Mazda complaint

murphey

murphey

Touchdown! Greaser!
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murphey
Transmission and manifold on my Ford just died, not worth fixing the car (15 yrs old). Looking at the Mazda CX-30. Handles fine, don't care about most of the "nanny-state" stuff (bluetooth, apple/android, lane warning, etc). But...can anyone tell me why ALL the cars have black interior? Even the white exteriors! If you don't have claustrophobia to begin with, you will after spending time in it. Plus the rear visibility on the corners - non-existant.

I just don't understand lack of common sense and poor physical design. But then, usability of software has always been #1 with me and I expect usability when I'm spending this much money.
 
I have a manual shift Mazda3 hatchback. I never really gave the black interior a thought. I thought that the fit and finish was well above average. With 70k miles, I really like the car. Handles very well for an economy car. Actually fun to drive yet still gets 38 mpg. Perhaps look at another model. The CX3 is pretty tiny inside.
 
black interiors are very very popular in the southern states... especially in July and August. (yeah, that's sarcasm)

I'm with you with hating black interiors. But maybe they are trying to move you into the much more expensive trim levels with leather seats (which I hate even more).

btw - some of the nanny stuff may help lower insurance rates.

When replaced a 2014 Fiesta with a 2020 Escape Hybrid my annual auto insurance went down. When I called my insurance agent, he confirmed that the rates were lower because of things like the backup camera, the warning systems, etc.
 
Bill said:
I prefer black interiors, they don't show dirt and age well.
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^This. Black interiors generally look sharp even after a decade of use. Tan/Beige leather tends to show more dirt/grease and when the leather cracks it has more color contrast which makes it stand out. Bonuses of black color completely disappear when used for outside paint though, it shows EVERY speck of dust/dirt, lol. I also wouldn't consider Bluetooth and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay to be nanny-state devices. It makes using your phone much easier, especially for using maps and streaming audio.
 
Is black the only option or just what the dealers have on the showroom floor?
 
Most of the extra stuff can be turned off. I won't buy another vehicle without a backup camera, and I do like parking sensors (don't NEED them, but like them). Radar cruise is very desirable, if I'm car shopping. But the lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assist, etc. can all get shut off permanently for all I care. When I'm driving, I'm driving, not updating my Facebook status or watching Real Housewives of Enid, Ok or whatever... I can stay in my lane just fine, thanks.
 
SoonerAviator said:
^This. Black interiors generally look sharp even after a decade of use. Tan/Beige leather tends to show more dirt/grease and when the leather cracks it has more color contrast which makes it stand out. Bonuses of black color completely disappear when used for outside paint though, it shows EVERY speck of dust/dirt, lol.
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I prefer white cars with black interiors for this reason. White doesn't show scratches and swirl marks, and thus ages well. Also, here in the hot south, white cars get nowhere near as hot when left out in the sun. Tint the windows and put in a quality windshield shade, and the white car is pretty good even with a black interior.
 
DaleB said:
Most of the extra stuff can be turned off. I won't buy another vehicle without a backup camera, and I do like parking sensors (don't NEED them, but like them). Radar cruise is very desirable, if I'm car shopping. But the lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assist, etc. can all get shut off permanently for all I care. When I'm driving, I'm driving, not updating my Facebook status or watching Real Housewives of Enid, Ok or whatever... I can stay in my lane just fine, thanks.
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Hey, those Enid, OK wives are fiiiiiine females! ;) Tangent to that, I was born in Enid, lol.
 
DaleB said:
Most of the extra stuff can be turned off. I won't buy another vehicle without a backup camera, and I do like parking sensors (don't NEED them, but like them). Radar cruise is very desirable, if I'm car shopping. But the lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assist, etc. can all get shut off permanently for all I care. When I'm driving, I'm driving, not updating my Facebook status or watching Real Housewives of Enid, Ok or whatever... I can stay in my lane just fine, thanks.
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Cross traffic alert when backing out can be a really nice feature, especially if you drive a car. It's hard to see if someone is coming in a car parked among giant tall SUVs and trucks.
 
