GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

2019 GTI vs 2019 Mazda 3

vincevtr

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario
Car(s)
MK7 GTI
Regarding COO, the GTI will undoubtedly be the more expensive option. Higher MSRP, insurance will be higher (mine doubled from $100 to $200/mo from my Mazda6 to GTI), maintenance will cost more (especially if DSG), it requires more expensive gas, tires will wear out faster if pushing the car, etc. The Japanese economy car will also most likely lose less resale value compared to the German entry-level sports car.

But with that said I have no regrets in spending the extra $, it's well worth it to me. Smiles per gallon > miles per gallon. But I also live in an area with many canyons and twisty mountain roads, which is where the GTI really shines.



Agreed, higher performing parts will inherently be more expensive to upkeep.

As is always, you gotta pay to play


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

MonkeyMD

Autocross Champion
Wouldn't the better comparison be the golf vs. the Mazda 3? The 1.8 can easily out power it with a simple tune or JB4 as well.

This ^

I cross shopped Golf/GTI/ mazda 3 gt or touring / Fiesta ST. But really the Golf is much more comparable to the 3 than the GTI.

The Fiesta had really tight handing. Seating was great. Trunk was really small, especially coming from a Fit myself. Was not concerned about the quality of the interior like everyone else talks about.

Mazda 3, especially in GT trim looked great to me, especially in titanium flash mica. Handled really well at the expense of a jittery ride. (In hindsight, it wasn't that bad). Power was underwhelming. Also didn't realize this was a negative until seeing the Golf was android auto. Also not keen on leather/vinyl. Couldn't gone with Sport trim, but that didn't have the great looking wheels/ hid lights and other nice features I can't remember at this point.

GTI that I wanted was S with LP & PP. So this was out as they were unicorns (No, not a 2 door, but still a unicorn)

Finally decided and it kind of fell in my lap, when the Golf S manual popped up at the dealership 2 min walk from my work. Checked it out, researched and realized for $10k less tan the GTI I wanted, could get 80% of the GTI. Spend another $3k On tune, suspension and wheels & it would be 95% a GTI. No, it didn't look as good as the Mazda stock for stock, or handle as well as the ST, but saw its potential thanks to the forum.

BEST DECISION EVER.
 

SRTie4k

Ready to race!
Location
NH
People talk about the speed 3 like the engine wasn't garbage...

The engine was fine at stock tune or light bolt-ons. Mine went 65k miles with an intake and Cobb AP stage 1 tune, made about 300HP, then put it back to stock and the guy that bought it from me last I knew had it north of 150k miles on the original engine.

The problem was when people started pushing for a lot more fuel, the HPFP would crap out, go lean and blow the engine.

I didn't personally care about big power in that car, it had excellent handling (especially with Cobb Springs and Bilstein struts), a fantastic gearbox and the best steering input/feel of any car I've ever owned. I feel it was very comparable to the current GTI.
 
Last edited:

Golfs everyday

Autocross Newbie
Location
USA
I was close to getting a MS3 back way back when, but the torque steer was horrible. My MK7 GTI Autobahn had very little to no torque steer I could feel even while I had a JB1 running. Plus it made me laugh that one of the local Mazda dealers told me I must first commit to buying the car before they'd let me take the car out for a test drive. Uhhhh it's a $25-30K cheap econobox I was willing to pay cash for, if I liked it. And I was no young kid at the time either.

Ended up going to another dealer who had a used one in the lot and they let me tear up the car during the test drive. I was hoping to like the car, but ended up going to a Subaru dealer afterwards for a STI for a few grand more which was a much more attractive package.

I guess I don't like Mazda's in general.. their product and attitude.
 

vj123

Autocross Newbie
Location
The Detroit
Car(s)
19 & 16 GTI - sold
Regarding COO, the GTI will undoubtedly be the more expensive option. Higher MSRP, insurance will be higher (mine doubled from $100 to $200/mo from my Mazda6 to GTI), maintenance will cost more (especially if DSG), it requires more expensive gas, tires will wear out faster if pushing the car, etc. The Japanese economy car will also most likely lose less resale value compared to the German entry-level sports car.

As discussed earlier, one has to compare the real world prices and not just the MSRP on paper for the initial ownership costs. One should be able to find a good chunk of discounts on a GTI unlike Mazda 3. If you include the indirect costs (fuel, depreciation and insurance), then yes but i was talking about the regular maintenance. DSG service costs around $400 for every 40,000 miles and i dont think just this cost will stop people from owning a GTI. Tires will wear quicker even on a regular commuter vehicle. Just because a person own a GTI, he is not going to drive it hard during his / her every day commute and this totally depends on the driving habits.

