It's been a while, but I figured I would update this thread. I ended up going an entirely different direction. I kept my S2000. The only car I've driven that I've enjoyed as much or more than my S2000 is the ND Miata, which, the ND is just a bit on the cramped side and I'm not convinced it would play well with my knee long term. I'm not going to rule out an NC in the future, but for now, the S2000 stays in the garage.
After dislocating my right shoulder a few months ago, I found out recently I might end up needing a bit of surgery due to a torn labrum. I've been going to PT to rehab it for a while now and should find out soon what the long-term plan will be. I'm back to doing pull-ups without trouble, but there's still some limited mobility at the end-ranges. We'll see.
Either way, I might end up not being able to drive a manual for a while, which has weighed on my mind and altered my plans a bit. Up to this point, I've essentially owned 3 manuals (S2000, 128i and Integra) and 1 automatic (Xterra). I rarely ever drove the Xterra- I think I've put ~2000 miles on it in the past 1.5 years. It's a great utilitarian vehicle- an absolute tank in the snow with the Wildpeak tires, but it doesn't play well with my right knee. The knee discomfort in the Xterra is very mild, but still enough to make me generally grab the keys to something else unless I need to pick up a large item or there's a pile of snow on the ground. I've known this for a long time, but it wasn't really a factor given how little I drive it (it was only meant to be a winter beater). The prospect of having to use it as my sole personal vehicle in the event I can't drive a manual for a while hasn't sat well with me.
Long story short: I sold the Integra. Then I sold the Xterra. I replaced them both with something that has significantly less cargo space:
I bought this 2021 Soul Red Mazda 3 Turbo sedan:
I actually used to own a 2021 Mazda 3 Turbo (same color), but last time, I bought the hatchback version. For the record, I'm typically more of a hatchback kind of guy. I only bought the sedan this time for a couple of reasons:
1. This car was marked about ~$4000 below what these cars are selling for (similar mileage and condition) nationwide. That's hard to ignore.
2. My biggest complaint about my previous 3 hatch was the absolutely horrendous rear blindspots caused by the giant rear C-pillars. It almost resulted in me getting into an accident on more than 1 occasion. So, despite the fact that I prefer the looks and added utility of the hatch, I told myself if I was going to do it again, I would buy the sedan. It would appear the folks at Car and Driver share my sentiments.
My last Mazda 3 Turbo burned oil from the day it left the lot, brand new. For that reason alone, I was hesitant about keeping it outside of warranty, long term. Since then, Mazda has issued a fix for any cars affected: as it turns out, it has to do with faulty valve stem seals/exhaust valve seals. According to the Intarwebs, it would appear anyone experiencing this issue now, Mazda will foot the bill to replace the seals, free of charge. So, if I run into this issue again, I'll just swing by my local dealership.
About the car: it's a one owner, personal use car with only 8000 miles on the clock! Clean Carfax, no accidents. The thing is practically brand new. Based on the Carfax date of purchase, it should still have about 2.5 years left under the powertrain warranty. A few small details lead me to believe the previous owner was likely a female. The car was about $8000 cheaper than the cheapest new one I could find in the country- for a pretty much mint car with 8000 miles on it, I couldn't justify the extra cash for a new one. I want to thank the previous owner for taking the massive depreciation hit.
Why did I buy it? Easy- these cars are wonderful, AWD daily drivers that can be used year-round. It comes with an automatic that I don't hate. It's still under warranty for another 2.5 years and I can just drive a car for a few years without having to fix/maintain too much on a regular basis, which should give me some time to help my shoulder and back heal up.
I suppose I should probably review this thing:
Interior: Mazda has really come up in the world in the last 5-7 years. I've always loved Mazda's- I've owned several of them (a plethora of Miata's, a Mazdaspeed 6 and a couple 3's), my wife's daily is a 2016 Mazda 6 6MT and our daughter has a 2010 Mazda 3 6MT- but their latest push to move more upmarket is noticeable. The interior looks and feels more like what I would expect in a modern Audi. The infotainment is a bit of an annoyance to navigate, but the rest of the interior is very comfortable and an easy place to spend lots of time in. Bonus: it doesn't hurt my right knee to drive! Mazda's ergonomics for someone my size are spot on! Dear everyone else: please figure out whatever Mazda does to fit tall drivers comfortably into relatively small cars. The seats, while lacking the sweet thigh extender of my E82, are very soft and appropriately supportive- easy to sit in for long periods of time.
