Simple Car For a Simple Price

At the Average Joe Auto Review we don’t always review the newest cars and that’s because we’re not out to represent dealers, we aim to represent the daily driver who is looking for some input on what could possibly be their next daily vehicle. In addition to that, we don’t necessarily review the most exotic or interesting cars i.e. you Ferrari’s or Bentley’s or what have you. We give our honest input on average cars for average Joe’s, hence the Average Joe Auto Review.

With that being said, it is our pleasure to show to you the 2014 Mazda3 i Touring edition from Mazda. It’s a simple car with simple features for a simple price. It isn’t a sports car, it’s not a luxury vehicle, it’s a car for those who don’t particularly care for all of the bells and whistles but yet still want something reliable.

On the inside of the car, everything was pretty plain looking from the front to the back. The front of the dash had three knobs for controlling the A/C and heating and then the top dash looked like someone super glued an AM/FM radio to it. However, just because the infotainment center is a little low key, the driver will still be able to enjoy all of their favorite driving tunes. The infotainment center does have an AM/FM radio set up while also housing a discrete CD player between the front dash and the stick. Also, hidden in the center console there is a port for AUX and a slot for USB storage. The car also does come with Bluetooth which does serve as a safety feature for handsfree driving while also presents the driver with the opportunity to listen to their mobile device.

As for the feel of the drive, this particular vehicle is a 6 speed manual transmission and it did shift fairly easily. The combination of the stick, clutch and steering wheel all felt pretty solid when used and there was no real need for tricky maneuvering or even the slightest bit of an “out of control” feeling. The one thing I will mention is that if you have never driven a 6-speed before or maybe it’s just been a minute since your last time, ask for a quick lesson from your dealer as there is a slight chance that you’ll end up putting it in first rather than reverse (what can I say, it’s been a while!)

The car itself is not huge however with the hatchback styling, the roof is a tad bit higher and the curve you find in most cars doesn’t start until the trunk which makes for great headroom. In addition to that, the legroom isn’t all that bad for the size. Your long legged passengers probably won’t want to be back there for hours on end but they’ll be perfectly comfortable for a night on the town.

Lastly, the mechanics are also rather simple however you don’t need much to power a car of this size. It houses a 2.0L, 4 cylinder engine capable of creating about 155 hp which is plenty for this class. The vehicle averages about 32 miles per gallon which is a little less than what you would get from the Mazda 3 sedan but at the end of the day the difference would be nickels and dimes.

In the end, if you want a car that should last you a while but you don’t want to pay a fortune, consider the 2014 Mazda3 i Touring edition. The sticker should be in the ballpark of $14,000 and with that you’ll get a car that handles well, feels comfortable, and doesn’t look terrible. The Mazda3 i Touring from the Mazda Motor Corporation is a solidly simple car for a reasonably simple price.