Thanks! That really helps.
Something else I wanted to point out is that whatever car I buy I will be driving on the Interstate approx. 200 miles a WEEK. So the engine in question must be able to handle freeway speeds smoothly and QUIETLY. I read up on these Mazdas and found that the engines rev. pretty high to move the car at 70mph and are therefore noisy.
What do you think ?
Sixty Or Sixty-Five Works For Me!
I’m probably wasting pixels, because I had to go at least 70 when I was 22, but a few MPH won’t delay your arrival much and will save fuel and reduce wear. So, these cars can stand some revs and you must have a radio or CD or MP3 or whatever the latest gizmo is to drown out a little noise. You’re a college kid, not a freaking CEO (yet)!
If quiet and comfort are an issue, look for a Crown Vic…At 75mph, few cars can equal them…Most 4-cyl cars start talking back a little at 75…
If you want comfort skip the protege, civic or ANY smallish car. Get at least an Accord or Camry size vehicle. They simply last much longer without the tiny small car rattles and creaks etc. I regretted not purchasing an Accord when I got my 95 Civic EX. I would have driven likely to 300k+ instead of the 225k since I could simply not stand my Civic that basically felt old at 150k. I notice Accord’s and Camry’s feel older when they hit into the 200k-250k range.
It’s just engine noise at highway speeds that is important because i drive 200+ miles on the interstate every week.
I think the OP is already aware of this, but for others: timing belts need to be changed based on the information in the owners manual. This means by TIME or MILEAGE, whichever comes FIRST. Rubber belts deteriorate over time; even a gently driven car can have a belt break. Now, if the car uses a timing chain, it may never require replacement (although from what I gather, a lot of people on this forum replace them around 250K as a precaution).
This poster’s advice is bad and will lead people into destroying engines.
A friend of my wife has one of these cars; it is definitely NOT QUIET! The quitest small car is the Toyota Corolla. If quiet is really important, a 4 cyl Camry is about as good as you can get. That would cost more tan $6000.