I have two Mazda3s. A 2015 (black/black) and a 2018 (blue/black). They have been excellent cars. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Mazda.

I stayed away from black interiors for many years preferring beige/tan. Both of my Mazdas have black interiors and I came to realize that it was the glossy/shiny black they used to make that I didn't like. The matte black leather is very nice and looks good.

I've not noticed any visibility problems but have never driven any of the CX models, only the sedans.

I do like the technology, particularly in the 2018. In particular, I thought the HUD was useless fluff but it came with the trim package I wanted. I quickly found that I loved it. All of the information I need is there and I rarely look down to the instrument cluster. The radar cruise control is also very nice. I use it to prevent speeding in 30-45mph zones where the road might encourage me to drive too fast and it's a great fatigue reducer on long highway trips. The backup camera, now required on all new cars, is similarly addictive and useful, particularly with the cross-traffic alert when backing out of a parking space.

The 2018, which I bought new in March of 2019, was a very good value at the time. Less than $25,000 before TTL for a very capable, efficient, and well built new car. I think I benefited from buying at the end of the model year and when the incoming model year was a new generation.

My next car? I think it'll be a Tesla Model 3, long-range, Blue with black interior. Not as practical as the Mazda3, perhaps, but I like the tech.
 
Bill said:
I prefer white cars with black interiors for this reason. White doesn't show scratches and swirl marks, and thus ages well. Also, here in the hot south, white cars get nowhere near as hot when left out in the sun. Tint the windows and put in a quality windshield shade, and the white car is pretty good even with a black interior.
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There are certain vehicles I can do white exterior on (sports cars/sports sedans). I ran 5% tint on my black-on-black F-150 SuperCrew, and I have 20% on the black (tan interior) Excursion, but will be going to 5-10% soon. I may even do a 50% tint on the windshield. Dark tint does wonders for keeping the interior cool on 100-degree days, not to mention keeping the UV from fading interior parts.
 
Larry in TN said:
. . . I do like the technology, particularly in the 2018. In particular, I thought the HUD was useless fluff but it came with the trim package I wanted. I quickly found that I loved it. All of the information I need is there and I rarely look down to the instrument cluster . . .
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I wish HUDs were more commonplace in today's vehicles. Even just for speedometer info. My '07 Grand Prix GXP had the HUD with a "stealth mode" which shut off all instrument cluster lighting so that the HUD was the only thing in view when driving at night. Helped with night vision a lot. The Yukon Denalis/Escalades have a decent HUD, and the Lincoln Navigator/Aviator have a HUD which is full-color and does map directions/street names, etc.
 
Ted said:
Is black the only option or just what the dealers have on the showroom floor?
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Only what they have on the lot. This is how/why I always buy a car - when my current car dies, I'm stuck with what's on the lot. As much as I'd prefer another Ford, the difference in cost for equivalent cars is outrageous, by like $10K! At least I get to pick the color this time.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I wish HUDs were more commonplace in today's vehicles.
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My 2018's HUD has speed; blind spot detection; cruise control status, follow distance, and set speed; road sign detection (normally is showing the last speed limit sign you've past); and navigation directions. (Is there such a thing as an Oxford semicolon?)

The only issue is that I usually use Waze for navigation though Android Auto and the Waze commands don't make it to the HUD.

I also like the Android Auto integration in the Mazda. It works well with the Mazda knob-controller for easy access while driving with minimal distraction as well as the car's voice command system.
 
Bill said:
Cross traffic alert when backing out can be a really nice feature, especially if you drive a car. It's hard to see if someone is coming in a car parked among giant tall SUVs and trucks.
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The cross traffic alert is so freakishly good on my Subaru Outback (not just for picking up cars I can't see, but also pedestrians and dogs that might be a factor) that I have to keep reminding myself not to rely on it, but rather confirm clear visually as best I can and use the alert system as a secondary check. I can see where the technology is training a generation of drivers to boldly back up without ever looking over their shoulders, and that's not a good thing.

