planet rivaling one another to make the best small car around. A world leader in small car manufacturing was and still is Mazda producing some of the best small cars around including the Mazda3 Mazda2 and Mazda6. Brand new these cars range from $16990 for the Neo Mazda2 to almost $50000 for the high end Mazda6 Atenza. Now that is a large market, however if you don't have the money for a brand new car any of the previous models are great, and rather cheap. Pretty much everything under $10,000 for a couple year old car. Back in 2013 I got my first taste of the Mazda brand with a 2005 Mazda 3 BK Neo. It was a great little car, at a reasonable price. However this lead me to a small problem with my Mazda3. Only a few weeks after purchasing it, I managed to find a leak coming from the boot of the car. Now this caused quite a few troubles however, I doubt it was a design flaw and more likely a history problem from previous owners. However once that was sorted over the next 4 years till now I've had very few problems with it.

Now onto the engine. The car isn't made to break any sort of land speed records and with that the little 2L LF-DE engine was just what it needed. Making 104Kw at 6500rpm it wasn't the fastest car around. But for the punch you got the fuel economy wasn't too bad either. Using 8.5L to the 100Kms in the manual and around 9L to the 100Kms in the auto it was a nice balance of speed and economy. But for a cheap car and a great one for a first car owner it was punchy off the line. Now it was never going to beat your V6 Commodores, but it would be a bit of fun and with the lighter weight it got going well. However this car being front wheel drive was much better in the corners. The suspension was soft but not to the stage where you were flung from side to side with the slightest of movements. But it was grippy and balanced, making it quite difficult to catch through the small roundabouts with little to no effort. Plus it never fought you through them, it was like gliding through as if there was nothing there at all. With all this driving stopping is always a priority and again it was damn good. Many times heavy breaking was needed and it was rare for the Mazda 3 to lock up and skid. Making it a much safer drive. Over all it makes for a great daily driver and rather cheap for the age of the car.

The inside of the Mazda3 is nicely designed and rather big. All the buttons are flush and everything has that nicely placed look, nothing seems out of place. The dash cluster is divided and pretty much sealed so only the driver and maybe the back seat can see making it both helpful and a hindrance at times. But definitely at face value the interior is bang on, nothing looking too over the top and everything has its reasons. However it had some unique styling inside that made it difficult to put aftermarket accessories in. My big problem was the stereo. As I wanted to place a double din touch screen to place the original unit I had to source it specifically for the model car as any off the shelf product would not fit without an abundance of the other parts needed. However in the end, it worked out well with the new product fitting straight into the old ones place.

Something that helped me choose the Mazda3 over some of its rivals was its styling, something about it just popped out at me. Weather it was the slick front end, the nice little spoiler or the nice taillights something about it popped and stood out. And to this day, it still looks good in my opinion. And the paint used looks spectacular. However as time goes on and the sun sees more and more of the paint it does begin to fade and unfortunately that is what has happened here. The first panels effected are the roof, bonnet, spoiler and boot. And if you compare your front quarter panel to the bonnet there is massive difference, even through they are only centimeters away from each other. However if you look after the paint and wash and polish it enough this will be further off for you. Keeping the beautiful paintwork looking great.

All in all the Mazda3 is a great little car for families, first car owners and anyone looking for a cheap reliable run around. Mines done me well so far and I recon it still has a long way to go. Their style is fantastic and the cars balance is great. Reliability is your friend and as long as you take car of it, it will take car of you for many many years to come. Specifications: 2005 Mazda 3 BK Neo

Engine: 2.0 L 4 Cylinder

Power: 104Kw 139.4Hp

Transmission: 5Spd Manual or 4Spd Auto

Length: 4405mm (173.4In)

Width: 1745mm (68.7In)

Height: 1465mm (57.7In)

Weight: 1204Kgs