is Mazda better than Toyota and Honda?

Discover how Mazda stacks up against Honda and Toyota regarding reliability and maintenance costs. As an auto repair specialist with extensive data, I compare average repair expenses and part costs over 5 years, revealing surprising insights. Despite costing less in parts, Mazda owners spend 10% more per visit than Honda, while Toyota owners spend 5% less. Join me as I delve into these findings and share my perspective after 30 years in the industry.

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[beri]

I’m 51 and drive Toyota/Lexus and Mazda. We bought our 2016 Mazda CX5 new in 2015 and it has been the most reliable vehicle we have owned…. EVER!

[cbarkerb]

Two key factors that make Mazda better than the other Japanes makes: No downsizing and no CVTs

[LEVELMotorsports]

Mazdas have come way up since the divorce with Ford and their sharing of crappy platforms and engines. Look at the 2016+ CX9 vs the first gen (which was basically a Ford Edge underneath) or the 2014+ Mazda 6 vs the previous gen, which was built by Ford and shared a platform with the Fusion. The Japanese built Mazdas are the best they’ve ever done.

[thomkessler]

Mazda makes excellent cars. Fun to drive and very reliable.

[tjport]

I have a Mazda 3, Mazda MX5 and a Toyota 4-Runner. All are very reliable and I’m happy with all of them !

[mike-uwwt]

My 2020 Mazda 6 is the best car I’ve owned. Best interior and handling compared to the competition. ~250 hp so plenty of power too.

[kona]

The wife went from a 2017 BMW X3 to a 2023 Mazda CX-5 and she loves it. It's a great car and drives great. Also feel so much better about the reliability we will get from it vs the BMW. I just picked up a 2008 Miata and let me tell you. If you've never driven a
Miata you just don't know. The most fun I've ever had behind the wheel.

[johnrpizzaguy]

I’m a 40 year master mechanic factory trained by Toyota, Nissan, Chrysler and BMW that’s why I bought my wife a 2017 Mazda 3 hatchback it now has 78, 000 miles and I’m going to have to replace the front pads and rotors do to brake pulsation this will be the first repair.

[ij]

As a young adult in my pre 30s, after a lot research, talking to mechanics, looking into maintenance, etc... The second gen, KF Mazda CX-5 with the 2.5 NA engine is what I chose as a long term vehicle

[kjisnot]

I had been considering downsizing and shopped pretty much all of the small cars like CRV, Rav4, Tucson, etc. I never liked the exteriors of the Mazdas and think they all look alike, just different sizes. Well I finally wound up with a 2024 CX-5 Premium 6 months ago. There are still a few things I'm not thrilled with but for a small car it is quiet, handles great, good enough power and smooth riding. It has a regular 6 speed trans and not a CVT. The price was probably around $5k less than Honda and Toyotas especially when those dealers tack on a few thousand bucks of garbage accessories. The Mazda dealer didn't play that stupid game.

[juanseaforth]

Nothing better than a mechanic assessment and point of view. Thank you for the great work.

[justaguy]

Nice. Good to see an honest mechanic. The world needs more genuine people like you.

[hourgmtchannel]

I'm 58 and have bought Honda and Toyota since the early 80's. Up until last year I've never considered Mazda but after test driving a CX-5, my eyes were wide open to the brand when we were looking to replace my wife's aging 1999 Lexus RX 300 with 403k miles. The RX 300 has a 3.0L V6 and gets about 20 mpg if you baby the pedal so Improved fuel economy was a priority and since I do all my own maintenance and work on our cars along with keeping them for a long time, we started looking at the Lexus NX but the interior, turbo and required premium put us off. I also wanted a traditional automatic transmission so this ruled out the C-RV. We instead decided on a clean 2017 CX-5 and the exterior and interior looks alone won us over. We are also getting around 32 mpg on the highway which is a major difference from the RX 300. I'm also noticing a lot more Mazda CX-5's on the road so to me it looks like since their separation from Ford, they are on a roll plus being made in Japan.

[vincecarlo]

My 2000 Honda Accord 2.3L with 380k on the Clock.
STILL Running PERFECTLY

[scottpfister]

I was Mazda Master Parts Manager for 10 years at a stand alone Mazda dealer and seeing the inners and outers of the brand, My wife and I are sold for life. After driving Mazda's from the early 90's to current year models the passion the company puts into their products is showing more than ever. From the driver experience all the way to having a couple cars totaled out due to collision (walking away unscathed from both) Mazda is my top brand overall.

[tedmorish]

thanks for the honest review . I have been a Toyota and Honda owner for the past 20 years . Didnt think Mazda was in the ball park for its reliability . Great to hear

[chrxx]

It's not that hard to see the trends. When you look at Mazda, they keep things simple. The only have 2 or 3 engine variants in their entire line up. The use the same engine and transmission across the board. This allows them to fine tune and hone the cars into being very reliable. They also chose to stick with a 6 speed automatic over trendy CVT's and the like because they knew it would drive well, be reliability, and offer familiarity to the consumer. They always made good engines, and really only had a bad reputation when they were owned by Ford. Subaru uses weird engines (boxer) and bad CVT's. Nissan also uses terrible CVT's. So it's easy to see why Mazda is hanging right up there with toyota and honda in terms of reliability.

[Kaykaytrupka]

I know the older Mazdas get some flack but own a 2004 Mazda 3 hatchback with the 2.3 and it has 250, 000 miles and still runs perfectly of course I’ve maintained it well but I’m still surprised how reliable it is

[twopedal]

We've driven a million Honda miles in our household. Time for a new car to take us into our senior senior years, we just bought a 24 Mazda CX-5. Reasons being, 2.5 liter NA engine (no mini turbo engines here), 6spd auto trans (no CVT's either), AWD standard on base model, absolutely luxurious interior, a 6-7 yr. old platform with a little less tech (soon to change), and crafted in Japan. Unfortunately all new direct injection cars will need regular intake valve de-carboning but I'll handle that. Will keep 3 K-24 powered Hondas going to spare the Mazda the high miles we acquire living in rural America.

[waterbourne]

I've owned Toyotas for the last twenty years and my experience is similar to yours- Mazda parts are more reasonably priced than Toyota, and Mazda's from the last ten years drive beautifully. The thing I like about Mazda is that they seem to be unafraid to chart their own course- rotarys, sticking to proper auto trans instead of CVT's, and being rational and not sucked into EV's. My next vehicle will likely be a Mazda because I tow occasionally and want a trans I can trust. Sorry Toyota, you might have the best CVT's, but they are still CVT's.