I can't decide between the Mazda3 and the Mazda6!?

I have owned both. I purchased a 2004 3s 4-door in November of 2004. Great car, really fantastic, plenty of go, sticks to the road with vigor but.....absolutely no room in the car or trunk. Just tiny.

My wife hated the firmness of the 3's suspension (though I loved it) so I test drove the 6i value package (adds power seat, side and curtain air bags, side sill extensions, 6 disc changer) and felt it was comparable to the speed and quickness of the 3. I also doubled my cargo space and gave back seat passengers about 2 inches more legroom. I bought the car last Friday, very happy with it and it even has a larger gas tank with a theoretical driving range of close to 600 miles on the highway. I never got more than 375 miles out of the tank on my 3.

Now, the pundits will say the 6 i is a lot slower but with the 5-speed manual, it's only a hair off of the 3's power delivery.

Then you can bring up the safety and insurance card and here is where the 6 blows the 3 off the charts. It is 5-star front impact, with side and curtain air bags it has a good rating for side impact.

It's bigger and it's quieter than the 3, which, at 80, produced a goodly amount of wind noise, it's a more pliant drive and handles very well.

Go for the space and get the 6i.

Which 3 are you driving? In my experience the 6 destroyed the 3 with drive quality, power, feel, and room. however the 3 does get better gas mileage. Are you looking at the wagon style 3? If you are you may want to consider the sedan style 3...it is built on the same platform as the 6 sedan and the interior is almost the same size. Whatever you decide, it is a great car. Good luck!

The 3 is the more popular car, and defiantly fun-er to drive. But may I suggest the Mazda 3 Speed.? 6 spd. trans. and 250 h.p.!!!!! This model only comes in the hatch back though. The 6 is a good car too but I prefer the 3. The 6 is also avl. in the Speed version as well and offers all wheel drive. Good Luck and you will be happy with either.

My wife has the Mazda 6i. I have droven her car enough to know that it's handling is quite impressive. the power at low torque isn't that great but will compensate when you are higher up in the gear.

My father wanted to purchase a Mazda 3 for my mom, however, I test drove the 3 and it was nothing like the 6. no comparison. he settled on Honda Civic because he didn't like how the 3 compared to the civic.

the 3 is pretty popular like someone mentioned above but I didn't find it that appealing compared to the 6i.

the good thing about it is that you could probably get a 6i at a nice price, damn near the higher-end 3 prices.

Well in MY personal experience, I got a Mazda 6 a few years ago, I really take care of my cars, but after a year, some parts were making weird sounds like if it was gonna get disarmed or something. I had a friend whose mom got the same car, and it didn't have that problem, so I don't know, I like the 5 better though because its bigger inside and I like to feel comfortable inside the car.

i have the 3s with all the opitions from 2005. winning blue. i love it. its so quick, almost never gets beat. only thing is... dont buy new, i was thinking of selling mine cause i have a $303.99 monthly payment and wanted something cheaper and even though it had really low miles and every opition i couldnt get anymore than $14,000 from a dealer, most said $13,000... some even said $12,000. resale sucks on the mazdas for some reason. i would shoot for a used 2006 or 2005, let someone else take the 'drive it off the lot" value drop fall.

:) I'll sell ya mine for $16,500! :) most private sales are around there... dealerships are 18-19000

they are pretty much the same and the mazda 3 you can get more options for the cash

I love my Mazda3

I felt like I was driving a tank in the 6

Just my opinion!

Nope. Get the bigger interior and enjoy the space.