Been living with this car for a year and a half. I'm shit at changing gears but i still love it

@lugnutscarreviews

2 ай бұрын

Lol. I'm with ya. Glad to hear it's holding up.

its actually a good car to own because most of the opportunistic car thieves dont know how to drive a stick anymore!

@lugnutscarreviews

Ай бұрын

That's very true. Such a simple and elegant solution. Lol

@davidwarner3326

Ай бұрын

A few years ago, Dad came out in the early morning to find that someone had broken into the back door and taken Mom's keys. He walked outside and thought at first thought Mom's car was gone, but wait, there it was sitting in the street at the end of the driveway, driver's side door open and out of gas...

Yes, indeed it's very sad that manuals are disappearing so I went and bought a few new examples that will hopefully out live me. 2022 Cayman GTS and a 2022 Corolla hatchback.

@lugnutscarreviews

5 ай бұрын

Both different and interesting choices. Well done. Is the Corolla just a regular Corolla, not a GR?

@trigganometry168

5 ай бұрын

@@lugnutscarreviews. Final year of the XSE trim Corolla hatchback with manual option.

@pac1fic055

5 ай бұрын

I’ve done my part by owning an 2006 Evo 9 and a 2024 M3.

@trigganometry168

5 ай бұрын

@@pac1fic055. Sweet! Love the new M3’s

I recently purchased a 2015 i Touring sedan with a manual. It is, by far, the best manual transmission I have ever driven. The car is fun to drive, gets very good fuel economy, and handles curves and corners amazingly well. Perhaps in a few years, I'll move to the 4th gen with a manual.

@lugnutscarreviews

5 ай бұрын

Drive em while we can my friend.

@spawnofapathy

3 ай бұрын

Oh I know. I had a 2014 Mazda 3 i touring in a manual. To me the transmission got better, smother shifts and clutch. But Mazda changed to a cheaper and easier to tune rear suspension in 2019, which you can feel the rear slip and roll just a bit more than it used to. Honestly though after having the 2021 Mazda 3 I wouldn’t go back. That’s just me, but there have been so many quality of life improvements and the increase in power in the engine. What I want more than anything right now is a manual MX-5 with all the modern convenience features of the current Mazda 3. That might get me to trade in my current car.

@JMaxx-fn4he

10 күн бұрын

My 2015 GT original clutch is at 232000km.... Drive them right, they will last.

Hey man this was a solid review. The energy and voice work well together. I just bought a 23 automatic and the 1st to 2nd gear change sucks as well. Might be a Mazda thing.

@lugnutscarreviews

5 ай бұрын

Thank you very much. I'm glad my babbling isn't too irritating. Lol. 1st and 2nd gear aside how do you like your 3 otherwise? Is it the hatch or sedan?

@xBACONxLUV3Rx

5 ай бұрын

@@lugnutscarreviewsIt looks and drives relatively good. I do have some gripes after owning it for 6k miles. 1st-2nd sucks. The amount of interior rattles are insane. The cold weather in Michigan makes it really bad. It takes forever to heat up and you can't lift up the wipers to avoid icing to the windshield. Now I'm starting to get issues with the keyless entry, think this is because of the cold as well. I wish the key fob had remote start because the app is slow sometimes but not too big a deal. I have a good amount of complaints but I love driving the car. I'm ripping it around town all day long.

I have the '18 six speed and love it. Easy around town but when I venture out it shines. Excellent review. 4th gear above 3000 on the highway is massive fun.

@lugnutscarreviews

Ай бұрын

Tyvm. It's so great to wring out a proper manual at just the right moment.

@briantuttle8134

Ай бұрын

I have an '18 as well & SO enjoy being engaged in the drive. Have right at...almost 50k on it.

@brettlopresti8299

Ай бұрын

@lugnutscarreviews I grew up driving aircooled and watercooled VWs, then a Toyota 5 speed truck and then a Volvo 240 5 speed sedan. Most people don't realize that the stick shift is truly a different car.

Times are changing. I used to demand only having manual transmission car, had two gt manuals, but i drive alot. My annual fuel bills is in the thousands. You might say, fun and engaging is the trade off. But with the fuel cost like this, even old school thinker like me... Had to adopt. Hilly area, city 80%/20% highway, 500,000km between two cars.... Not light on my foot, nor lead foot. 2010 GT was actually quite bad. 15L/100km and worse in downtown core stop and go. 8-9.5L/km general city driving. 6.5-7.5L/km highway, no incline

@lugnutscarreviews

8 күн бұрын

Sounds like you drove it hard... I approve

My daily is a ND2 Miata manual, love driving to work and back in it, and prefer it to any automatic in traffic. My first car was a 2007 mazda protege 5dr A/T, loved it and always used the manual mode shifters but made me desire learning manual. Then got a 2011 hyundai accent M/T and 1995 miata M/T. Traded both for a lexus convertible A/T for best of both worlds, but after 4 years I deeply missed having a manual. Then went NC miata then ND miata which I plan to hang on to.