Overall, OP is comparing cars from different classes and he has to pay a little premium for the overall experience.
 

Subliminal

Autocross Champion
Location
Vegas
Car(s)
Slow FWD VW Hatch
As discussed earlier, one has to compare the real world prices and not just the MSRP on paper for the initial ownership costs. One should be able to find a good chunk of discounts on a GTI unlike Mazda 3. If you include the indirect costs (fuel, depreciation and insurance), then yes but i was talking about the regular maintenance. DSG service costs around $400 for every 40,000 miles and i dont think just this cost will stop people from owning a GTI. Tires will wear quicker even on a regular commuter vehicle. Just because a person own a GTI, he is not going to drive it hard during his / her every day commute and this totally depends on the driving habits.

Overall, OP is comparing cars from different classes and he has to pay a little premium for the overall experience.

You would have to get one hell of a deal to lower the price of a GTI down to the sticker-price of the Mazda. We're talking about a discount over 30% of the base GTI's sticker-price. If you were able to negotiate that kind of a deal with the dealership, please share your expertise.

Mazda also has much better lease deals than I've found at VW. But I do agree that comparing these two cars are like apples and oranges.
 
Last edited:

XM_Rocks

Autocross Newbie
Location
Austin, TX
Guys, this poster stated in another thread he isn’t buying for another 5-6 years.

Waste of internet space imo.
 

vj123

Autocross Newbie
Location
The Detroit
Car(s)
19 & 16 GTI - sold
You would have to get one hell of a deal to lower the price of a GTI down to the sticker-price of the Mazda. We're talking about a discount over 30% of the base GTI's sticker-price. If you were able to negotiate that kind of a deal with the dealership, please share your expertise.

2019 Mazda 3 prices were revealed a couple of days back and prices have gone up. Base trim with manual transmission starts at $23,600 and streches all the way to $28,900 for the top trim. I am not sure if those prices include destination fee as well. These numbers are inline with real world prices of S, Rabbit and SE trims reported by several people in the forum.
 
Last edited:

heiney9

Go Kart Champion
Location
Illinois
Car(s)
2017 GTi Sport DSG
Why do you say the Mazda will be "far more reliable"? What are you basing that assumption on..........let's see the hard facts?

Mazda is a nice car, for sure. But not in the same category of fun or performance as the GTi. The 2019 is the new Gen Mazda 3 that costs more than the previous Gen because they are trying to up the interior quality and features to (I can only assume) match up to the GTi better on paper.

Best advice is to spend some time in both and decide.

My advice, get the GTi.
 

Jlove8128

Ready to race!
Location
St. Pete / Tampa
Comparing these two cars is nonsensical. They are both hatchbacks that’s it. If you are a car person you buy the GTI. If you want a reliable car to go from A-B you buy the Mazda.

My guess is your not a car guy/girl because you are even considering the Mazda. I have 24 month old twin boys, and practicality is important. But no chance I was sacrificing loving how my car looks and drives for it. Get the Mazda and enjoy it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ELHOTA

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Canada
I really do value all the attributes of the GTI, good acceleration, beautiful interior, good fuel economy, large cargo capacity, decent handling, and a pure joy to drive. But not if it's at the expense of having to take it into the mechanic for repairs every other month, or spending thousands of $$$ on repairs every year. I know of someone who had a MK7 and only kept it for 1 year because it was constantly in the shop for repairs (mostly electrical issues). The last straw was when the fuel pump failed- all within the first year of ownership!
Would be interesting to see what the 2019 Mazda 3 with the Skyactive-X will be priced at. Mazda is supposedly doing more work to tweak the engine to increase the HP- and still achieve diesel-like fuel economy.
 

Hoon

Autocross Champion
Location
Rhode Island
I really do value all the attributes of the GTI, good acceleration, beautiful interior, good fuel economy, large cargo capacity, decent handling, and a pure joy to drive. But not if it's at the expense of having to take it into the mechanic for repairs every other month, or spending thousands of $$$ on repairs every year. I know of someone who had a MK7 and only kept it for 1 year because it was constantly in the shop for repairs (mostly electrical issues). The last straw was when the fuel pump failed- all within the first year of ownership!
Would be interesting to see what the 2019 Mazda 3 with the Skyactive-X will be priced at. Mazda is supposedly doing more work to tweak the engine to increase the HP- and still achieve diesel-like fuel economy.

That's one person's anecdotal experience.

My anecdotal experience is my car has 45k miles, makes 185whp more than stock, gets its ass kicked every day, and has never had a single issue.

The only item I've had to replace was a motor mount. Can't really blame the mount when it was intended for 250wtq and I was making 434wtq.
 
Top