It is good for 3 years with the Lexus.

I don't know if you can set it to lock when you walk away (don't think so), but if you touch the outside of the door handle it locks and if you touch the inside of the handle (or push the button to open the hatch), it unlocks. Or you can use the App or key fob.

Toyota is better than Honda. Full stop. Toyota is boring. Both are better than Mazda by a long ass way. Im going to try to be tactful: Edit. Those headlights disentigrate internally and are stupid expensive. Chinese aftermarket ones as well are expensive.

Toyota has way less frills and I hope you can afford one. I can't, but an old one works just fine.

Honda is perfectly fine. Do not buy a tiny engine with a turbocharger, ever. Any brand.

Pretty much everyone uses led headlights and tail lights. Coworker has a late teens f150 with a burnt out driving light section of the taillight, 1200$ part.

< chuckle, good one > I vastly prefer a manual to a slushbox, but sometimes it's nice to just hit the gas and not worry about the rest. And while I still prefer a manual, slushboxes these days have gotten rid of most of the slush.
Yep, when we bought my wife's Outback (not a small vehicle) I went for the flat 6 vs the flat 4 or turbo 4 of the newer models. Smaller motors with turbos seem to be the way of the world these days, and I'm sure they are fine for most folks most of the time. But I'd rather have a less highly strung N/A. It seems like damn near everything these days is a 2.0L turbo 4. I look at someone like Audi who seems to put the same 2.0T in everything from their small cars to their bigger SUVs and think, "that must suck in anything but the smaller vehicles." But it's not just them, it's everyone.
Yep, the wife's Outback has "eye liner" around the headlights, and it's gone out on one side. It's not possible to buy a "bulb" from the dealer. You've got to buy the whole headlight assembly for $$$. There is some aftermarket supplier that offers them where you have to disassemble the permanently assembled lights. Since it's not a turn signal or headlight, and you can only see if if you're not driving, she can live with it. I suspect it may be possible to get in with a multimeter and eventually find either a broken solder joint or faulty component, but I'm not doing that.

I don't have a problem with LEDs, they're great in some ways, low current requirements and such, but they should be making them replaceable (not holding my breath).

I have had a long list of Mazda products, and have recommended them to a host of extended family members. Many of which have been young women that have neglected them 100k+ miles. The interiors are nicer, they all have an infusion of Miata in the driving experience, and they tend to be a little less than a comparable Honda or Toyota. I also travel a lot and rent a lot of different late model cars which continues to support my perspective. Honda hasn’t totally lost their soul in some cases, but Toyotas are a pure appliance.

Dang, my 25 year old daily driver, Lexus RX300, sounds better and better with each post. [emoji38]

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

The cruise in my Tahoe does the same thing as your wife’s CX 30. I hate it.
My wife bought a new 2021 CX5. She loves it. I use it from time to time, the interior is pretty comfy. She has the non turbo engine.

Mazda chat aside, I hate all the modern nanny features. On my Ram the adaptive cruise is too passive and just gets me cut off in traffic, the lane keep weaves like a drunk, and the emergency backup braking will randomly terrify you and slam on the brakes because there’s a blade of grass 10 ft away. Thank God I can shut them all off, then it’s a wonderful truck. I’ve had similar experiences recently on rental Genesis products, an Audi, and F150s. They are all, at best, programmed to emulate a crappy driver.

Zoom zoom.

Can’t agree with that if comparing 2025 vs 2025. My wife has had 2 CX-5 and now a CX-30 in a row, at my suggestion. She loves them but the screen is why she probably won’t get another. It’s awful. Awful to use and awful to look at. The screen in my GM is 1000 better in every way. Best screen and software I have ever had in a vehicle. The Mazda screen makes me want to scream

We put 120K on a 2006 Mazda3 5-speed, it was a hell of a car, and quick as crap with the manual.

Problem was the first gen 2.3L was prone to oiling issues, and the factory engine puked when we did some late night donuts...I put in 2 different 2.5L used motors, both of which turned out to be crap (what a surprise!). Still, I beat on that thing like a red headed stepchild, then gave it away to a co-worker who put some actual work into a new engine.

The new Mazda3s are sexy as all get out, they have some of the best looking bodies on the market today.

I loved both of my Miatas.

Totally agree. My cheap Dual headunit in my truck has a touchscreen for carplay (it was $150 bucks...) the Mazda does not. Having to use the dang rotary thing is frustrating as hell...I like buttons, even if they're virtual buttons.

I loved my MX5 Miata's. I had a 99 NB and a 2013 NC. I test drove the ND and it was great too but it is small. I find the Mazda suv styling not the greatest but the Mazda brand overall comes in third in reliability. I am currently looking at getting a ten year old Lexus. It has been a few years since I test drove a Mazda suv.

Pal has a 2015 Yukon Denali XL with a 6.2 gas engine "Bob, you need to change my alternator" Ordered 77k miles used factory one for $90 vs $450 Advance rebuilt. Took 4 days with weekend from LKQ.

You been charging your battery, Eric? Nope. We read no alternator charge but battery would not die over four days and it was stupid cold.

Put "new" one in and several days later he calls and says keep the core if you have not returned it as these alternators shut down when the battery reaches max charge AND the battery light comes on.....but it's normal.

I've mentioned this to my friends before. In our travels around Germany, Mazda is the Japanese brand you see with the most dealerships. Not a lot, but more than Toyota, Honda, Nissan.

I absolutely LOVE my RX8. I’m on #3, in my opinion the RX8 and Miata are the best deal going in a sports car for under $20k. Unlike the Miata it’s very usable on a daily basis and even has decent back seats. If I had the space and money I’d have a couple, in the last week I’ve seen a mint R3, mint Shinka with great upgrades, and a 40th AE for sale, all with super low miles and under $20k.

Screen being at the dashboard / more eye level has been a major talking point. The gm screens have glare i don’t like as well.


Also the cx-30 vs cx-5 are night and day different. Mexico vs Japan build quality. The cx-30 i test drove had significant qa/qc issues.

Yep, I had 2 miatas, and my wife had a third. Our daughter is currently driving an older CX-5 that has been troublefree, I believe.

The wife and I both loved our miatas. If I didn't have the boxster, there's a very good chance that I'd have one of the ND miatas.

It seems to me that the RX-8 is incredibly underpowered (on paper) for a modern sports car...but I have never driven one. On the other hand, I had a great deal of fun in my youth with a VW Beatle and an MGBGT which have about half as much...so, I guess it depends on the car and the person.

My daughters Lexus IS300 runs like a scalded dog and only has 215 HP.