@lugnutscarreviews

2 ай бұрын

That's a great car journey. I love that you keep circling back to the thing you loved the most. Keep shifting

I’m in total agreement with your thoughts, MT6 on the way out, like the dodo bird. This will be my second Mazda which was a M929 3 door 5 speed in 1985. Thanks for your review, non ROBOTIC with all these technical terms that most of us don’t really understand. Really enjoyed your simplicity.

@lugnutscarreviews

3 ай бұрын

Enjoy your manual Mazda. I will miss them when they're gone. Appreciate the kind words about the video. I don't understand overly technical stuff either so keeping it simple is what I prefer. It's a great car and a great drive. That's it. Thanks again!

Manual driver here, i might buy a new car just to extend the pleasure, for me, no manual no sell! Shame they are going away...

@lugnutscarreviews

4 ай бұрын

Good for you. Enjoy them while they last!!!

@spawnofapathy

3 ай бұрын

Same. When I was able to buy a new car I insisted on manual and did so again for the next new car. If I needed to get a new car today I would still insist on a manual. Ive been driving manual’s since 1999 with a used 1994 Honda del Sol and I don’t plan to stop getting manuals until I have no choice.

Thanks. I needed that so now the only options for manual that I can get in a 4 door car is the Mazda 3 and the Honda Civic, would look into the Nissan Sentra but the manual option is only in Canada.

@lugnutscarreviews

2 ай бұрын

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Manual cars are not long for this world. Very sad.

Assuming I can get the dealer to deal, I’ll have one of these next week (Premium S here in the US). There aren’t many out there, but they aren’t selling, either. Thanks for the colo(u)r commentary.

@lugnutscarreviews

5 ай бұрын

I hope you get it. You will love it. Given the current market grind that dealer into the ground! You're right about how rare they are. I called six dealers locally and none of them had a manual on the ground. They said factory order only. Thanks for watching. Hope you enjoyed it.

From 1st to 2nd gear, did you notice any rev hang? I heard newer manuals have that problem. Nice review btw!

@lugnutscarreviews

2 ай бұрын

Tyvm for watching. I didn't notice any real rev hang during my time with the car. I was actually surprised how good the driving experience was for what is an everyday car

@autofigure00

28 күн бұрын

it's definitely slightly present from 1st to 2nd but it isn't super bad or excessively long. It does make shifting from first to second lurchy if you aren't trying to be extremely precise and smooth, but in normal traffic when you drive slower / aren't ripping the car its less noticeable since casual driving gives it more time for the revs to drop down. After 9 months of owning this I've also noticed when pressing the clutch, the revs drop but they seem to stop / hang at the rev level for the next gear given your current speed for one or two seconds before continuing to drop down past that (except when you give it gas of course for downshifting). I think that's one of the key things that helps to make this transmission so smooth feeling, but I've never seen anyone mention this, but it's a smart idea having it hold it for a second with no effect on downshifting, and when you drive harder it doesn't matter since you release the clutch while the revs are still initially dropping.

Three years ago I bought the 2021 Mazda 3 in a manual. It has 186hp and 186torque. You don’t normally need the auto hold, which behaves like holding the break without needing to have your foot on the break peddle. The car also has hill assist which when on a hill holds the car for 3 seconds when you let off the break before it rolls back. So I only use auto hold in places like drive throughs if I need to stretch or move my leg a minute.

@lugnutscarreviews

3 ай бұрын

And 3 years in how do you like it?

