Are mazdas good cars reddit

I'm not sure if it's just me, or if Mazda just has amazing marketing and is paying people off, but I do not understand what all the Mazda hype is based on. I was so excited for the CX-50 when it was announced. I drive a Subaru Outback and the CX-50 seemed like the perfect vehicle. It offered a more wagon type look and feel, while being slightly smaller and more powerful than the Outback, and apparently "punching above its weight" in terms of quality. While I still think it looks great on the outside, and the interior as well looks nice, I was really disappointed when I finally test drove the highest trim level last weekend. It felt like when my girlfriend tried to convince me that this popular plant-based ice cream was as good or better than the real thing, only for me to take one bite and not want to finish it after getting my hopes up.

My three biggest gripes are the interior quality, the powertrain, and the driver assistance features. The interior, I truly believe, is no nicer than my 2020 Subaru Outback. I get that it might "look" more premium, but when you get in and start poking around the allure goes away. For example, the door grab handle is a cheap hard plastic that I would only expect in the lowest end vehicles. When it came to the powertrain, I was so excited to drive something that size that had at LEAST 310 lb/ft of torque. Holy shit was I surprised when I put my foot down. You could've told me that thing had 200 lb/ft and I would've believed you. Those two things, while not what I was expecting, I could get over. But one of the things I need most in a new vehicle is, at a minimum, decent driver assist/semi-autonomous driving features. I take numerous long trips per year. I'm talking 500-700 miles, 8-10 hour road trips. The radar cruise, lane center, etc. in the Subaru has made these trips SO much easier and less exhaustive. When I took the CX-50 on the highway, that's when I gave up hope of this being the car for me. The CX-50, and I assume all other Mazdas, only have these basic features when traveling below 40mph. They call it traffic jam assist or something like that. But even under those conditions, it's still by far the worst system I've ever used. It just bounced between the lines like a bowling ball.

It looks like the Subaru isn't going anywhere for awhile.

Would like to buy a new car but all my friends recommend me Honda or Toyota. I think Mazda is also a Japanese car brand and should have similar quality? Or am I mistaken that I am missing something important that gives Honda or Toyota an edge?

For reference, I cannot find any new car from Honda in my local dealers, or I should pay an extra fee to get to the wait list. For Mazda, I can pay the MSRP price and there are a few cars.

Why?

Thanks guys!

Edit: I appreciate all the inputs, I will contact my local dealership :).

Toyota- safe, boring not class leading in anything other than reliability. Most of their cars are reliable because they don't take chances to improve things. While this is very safe I am young and this is not a corporate value I would like to support.

Subaru- all underpowered, overpriced on the used market, cheap interiors, boring looks. I've been in a lot with terrible throttle mapping.

Honda- current gen Civic and CRV are a bit unreliable with just about every car using the 1.5T that has oil dilution issues. Besides that I find many of their design decisions to be a bit, off (was going to say tasteless but that's a little too strong).

Why Mazda? Driving feel is a major priority. Don't use CVTs. All cars look good. Reliability seems to be fantastic even while the company continues to innovate. Interiors are bordering on luxury car quality. The entertainment system is the best in an economy car. To add onto this Mazda continues to improve at an impressive rate. I'm trying to think of a downside for Mazda and all I'm coming up with is that they don't sell more and aren't expanding faster.

Hyundai/Kia- For whatever reason these cars are everywhere, the brands are really taking off. I assume a big part of this is because they are cheap and have really good financing options. Besides that they seem to be decently reliable and like Mazda they're rate of improvement is quite impressive. Hyundai has put a focus on comfort and features. For their class they do both of these very well.

My next car will either be an Elantra or a Mazda3

On the whole, very good, just depends on the model and configuration. The Mazda2 is a bit small and boomy in the cabin, especially as an Auto. The Mazda3 is a nice vehicle, especially as a manual, but avoid the 1.6, get the 2l minimum. The Mazda6 is very nice, well made although I found the steering slightly dead. OK power as a manual, although manual boxes no longer offered. I think their resale suffers because they don't have BMW badges. They do have some issues, but most cars do. There is a bit of anecdotal evidence re front suspension issues on Mazda3 and Mazda6 vehicles, and if the 2.3l doesn't have a really good service history it may be best to avoid.

The big things to look for (generally) when buying are:

Rust - an absence thereof
Service history - the more the better
Mileage vs age - an indicator of how much life is left in vehicle Ownership history - not as important as service history, but also an indicator. Multiple owners in a short timeframe may indicate a crapbox.
Current condition - this is where you need to be honest about your own abilities. A pre-purchase inspection is a good idea if you're not particularly mechanically-inclined or if the vehicle you're looking at is a niche/special interest vehicle.

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