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MotorTranscript
00:00 If you were talking to someone about buying a compact sedan, what would you say to them?
00:05 I'd say get the Civic. Yeah, as simple as that.
00:08 Hey, I'm sitting here with three Motor Trend editors and they've just finished a compact sedan comparison test.
00:18 The result is Honda Civic wins. Miguel, why does it win?
00:23 It's just a great car all around. I mean, it has the value, it has the looks, it has the technology, it has the space, the interior space.
00:30 It has everything that a buyer that's looking into that segment, it has it.
00:35 It really wasn't much of a comparison to be honest. I mean, the Civic was just either good or very good in everything we stuck at it.
00:43 Basically, the question is, the Mazda 3 is new, the Toyota Corolla is new, can these two new compact sedans take on the Civic?
00:51 And the answer, in short, was no.
00:54 Styling-wise, the one that will turn heads is the Mazda 3.
00:59 It's got very clean lines, especially that sole red crystal paint. That paint alone really just turns up the heat with that car.
01:09 And that's a famous Mazda color this way, right? They've had this sole red for a number of years.
01:15 The Mazda's styling is solid, definitely, but even though there are hundreds of thousands of Civics from this generation on the road today,
01:23 I still think that's a really strong design. You know, with those boomerang taillights and just the way it kind of caves in at the back like that.
01:31 It's a cool design.
01:32 I would say that from last generation on the Corolla to this generation, it's a huge change in terms of design.
01:38 It's just the car looks way better. It's fresher, it's sportier, it's younger. It has much more appeal to it than what the previous gen had.
01:47 So as you guys were driving these cars around, I know you did loops.
01:52 Did anything stand out to you about the handling or the dynamics of the cars?
01:56 Yeah, well, with the Toyota having driven the previous gen Corolla a couple times, I was really surprised by how responsive the CVT was.
02:06 It's actually the slowest car in Motor Trend testing, and yet it didn't feel like that on the road.
02:11 It just feels way better. It feels more agile. The steering is very well balanced, too. There was so much refinement compared to the previous generation.
02:20 And it sounds like, maybe alarmingly, you guys didn't love the Mazda brakes, right?
02:24 The pedal feel is just terrible. I mean, you don't really know when the car is going to brake.
02:30 If you're too close to the car in front of you and you're just trying to slow down, you just don't feel like you're going to brake with enough time.
02:37 To the Mazda's credit, it does offer the same engine on all its trims. Whereas on the Civic and the Corolla, you'll have a less powerful engine on the lower trims.
02:47 The handling verdict is Civic for both sportiness and comfort.
02:51 All around, I mean, the 1.5 liter engine is pretty sporty, too. And it's just pretty powerful.
02:57 All that powertrain, mixed with the well-balanced suspension, the sport steering, it makes a car that's really fun to drive.
03:06 The bottom line is, even if you're not someone who's going to go on winding roads, the Honda just rides better than the Toyota or the Mazda.
03:18 Basically, these are all compact cars, but as we found out, the packaging and the way that they use a very similar amount of space differs a lot.
03:26 Zach, you said the Honda does the best.
03:28 Oh, I have such a crush on the Honda. I just can't believe how well it makes the most of its space.
03:34 And it's not even a question of, "Oh, the Civic is much longer and harder to park than the other two cars," because it's not.
03:39 It still has way more backseat space than the other two cars and more trunk space.
03:44 Best interior styling of the Mazda.
03:45 Interior styling, yeah.
03:46 It is like a premium car. The way the lines are detailed, the texture of the materials.
03:54 I think also what played really well on this car is the color choices, right? Because we had a two-tone interior.
04:01 So that really plays, gives it a premium touch to it, too.
04:04 And then where does that leave Toyota in terms of interior styling and quality and feature?
04:09 I don't think it's a bad interior, but it doesn't resonate either.
04:15 My issue with Mazda's safety tech is the blind spot monitoring system.
04:21 If you're under 10 miles per hour and you're staying in your lane and you're making a left turn, it'll beep at you.
04:27 And this is something that Mazdas have done for years. It'd be awesome if they could fix it.
04:32 And I like the Honda LaneWatch, which is a camera that's mounted on the bottom of the passenger side side mirror.
04:40 And it points backwards and it basically tells you or shows you what's in your blind spots.
04:45 I think the best one here, and we all could agree, is the Civic's, right?
04:49 The lane keeping assist works great. It stays right centered on its lane.
04:54 There's good distance with the adaptive cruise control.
04:58 Whereas, you know, there's no car that's going to get in between you and the car in front of you.
05:03 And that is our verdict. Compact sedan, three-way comparison. We have Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, Honda Civic.
05:08 Sounds like Honda Civic wins almost across the board.
05:11 To read Miguel's full story, go to MotorTrend.com.
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