@spawnofapathy

3 ай бұрын

@@lugnutscarreviews Absolutely love it still. I have my nit picks, but if I were to do it again, I would still choose the Mazda 3. It is the easiest manual to drive Ive ever driven. Very smooth, even compared to the 2014 Mazda 3 6MT I had. The car has been very comfortable, even on longer 2+ hour drives. While it doesn’t have that kick like when a turbo boost happens, the naturally aspirated engine feels quick and responsive at all times. I really like all the little features that come on it too. Like the HUD with speed and driving directions when using the included sat-nav, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, automatic wipers, and all the levels of seat adjustments. I like to lower my seat more than some people. The angled info-tainment screen towards the driver was something I wanted when I had the 2014 Mazda 3. Heated seats that sync with the climate control is nice in the winter and feels premium. It is not a perfect car, nor the perfect upgrade as you can feel the cheaper rear suspension compared to multi-link suspension of the 2014. It doesn’t ruin the ride, and most people may not notice the difference. I can’t speak for how good it is for regular 3-4 total occupants, but as a daily driver for 1-2 people it is very nice. You’re not gonna get Golf GTI performance, but you’re getting more features at a lower price too, and I think it is still a fun enough drive. It may not be as exciting as Civic SI or GR86, it also feels a bit more civilized to live with every day. I feel it is a compromise of feeling like a more premium more complete package that is still enjoyable to drive. And it holds up very well. No major work has been needed, just routine service work. With one exception that Im not sure if it is just coincidence or not, but the stock tires seem to develop leaks from sidewall or stem more than any other set of tires Ive ever owned on a car. My service plan covered the replacement on them, but I have gone with a single tire that developed a slow air leak multiple times. Maybe I was just unlucky. Also you can disable traction control if you want to, but it doesn’t feel as aggressive or as much of a power draw as in the 2014 model that I don’t normally feel I want to. Maybe the extra horsepower and torque compared to the 2014 model is a reason too. But it is there if you want a little power back.

@lugnutscarreviews

3 ай бұрын

@@spawnofapathy I'm very glad to hear how much you enjoy it. Really is a great all rounder. Strange about the tires...

I remember years ago several versions of the Porsche 911 had 7 gears (uncle had a Carrera S with a 7 speed, actually got to drive it!😎) but I'm unaware of any other non-Porsche that had more than 6 speeds. On that 911 the first 5 gears were close ratio, 6 and 7 were for Autobahn cruising...6th if you still needed a bit of torque at high speed.

@lugnutscarreviews

2 ай бұрын

One of these days I need to drive some of these 7MT Porsches. I'd love to see what they're like. Thanks for watching

I drive a manual 2016 corolla that I bought new. My car is almost at the end of its life where I have a long commute and there's a lot of kms on it. Where I live rust is a huge issue and cars dont have a long life. I'm looking into getting a new vehicle and I'm so sad there's so little manual options available. Not only is it more fun but we get a lot of snow where I live and it's excellent in the winter. I'm considering this vehicle but it's more expensive than I'd like. I wish they still made base model manuals.

@lugnutscarreviews

2 ай бұрын

I miss the base model manual as well. Mazda currently only offers this peach in a GT trim which, as you pointed out, ain't cheap. Such a shame. Good luck with your search for a replacement.

2:35 Porshe and GM both offer 7 speed manuals on high end performance cars. The 7th gear is always a massive overdrive economy gear though.

@lugnutscarreviews

4 ай бұрын

That makes sense. They won't let me touch performance cars (with good reason) so I guess that's how I missed it. Thanks for watching

@JMaxx-fn4he

10 күн бұрын

You need massivr power for 7th gear.

@Grafyte

9 күн бұрын

@@JMaxx-fn4he In all the vehicles that include a 7th gear, yes, massive power is required, because those gearboxes have very tall ratios. You could put a 7th gear on a 2015 Honda Fit with 130bhp and it would handle it really well, since it has monstrously short gears. 6th gear in the 6 speed Fit is 3400 rpm at 70 mph, but the CVT will do 2200 rpm at 70 mph, so I'm not talking out of ignorance.

@JMaxx-fn4he

9 күн бұрын

@@Grafyte i didnt say that. I was Reinforcing your point. 7th gear is only usable if it matches the speed, but you need the engine that cN effectively coast on that speed. Otherwise the car would be using fuel to turn the tall gear. Fuel consumption has a balance point. You good.

Which one will be more forgiving on a daily commute drive on rough roads: a manual Mazda3 with rear torsion beam suspension or a Civic SI with stiff suspension?

@lugnutscarreviews

3 ай бұрын

That question answers itself. Lol. I'd still take a run at dailying the Si.

Funny you mention 1st > 2nd being sloppy, because I noticed that too. its more difficult to shift quickly from 1st to 2nd gear for some reason.

@lugnutscarreviews

4 ай бұрын

Optimistic me says you'll adjust but it is jarring when you first drive the car. Pedal box felt tight so perhaps thats a factor

@JMaxx-fn4he

10 күн бұрын

2010 gt actually stop you shifting fast 1 to 2. Slam all you want, it just wont. Its a protection thing.

If you had to pick only 1: this manual Mazda 3 stick shift or the turbo version? I would lean toward this one. It would handle better being lighter without the weight of the AWD the auto trans and the turbo. Also taking into account the turbo drinks more gas and may not last as many miles.

