A report card on Optimus, three months out.
So it's been a little over three months since I bought my new car, Optimus, the 2006 Mazda6. Figured it would be a good time to follow up and talk about how he's fitting in.
Well first of all, he finally FEELS like my car. When I first bought him, it felt like I was driving a rental for at least a month and a half. And for awhile there, I kept looking for my old car in parking lots and whatnot. But slowly and surely, I've grown accustomed to him and now he feels like he truly belongs to me. Even finding myself spotting plenty of Mazda6's while driving around town.
Things that I love - Comfort, comfort, comfort. The car is way roomy. The trunk is HUGE (consider this...I got a fully boxed 27inch old school tube television inside the car with the trunk completely closed, pretty amazing). The a/c works like a champ (don't need it right now particularly, but I definitely needed it over Christmas in Sarasota). Have really gotten used to the whole keyless entry thing. Power seats with lumbar support are sweet. Power windows is quite convenient. Having back doors for extra passengers is also nice. And of course the fact it revs up and takes off like a rocket when I punch down on the accelerator is awesome. That and the engine isn't straining to get up a hill or over 70mph. Also quite like the fact that it still looks all shiny and new.
Things that I'm not necessarily fond of - The amber colored night display (just so used to the Honda blue/green). The clock/temp/radio display really hates the cold and doesn't light up until well after the car has warmed up and then I have to readjust the clock. Speaking of the radio, for a long while I would get this very annoying random buzzing whenever I played a CD or listened to the radio (a dealership replaced the head unit under warranty, so fingers crossed that'll solve the problem). And while I'm at it, not so thrilled I only have a single disc player, kind of wish it was the 6 disc changer, alas. Getting used to the bit of blind spots at the rear of the car (finding I'm utilizing my mirrors more to correct for that). And when I open up the trunk in the rain water will pour down the sides and often into the trunk. And the tires can't really seem to take wet roads too well and I'll be much happier when I replace them because those tires suuuuuuuuuck.
So all in all, how does is compare with Chewie, my old '98 Honda Civic? I loved that Civic to death, but hate to admit it, so far the Mazda is kicking Honda ass. We'll see if Optimus can last anywhere near the 247K miles that Chewie did, but at the moment, it's winning (and at 54K still seems factory fresh). Sure Chewie was still getting over 29mpg combined in it's 11th year, but after 20+ fill ups, Optimus is pulling in a combined 25mpg and that includes me driving about 80+ on the highways. And with only 4mpg between the two, which is something like a $250 cost difference per year, I think I can handle that budget hit for everything else extra that I'm getting with Optimus.
All in all, here at three months out, I'm lovin' my car.
Zoom Zoom*
(* - I haven't seen the paperwork, but I believe I'm obligated by Mazda USA to include that phrase at least once in any discussion of their vehicles...)
PS - And another that I've grown accustomed to over the past year or so that I was researching for my purchase, car news. I was never all that interested in car news/reviews/etc beforehand, which is why I had to spend so much time researching in the first place. But now I find that I'm always checking Edmund's Inside Line pretty much daily, I flip through car magazines at the grocery store or doctor's offices, I've also joined TrueDelta.com (a user input based vehicle reliability site, kind of like a Consumer Reports mixed with Amazon product reviews. I recommend it if you're looking to get a car in the near future). Even joined a Mazda6 online forum (mostly to research if there are any problems or defects I should be aware of). It's an unexpected side affect of my vehicle purchase. But now if anyone I know is looking to get a car, I know I can definitely steer them in the right direction. And with that bad pun, I'll end this.
Well first of all, he finally FEELS like my car. When I first bought him, it felt like I was driving a rental for at least a month and a half. And for awhile there, I kept looking for my old car in parking lots and whatnot. But slowly and surely, I've grown accustomed to him and now he feels like he truly belongs to me. Even finding myself spotting plenty of Mazda6's while driving around town.
Things that I love - Comfort, comfort, comfort. The car is way roomy. The trunk is HUGE (consider this...I got a fully boxed 27inch old school tube television inside the car with the trunk completely closed, pretty amazing). The a/c works like a champ (don't need it right now particularly, but I definitely needed it over Christmas in Sarasota). Have really gotten used to the whole keyless entry thing. Power seats with lumbar support are sweet. Power windows is quite convenient. Having back doors for extra passengers is also nice. And of course the fact it revs up and takes off like a rocket when I punch down on the accelerator is awesome. That and the engine isn't straining to get up a hill or over 70mph. Also quite like the fact that it still looks all shiny and new.
Things that I'm not necessarily fond of - The amber colored night display (just so used to the Honda blue/green). The clock/temp/radio display really hates the cold and doesn't light up until well after the car has warmed up and then I have to readjust the clock. Speaking of the radio, for a long while I would get this very annoying random buzzing whenever I played a CD or listened to the radio (a dealership replaced the head unit under warranty, so fingers crossed that'll solve the problem). And while I'm at it, not so thrilled I only have a single disc player, kind of wish it was the 6 disc changer, alas. Getting used to the bit of blind spots at the rear of the car (finding I'm utilizing my mirrors more to correct for that). And when I open up the trunk in the rain water will pour down the sides and often into the trunk. And the tires can't really seem to take wet roads too well and I'll be much happier when I replace them because those tires suuuuuuuuuck.
So all in all, how does is compare with Chewie, my old '98 Honda Civic? I loved that Civic to death, but hate to admit it, so far the Mazda is kicking Honda ass. We'll see if Optimus can last anywhere near the 247K miles that Chewie did, but at the moment, it's winning (and at 54K still seems factory fresh). Sure Chewie was still getting over 29mpg combined in it's 11th year, but after 20+ fill ups, Optimus is pulling in a combined 25mpg and that includes me driving about 80+ on the highways. And with only 4mpg between the two, which is something like a $250 cost difference per year, I think I can handle that budget hit for everything else extra that I'm getting with Optimus.
All in all, here at three months out, I'm lovin' my car.
Zoom Zoom*
(* - I haven't seen the paperwork, but I believe I'm obligated by Mazda USA to include that phrase at least once in any discussion of their vehicles...)
PS - And another that I've grown accustomed to over the past year or so that I was researching for my purchase, car news. I was never all that interested in car news/reviews/etc beforehand, which is why I had to spend so much time researching in the first place. But now I find that I'm always checking Edmund's Inside Line pretty much daily, I flip through car magazines at the grocery store or doctor's offices, I've also joined TrueDelta.com (a user input based vehicle reliability site, kind of like a Consumer Reports mixed with Amazon product reviews. I recommend it if you're looking to get a car in the near future). Even joined a Mazda6 online forum (mostly to research if there are any problems or defects I should be aware of). It's an unexpected side affect of my vehicle purchase. But now if anyone I know is looking to get a car, I know I can definitely steer them in the right direction. And with that bad pun, I'll end this.