Oh, and I sought out a tan interior when I bought the car, just to keep things a bit cooler inside.
 
murphey said:
Transmission and manifold on my Ford just died, not worth fixing the car (15 yrs old). Looking at the Mazda CX-30. Handles fine, don't care about most of the "nanny-state" stuff (bluetooth, apple/android, lane warning, etc). But...can anyone tell me why ALL the cars have black interior? Even the white exteriors! If you don't have claustrophobia to begin with, you will after spending time in it. Plus the rear visibility on the corners - non-existant.

I just don't understand lack of common sense and poor physical design. But then, usability of software has always been #1 with me and I expect usability when I'm spending this much money.
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You don’t care about the “nanny-state” software in the Mazda, but “usability of software has always been #1” with you? I don’t get it.
 
Larry in TN said:
My 2018's HUD has speed; blind spot detection; cruise control status, follow distance, and set speed; road sign detection (normally is showing the last speed limit sign you've past); and navigation directions. (Is there such a thing as an Oxford semicolon?)

The only issue is that I usually use Waze for navigation though Android Auto and the Waze commands don't make it to the HUD.

I also like the Android Auto integration in the Mazda. It works well with the Mazda knob-controller for easy access while driving with minimal distraction as well as the car's voice command system.
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Yup, the display on the SUV's I mentioned has a lot of that as well (shows a speed limit sign but I believe it's tied to NAV/GPS, not to a camera reading speed signs). Radio station/artist info, etc. is all selectable so that you can pick and choose how much info you want on it. De-clutter modes were helpful as well. The actually make aftermarket-HUD units that will interface with your vehicle OBDII port and phone to provide that info on older cars, but I've never used one so I don't know how well they work. Most factory vehicles with a HUD use a different windshield that's designed for displaying the info with a sharp image, so I don't know how sharp the image would be on the aftermarket units.
 
DaleB said:
Radar cruise is very desirable, if I'm car shopping.
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I'm the exact opposite. This is one feature I turn off immediately in any car I drive that happens to have it. Maybe this makes me a bona-fide "road jerk," but I tend to set my cruise about 5 mph or so over the speed limit on highways. If I'm coming up on someone with my cruise set @ 75 MPH - especially if I'm in the left/passing lane - the last thing I want my car to do is slow down on account of them. I want that person to know I'm coming in hot and move the heck over to the right lane. I'm not going to tailgate or run myself too close to them (I'm not unsafe - just like to drive a little faster!), but I don't need my car backing off the speed without my direct input. Most people tend to realize someone is coming up behind them without me having to slow down at all, but I find it annoying when the car does it automatically at what seems like 25 car lengths, even at the lowest sensitivity setting.

This is even more true when I'm cruising along in the right-hand lane. I don't want my car to slow down just before I'm about to move over into the passing lane to get around the slower party and possibly affect the flow of traffic behind me.

OOORRRRR - maybe I've just had bad experiences with some older "laser/radar" cruise controls and those have really improved.
 
DrewG said:
I'm the exact opposite. This is one feature I turn off immediately in any car I drive that happens to have it. Maybe this makes me a bona-fide "road jerk," but I tend to set my cruise about 5 mph or so over the speed limit on highways. If I'm coming up on someone with my cruise set @ 75 MPH - especially if I'm in the left/passing lane - the last thing I want my car to do is slow down on account of them. I want that person to know I'm coming in hot and move the heck over to the right lane. I'm not going to tailgate or run myself too close to them (I'm not unsafe - just like to drive a little faster!), but I don't need my car backing off the speed without my direct input. Most people tend to realize someone is coming up behind them without me having to slow down at all, but I find it annoying when the car does it automatically at what seems like 25 car lengths, even at the lowest sensitivity setting.

