Dallas or Bust in the Mazda3 #DriveMazda

Have you ever thought of going on a road trip by yourself? No kids in the back asking when we will get there? You get to play your own music as loud as you want. Yep sounds like a good time to me. I was able to do just that this last weekend. I was attending SoFabU OTR in Dallas at the Gaylord Texas and needed a sweet ride to take me there. The Mazda3 delivered on fun and got this momma to Dallas(no busting).

The Mazda3 5 door hatchback has got some serious style in a little package. The hatchback design seems to give more room in the rear part of the car so that the passengers in the back have a bit more space. I like how car manufacturers are giving designs thoughts to the lights of the car as well. They pop out of the rear of the car versus just blending in. The interior of this model is a blend of black and almond leather. It gives the car a sporty look and more dimension.

The drive to Dallas was pretty uneventful. I was able to make it from Houston to Dallas and not have to fill up the tank. I was averaging 37 mpg on the highway and 28 in the city. It was funny the first time I filled up the tank and it only took 10.5 gallons. Sweet!! I have never had a car need that little to fill it up and go so far. Best drive feature by far is the heads up display that shows speed. When navigation is turned on, it will also show turn by turn directions. Being that this car was a manual, my second favorite feature was being able to control music and navigation with buttons and knob that is just behind the gear stick. I didn’t have to reach up to the touch screen to change music, I could keep my hand close to where I needed to be in case of changing gears.

On the way home from Dallas I took the Mazda3 to a few of my favorite places and to meet Sam. Sam Houston that is. There is this cool TALL sculpture in Huntsville that I have always wanted to get a picture with and was able to do it from the other side of the freeway on the side street. Another classic stop is Buc-ees!!! It is a quintessential road trip stop if you live in Texas. Hello Beaver Nuggets 🙂

I was happy to be back home, but I sure did enjoy getting to take the Mazda3 out sans kiddos. Don’t worry the kids got lots of ride time and loved the car just as much as I did. They asked that all of the cars I test drive have a sunroof.. Haha. One note though.. If you have this car in Texas heat.. make sure to get tinted windows and a windshield sun shade. I burned my tooshy on the leather one of the days that the temp got in the high 90’s. Also, the nav screen glitched because it got too hot as well.

Here are the details of the Mazda3 5 door Grand Touring in Blue Reflex Mica: Sticker Price $28,385

• SkyActiv-G 2.5L DOHC 4Cyl Engine
• 18 inch alloy wheels
• Rain sensing wipers
• Heated mirrors
• Moonroof with one-touch open
• Leather trimmed sports seats
• Heated front seats
• Dual zone climate control
• Push button engine start
• Rear seat armrest with cup holder
• Anti-theft engine immobilizer
• Blind spot monitoring
• 4 wheel dis brakes
• Gloss black grille
• Body colored rear hatch spoiler
• Active driving display
• 7″ color touchscreen
• Rearview camera
• Navigation
• Bose 9 speaker Audio
• Bluetooth Handsfree phone/audio