Powertrain: this engine is not a big fan of revving. It has over 300 ft-lbs of torque from a fairly low RPM, but runs out of steam above 5000rpm. It's the exact opposite experience vs my S2000. When I'm playing sporty car driver, give me a high revving NA motor and the glorious sound of an 8000rpm redline! In traffic? I'll take the low-end grunt from this little 2.5T any day of the week. It can't match the smoothness or the soundtrack of my BMW, but it has an extra ~100 ft-lbs of torque... it's a fair trade. The gearbox is a fairly well-programmed traditional torque converter 6AT- none of that CVT nonsense! It's not the fastest shifting gearbox on earth, but it's pretty responsive/intuitive to my throttle inputs. If you put the car into Sport mode it does a pretty good job of holding lower gears so you can have some fun pitching the car around. While not really a sports car engine, for a daily, I really enjoy the powertrain.
Handling/ride/suspension: this is not a hot hatch. This is not a car that will set your hair on fire as you dream of sideways rally car glory. It's not nearly as sharp as my S2000... with that said, the suspension is fairly firm and the car is eager to be pitched around! This is absolutely a street car at heart- I think they hit the sweet spot, having just enough body control to make the car a willing dance partner, without going too stiff as to beat you up on the road. The suspension is firm- maybe too firm for folks that like an extremely plush ride- but I had zero complaints and thought it was a very fair trade-off considering it's poise in the corners. Body roll is very controlled, and while I haven't pushed it to 10/10ths in a while (since I owned my old car), it does a pretty good rotating for a front heavy, FWD-based car. Applying a bit of throttle in the corners, you can feel the rear axle is actually part of the equation. The rear doesn't play nearly as much of a role as say a Focus RS, but it's clearly involved in the equation. This little car handles better than it's torsion bar rear end would suggest.
The steering weight is pretty decent. It's ever so slightly on the lighter end of the spectrum (at least compared to my S2000 and 128i), but not overly so. It feels like Mazda put some thought into getting the weighting correct, as it's light enough to feel playful, without feeling like a video game controller. The feel is not bad for an EPS rack. At the end of the day, it's still an EPS rack- it can't hold a candle to my BMW's steering feel, but for a modern EPS, there's at least something there that gives you some connection to the road (it hasn't been completely muted like most EPS racks).
The brakes are adequate. The overall stopping power isn't impressive, but it's not terrible. I will give them credit: the brake pedal position is wonderful (cars with wide/awkward spacing don't play well with my knee) and they're very easy to modulate. They suit their intended purpose just fine.
It's been a while since I've owned a newer car. I had forgotten about some of the modern luxuries folks get these days- these headlights are utterly amazing! My S2000's old school xenons are pretty good, but my other cars all had halogens that felt like I was holding up a lantern in an 18th century fog by comparison! Auto Hold. Oh my word, I've missed Auto Hold (being able to take your foot off of the brake at a stop light). This is one feature I wish every car had. I even used the adaptive cruise control last night coming home- I forgot how much of a relaxing feature that is on a traffic infested highway. While I still prefer mostly old-school, mechanical things, I can't deny that some of these features are very nice to have.
So, I reluctantly did something I haven't done in a few years since I sold my last Mazda 3 Turbo: I took on a very small car payment. I sold the Integra and the Xterra, but the money I recouped was a bit shy of the cost of the 3 Turbo. I could have dipped into savings, but I don't like to touch my savings account or any investments we've made unless absolutely necessary. Technically, going from 4 cars down to 3, the drop in insurance alone pretty much covers the cost of the payment, so it's pretty much a wash financially. Although I despise debt in pretty much all forms- so, I should be able to pay off the small note over the next few months and be back to being debt-free.
I considered getting a Ford Maverick, but to find a Maverick in similar condition (low miles, no accidents/clean Carfax/title), with cruise control and AWD, I was looking at an extra $3000-$4000, plus the cost of a fly-and-drive (locally, it's an ~$8000+ situation) for a truck with less features. I couldn't justify it when I really only need a truck about once a year or so. Conversely, the wife and I have regular downtown dates, where the Mazda is the easier vehicle to park. Translation: while I love the Maverick, the Mazda is actually more usable for me, more of the time; with the counter argument being that I technically still have 2 other small cars we could take if we wanted to go downtown (even if I avoid taking my S2000 to places where it might get dinged up lol!).
I also considered the Mazda CX-30. I drove one a few weeks ago. It's really just a Mazda 3 on stilts. Only one issue: unlike the 3, the CX-30 didn't play as well with my knee. I actually took measurements at a dealership, and found the culprit: the CX-30's seats sit about an inch higher up (at their lowest setting). I considered trying to retrofit the lower 3 seats into the CX-30, but the fact that I also thought the 3 was more fun to drive (undoubtedly due to the lower center of gravity) played into the equation. With that said, if you're in the market, the CX-30 was very good to drive for what it is, and seemingly the market is flooded with them.
I now have a bit of a debate going on in my head: between the BMW and the Mazda 3 Turbo, which one gets the garage spot?