This is even more true when I'm cruising along in the right-hand lane. I don't want my car to slow down just before I'm about to move over into the passing lane to get around the slower party and possibly affect the flow of traffic behind me.

OOORRRRR - maybe I've just had bad experiences with some older "laser/radar" cruise controls and those have really improved.
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I will 100% agree with that. I don't enjoy radar-controlled cruise control because I normally run in the right lane until I come up on traffic and then I move over to pass. Inevitably (even if I set the range as short as possible) it will slow down from my set speed before I'm ready to move over. It causes a more "jerky" ride for passengers and I'd just assume have a way to turn it off completely. I'll control the speed with my brakes or the coast/accel buttons, I don't need assistance for that. I bet it'd be great if I were drafting semi trucks or following another car for hours, but that's not how I drive.
 
Years ago I laughingly rejected the model with a backup camera, "I can back up without a camera!" That's true, but after driving rental cars with backup cameras, I can see how they would be useful.

As far as colors go, I don't like black interiors or exteriors because I feel they show the dirt more (especially exteriors). I'm also not partial to grey, which seems to be in style now, not only in cars, but with interior home furnishings.
 
GaryM said:
The cross traffic alert is so freakishly good on my Subaru Outback
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I have an Outback with eyesight and I concur, it's a very good overall system. The only thing I don't like is the lane keep assist, I turn it off, but everything else is very well integrated.

DrewG said:
I'm the exact opposite.
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SoonerAviator said:
I will 100% agree with that. I don't enjoy radar-controlled cruise control because I normally run in the right lane until I come up on traffic and then I move over to pass. Inevitably (even if I set the range as short as possible) it will slow down from my set speed before I'm ready to move over.
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I've pretty much learned the "range" at which the adaptive cruise would start to slow down, and just change lanes at that distance. No slowing, no jerkiness. In stop and go traffic, I LOVE the adaptive cruise, it lowers traffic anxiety levels about three notches, just let the car do its thing and monitor. Just like having George fly the plane on a long XC, just monitor and be sure it's doing what you expect it to do.
 
murphey said:
Transmission and manifold on my Ford just died, not worth fixing the car (15 yrs old). Looking at the Mazda CX-30. Handles fine, don't care about most of the "nanny-state" stuff (bluetooth, apple/android, lane warning, etc). But...can anyone tell me why ALL the cars have black interior? Even the white exteriors! If you don't have claustrophobia to begin with, you will after spending time in it. Plus the rear visibility on the corners - non-existant.

I just don't understand lack of common sense and poor physical design. But then, usability of software has always been #1 with me and I expect usability when I'm spending this much money.
Click to expand...
Whadda ya mean by "...ALL the cars have black interior...?" That's all they make? Or all the dealer has on the lot for sale? If the latter, maybe it's because no wants to buy them and it's all they got left.
 
Bill said:
You must be cruising the wrong school zones...
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tenor.gif
 
Bill said:
I've pretty much learned the "range" at which the adaptive cruise would start to slow down, and just change lanes at that distance. No slowing, no jerkiness. In stop and go traffic, I LOVE the adaptive cruise, it lowers traffic anxiety levels about three notches, just let the car do its thing and monitor. Just like having George fly the plane on a long XC, just monitor and be sure it's doing what you expect it to do.
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This. Most also have some cue on the speedo that tells you when it sees traffic ahead and it's going to start slowing. I tend to stick to the right lane except for passing (what a concept, right?) I'm also seldom the fastest guy out there... with the occasional exception. Occasionally I'll get penned in behind slower traffic in the right lane, if I don't want to move into the left lane when I know there's faster traffic coming up behind and I don't feel like speeding up. Radar cruise just reduces the workload a little.