@lugnutscarreviews

3 ай бұрын

I agree 100%. If you could get AWD, manual and the turbo engine I would think long and hard about it. You're right though, given that drivetrain will be more thirsty, expensive and complicated the more basic option has a lot to say for itself

@spawnofapathy

3 ай бұрын

Having driven both I’d still choose the 6MT. You can feel the extra power of the turbo, but the car does feel heavier. Also whether just because of automatic delay or gearing I still prefer the immediate input and response of a manual off the line vs an automatic, even in sport manual mode, which was how I drove the Turbo. I will admit, because one time it was a test drive and the other the car was a loaner from the dealership I did not fill the turbo with premium high octane gas, which is supposed to switch the engine into a high octane mode to give you a 10-12% boost in horsepower and torque. So I don’t know what the Mazda 3 Turbo feels like at max power.

Do you have it set to Miles or Kilometers on the dash?

@lugnutscarreviews

5 ай бұрын

Kilometers. I'm Canadian. Lol

The only manual available by me cost around $33000 which is way too much for me. Besides that it's really a nice car.

@lugnutscarreviews

23 күн бұрын

At that price point you have to look at a Civic Si. Too bad the manual isn't available in cheaper models

Having a hard time deciding between this, civic hatchback manual with the 2.0 NA, or the civic si. Such a hard decision.

@lugnutscarreviews

Ай бұрын

All 3 good choices. Civic Si is top of the list and totally dailyable. 3 is a strong runner up. Great drive

Great point about manuals disappearing. However there's no real future in EVs, many car manufacturer are pulling the plug on complete electrification of their fleet.

@lugnutscarreviews

4 ай бұрын

Fair point. I wish that meant manuals would last a little longer. No matter what happens I think they're not long for this world

@thaik56

4 ай бұрын

@@lugnutscarreviews #savethemanuals indeed. I think Porsche is the only exotic brand that still listen to their customers and provide MTs. They might the last and among the few car brands that will still continue doing it along with other driver's car such as the miata. As long it is still accessible among different price ranges, I just hope they don't all disappear forever.

This is basically now a nice little sports car vs the masses of SUV's.

@lugnutscarreviews

4 ай бұрын

Totally. Also pretty affordable, well made and handsome.

@spawnofapathy

3 ай бұрын

Yep. It’s more practical than an MX-5, but still feels fun and sporty. Even in manual mode the turbo Mazda 3s just dont feel the same.

THey got rid of the manual Subaru Crosstrek which is just sad. This Mazda seems like a good fit for a manual that will get you 300,000 miles in relative comfort.

@lugnutscarreviews

14 күн бұрын

Broke my heart when I realized you couldn't order a Crosstrek in manual anymore. This 3 will do many miles as a comfortable daily manual.

My wife and I shared a '23 CX-9 until recently, and I just got me self a '24 Mazda3 hatchback 2.5L, 6 spd manual. This is just a joy for everyday driving. The first car I bought with my own money was a '03 Mazda3 hatchback 2.3L 5 spd manual. It brought back some good nostalgia and excitement that I felt when I was 18 😂.

@lugnutscarreviews

15 күн бұрын

Congratulations. Great choice. You're so right. It's an incredible choice for a manual daily.

@user-vw3ml3de8y

15 күн бұрын

@lugnutscarreviews Yessir. Enjoyed your review! Thanks for this review!

Porsche put a 7 speed manual in certain models of 911, don't know if they still do.

@lugnutscarreviews

15 күн бұрын

I really need to drive one of those. It would be unique i think.

I drive a manual scion Tc, and I’ll never own an auto to save the manuals! People car themselves “car guys” but don’t daily a manual, pathetic it’s not difficult at all.

@spawnofapathy

3 ай бұрын

When I was a kid in the 90s it always made me so sad to see sports cars in automatics. Still does make me sad. One of the worst was seeing a classmate’s mom got a 1996 Saleen Mustang in an automatic. What a waste. lol

@Soeks77

3 ай бұрын

@@spawnofapathy rip, let’s be glad they still make 2024 cars in manual tho. My next car is either gonna be a Hyundai veloster N, or an s197 mustang gt. Either way it’ll still be manual 😂

just wish it was a turbo platform

@lugnutscarreviews

8 күн бұрын

Now that would be really cool...

This guy is hilarious. I envy and loathe you at the same time. 😂😂😂

@lugnutscarreviews

5 ай бұрын

Lol. You sound like my wife.

7 speed manual for the porsche!

@lugnutscarreviews

4 ай бұрын

Gotta drive more Porsches!!!! Lol.

@MaximumDIYGarage

Ай бұрын

And the bronco

I just ordered this car ,it will come from Japan ,i don't like automatic ,its so boring to drive.😅

@lugnutscarreviews

3 ай бұрын

Good for you. You won't regret the manual

I love MT

@lugnutscarreviews

2 ай бұрын

You and me both! ❤