Some are better than others. My wife's Volvo has a very good cruise control, but it would shut off if you sat still for more than 4-5 seconds, so it was much less useful in stop and go traffic. The Mercedes is OK, but its acceleration is a little too sedate for my taste. The Highlander... well, nothing about that vehicle is really good. It just shuts off once you get below 20-ish, and that thing can't get out of its own way anyway. If ever a vehicle was crying out for forced induction...

luvflyin said:
Whadda ya mean by "...ALL the cars have black interior...?" That's all they make? Or all the dealer has on the lot for sale? If the latter, maybe it's because no wants to buy them and it's all they got left.
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Or because that's what MOST buyers want, so that's all they order. I have avoided black interiors (because we do have summer every year), but if you're car shopping black is mostly what you find. Want something else? Special order, baby. And be prepared to take longer to sell it when you're done, because you don't have a black interior. And, having now owned a couple with black leather interiors... they're fine. I like them.
 
Bill said:
I have an Outback with eyesight and I concur, it's a very good overall system. The only thing I don't like is the lane keep assist, I turn it off, but everything else is very well integrated.
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I passed on Eyesight on my 2016, because it was the first year it was offered. I looked at the features list and thought there was no way that would all work well in version 1.0. From everything I've read since, V1.0 did work very well, and I suspect it's gotten better since then.

I'm a still a little glad I passed on it because I've had to replace two windshields on the car already, and that is a LOT more expensive with Eyesight sensors installed.
 
DaleB said:
This. Most also have some cue on the speedo that tells you when it sees traffic ahead and it's going to start slowing. I tend to stick to the right lane except for passing (what a concept, right?) I'm also seldom the fastest guy out there... with the occasional exception. Occasionally I'll get penned in behind slower traffic in the right lane, if I don't want to move into the left lane when I know there's faster traffic coming up behind and I don't feel like speeding up. Radar cruise just reduces the workload a little.

Some are better than others. My wife's Volvo has a very good cruise control, but it would shut off if you sat still for more than 4-5 seconds, so it was much less useful in stop and go traffic. The Mercedes is OK, but its acceleration is a little too sedate for my taste. The Highlander... well, nothing about that vehicle is really good. It just shuts off once you get below 20-ish, and that thing can't get out of its own way anyway. If ever a vehicle was crying out for forced induction...


Or because that's what MOST buyers want, so that's all they order. I have avoided black interiors (because we do have summer every year), but if you're car shopping black is mostly what you find. Want something else? Special order, baby. And be prepared to take longer to sell it when you're done, because you don't have a black interior. And, having now owned a couple with black leather interiors... they're fine. I like them.
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Yeah. That makes sense. Leather isn't bad. Black vinyl can be evil though if it cooks in the sun
 
SoonerAviator said:
I also wouldn't consider Bluetooth and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay to be nanny-state devices. It makes using your phone much easier, especially for using maps and streaming audio.
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I just had to replace my old car and bought a used one with apple car play, and I absolutely love the integration. It's great for listening to Pandora or podcasts. I had a radio transmitter that I could use in my old car. But in this one, it just automatically connects, and I can control everything without having to pull out my phone. Also, I don't have something sticking out of the cigarette lighter outlet, so it's just a much cleaner integration.
 
PPC1052 said:
I just had to replace my old car and bought a used one with apple car play, and I absolutely love the integration. It's great for listening to Pandora or podcasts. I had a radio transmitter that I could use in my old car. But in this one, it just automatically connects, and I can control everything without having to pull out my phone. Also, I don't have something sticking out of the cigarette lighter outlet, so it's just a much cleaner integration.
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Yup. I installed a top-of-the-line Kenwood in the Excursion (mostly for the wife), and it does TONS of stuff, including wireless screen mirroring. I can stream a movie on a phone or tablet to the head unit, which then sends it to the rear entertainment screen for the kids. Also does Dual Zone so they can listen the movie while I have the front speakers playing music or nothing at all. Pairs to two phones simultaneously as well. Has 4 camera inputs if I want to do the 360-degree camera effect, but I only have front/rear cameras installed. HD radio is pretty nice as well, even though all stations don't use the service. Just an overall solid unit.
 
Come to think about it, my car has a black interior too. But it's a cloth interior, and it really isn't uncomfortable at all on a hot day, and I live in a hot place.

Conventional wisdom says a white car is best for warding off the heat, but like a white interior, it shows dirt really bad. This is why I like dark grey exteriors. Those don't show dirt bad. Silver metallic isn't a bad compromise, but I like a darker look.
 
Seanaldinho said:
Every beige interior I've ever seen reminds me of my grandmothers living room. Black interiors for me.
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Tan and beige interiors look nice when new, but then the seats and carpets get dirty and stained and it looks like crap.
 
I can't stand black interiors either. I tried to avoid it but most dealers order their cars that way so I had to choose between the exterior color I wanted or the Interior color I wanted. I miss the days when all the trucks had red, blue, or grey interiors.
 
luvflyin said:
Yeah. That makes sense. Leather isn't bad. Black vinyl can be evil though if it cooks in the sun
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Does anyone do black vinyl any more? Or vinyl at all? I remember scorching the back of my legs as a kid... but we don't drive '69 Pontiacs any more.
 
DaleB said:
Does anyone do black vinyl any more? Or vinyl at all? I remember scorching the back of my legs as a kid... but we don't drive '69 Pontiacs any more.
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Well, not that I know of aside from possibly in some fleet-model bare bones trucks, but it's normally grey instead of black. Most of the non-luxury brands use a "pleather" material which is more like a bonded leather or synthetic leather. The luxury auto makers generally use real full grain leather which is obviously more supple and expensive.
 
DaleB said:
Does anyone do black vinyl any more? Or vinyl at all? I remember scorching the back of my legs as a kid... but we don't drive '69 Pontiacs any more.
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I looked up Mazda CX-30's, what this started with. They have Black Leatherette. Found this about Leatherette, "...what is leatherette? It's a synthetic surface, usually made of vinyl or a type of plastic that is meant to simulate the look and feel of leather..." Sounds like maybe it might get leg scorching hot
 
I can’t speak to the CX-30, but we just bought a CX-9. Ours has a black interior, and we probably would have preferred gray (the CX-9 does offer a tan seat option, but the rest of interior is still black). I have a newer F-150 with gray (cloth) seats but the carpet and much of the plastic is black. I was warned that I’d hate the black and that it would show every piece of dust and lint, but I haven’t found it to be any worse than my previous vehicles with lighter interiors. I will say that we looked at a couple CX-9s with the tan seats and immediately noticed dirty marks on some of them, despite the cars being new deliveries. Yes, the lighter seats make the interior feel more open, but so far the black isn’t as bad as we had feared.

The Japanese auto makers aren’t known for expansive build options, and Mazda is tiny compared to most of the others. I suspect that Mazda is simply catering to the demand. From talking with a couple auto dealers in southern states (including FL) it appears that southerners buy what colors they like and tint the windows anyway. Anecdotally, I probably see more white vehicles with light interiors in northern states than southern ones.

Mazdas are sort of niche cars which people buy for the driving experience more than anything else. After driving almost everything in its class, the refinement and driving experience of the CX-9 was so noticeably better that it was an easy choice for us—but we valued those things over cargo space, towing capacity, etc. where the CX-9 is less impressive.

One thing that Mazda got right—and I will go to the mat on this—is eliminating the stupid touchscreen infotainment in favor of the scroll wheel/cursor setup. Touchscreens are fine for simple inputs, but more complex operations create massive distractions while driving, in addition to the requirement to reach and aim for different parts of the screen. I thought Mazda’s input system was antiquated at first, but after actually driving with it vs. touchscreens in other vehicles, I’ve found it to be far superior for both reducing driver distraction and speed of operation. It also permits the display to be placed higher on the dash where it is closer to the normal field of vision while driving. I wish more (non-German) auto makers would adopt this type of system.
 
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