I remember Michael Jordan commenting on the subtle downgrading of interior materials in 2012 Mazda 3 i Grand Touring. And I remember at the time, I thought, oh, it can't be really be appreciably worse than the stuff in our Mazdaspeed 3, can it?
But it really kind of is. The new black plastic on the audio head unit collects oily fingerprint smudges like my Dell Latitude E6410's keyboard does during periods of furious typing in auto show press rooms. It's kind of gross. And, no, we never had this problem in our 2012 Mazdaspeed 3, which had this head unit. (Regrettably, these aren't the best photos; I'll take some more the next time I'm around the car during daylight hours.)
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 4,052 miles
throwback says:
05:24 AM, 01/18/12
I guess cheaper plastics are all part of skyactiv, have to cut costs somewhere. You really don't care about this stuff when you are getting better mileage, right?
blueguydotcom says:
06:05 AM, 01/18/12
The plastic looks just like the garbage in my 2010. Shrug. I realized the other day while watching my kid play in the car that I've never touched the radio unit. 2 years and 1 month of ownership and I cannot recall ever using any part of the car's stereo head unit.
And yes I noticed the same smudges after my 3 year old was playing with the car. He leaves smudges on everything. Despicable what that demon does to my walls...
legacygt says:
06:07 AM, 01/18/12
My CX-9 has the same and it's a 5 year old interior at this point so these plastics aren't entirely new to Mazda. It cleans up easy but it doesn't look great and passengers will think you have greasy fingers (or always eat popcorn while you're driving).
cx7lover says:
06:11 AM, 01/18/12
My CX-7 had a different paint finish on the radio, but the 2010 I have doesn't like greasy grubby fingers. This is simply an issue with the finish, not the cost or materials. Unfinished ABS plastic would not smudge like this, is it better or more expensive? No. It looks like someone with grubby, greasy fingers got their hands all over the headunit.
hank39 says:
06:34 AM, 01/18/12
Automakers simply can't ever get everything right 100% of the time. If there's one bit of something that you like that they've improved upon, they go ahead and make a decision about something else that detracts. When I had my '08 Speed3, I was glad I got that version since the '08.5 & '09s had the piano black trim, but they had the Alcantara seats. The '08 MS3's interior trim was better IMO than the piano black. The fact that this current trim attracts Soul Glo is an aberration. Mazda changing up the interior trim for MZ3 and MS3 for the '12 is akin to '07/'08 vs '08.5/'09. Puzzling when the fabric of the MS3 seats should've been changed.
ed124c says:
06:34 AM, 01/18/12
I agree with CX-7lover: It is the finish not the material that causes more prominent smudges.
But the real problem is the taxi cab usage of the LT cars. Too many drivers that just don't care about the car because it isn't theirs. We have talked about this a lot, and there is no way around it-- people will not respect property that belongs to someone else.
opfreak says:
07:12 AM, 01/18/12
soap, water, paper towels. You know basic hand washing? Learn it. use it.
gotak says:
07:19 AM, 01/18/12
How greasy are your fingers? I don't have smudges like that on my car....
fordson1 says:
07:27 AM, 01/18/12
Agree with e124c - I think the solution here is to not eat while driving and to wash hands more often. I have kids and this is just too familiar - it's oily fingers as stated and the solution to that is to wash or wipe your hands off.
duck87 says:
07:50 AM, 01/18/12
Like I said before... I remembered testing a Mazda 3 hatch a few years back and was confused as to how bad the interior became in the newest ones. The choice of plastic finishing on the center cluster is probably the most visible. Some things, like the back of the steering wheel that creaks under finger pressure, become downright annoying.
barich1 says:
08:09 AM, 01/18/12
The center stack in my '06 looks like it's pretty much the same plastic.
Yeah, it accumulates smudges. I clean it once in a while.
At least it isn't glossy black like pretty much every electronic device these days.
/shrug
jstandefer says:
11:26 AM, 01/18/12
If you read the Inside Line Long Term Road Tests blog entries about the 2010 Mazdaspeed3 and this 2012 Mazda3, you easily get the impression that the Mazda3 has by far the worst interior in its class. It is an awful design built with awful materials. Why would anyone want to buy a Mazda3?
Of course, you'll find quite the opposite when reading reviews from other sources. Some other website called Edmunds.com (you may have heard of them) said the 2010 quality of materials is second only to the VW Rabbit. That same obscure website said the 2011 model is a class leader in interior quality. Motor Trend stated that the 2010 model has best in class interior materials.
So, which is it? Is the Mazda3 really the worst interior in this class? Did it really fall from class leader to bottom of the heap in just one year? I believe the Mazda3 is now mid-pack, but consumers would never get that impression here.
haunty says:
11:26 AM, 01/18/12
Non-issue to me, since I have a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire, which has a ridiculous interior by today's standards.
penboy says:
12:46 PM, 01/18/12
Yeah... That's not new to the 2012. my Mazda3s were the same way. It's the finish, not the plastic quality; the plastics quality is really on par with anything in the category. (Although I also personally think the Golf/GTI interior falls in the definitely-good-but-waaaaaaaaaaay-overrated-by-most-people category, so YMMV.)
It wipes off easily, and virtually every smudge pointed out came from using a control that's duplicated on the steering wheel. It smudges just about as easily as the radio controls in my GLK.
billt9 says:
03:13 PM, 01/18/12
Last gen Mazda3 had better materials.
explorerx4 says:
04:05 PM, 01/18/12
Last person to drive it before you went to 5 Guys. Check for left over french fries in the center console.
wjtinatl says:
08:12 PM, 01/18/12
Funny... the genuine "wood" trim in my wife's Navigator looks the same after my kids trip to the Whataburger drive-thru. Feel free to add some napkins to the glove box.
aptx says:
10:22 AM, 01/19/12
Try wiping your hands after eating french fries
woochifer says:
10:40 PM, 01/20/12
Actually I like the 2012 interior better than the 2010-11 version, for the simple reason that they jettisoned much of the metallic-look plastic on the center stack, and mellowed out the harsh red displays with cooler blue and gray lighting. Our 2007 Mazda5 has even more metallic plastic on that center panel, and it can be real distraction while driving in the middle of the day. I much prefer the matte black on the new Mazda3. Mazda says that these changes were made to help drivers focus better on the road, and I believe it.
And I disagree that the current generation is a step down from what was used in the previous gen Mazda3. If anything, I thought the glossy plastics used in that interior looked sort of tacky.
As for the smudges, it doesn't look like anything that a microfiber cloth won't fix.
perrito says:
07:30 AM, 01/21/12
Enough with these useless posts, please. I don't care about smudges. Mileage? Comparison? Materials quality from last generation (with pictures)? Anything substantive, please. No more one-liner posts about how many Hello Kitty mascots can fit in a car either.
eldaino2 says:
05:25 PM, 01/24/12
i agree with perrito and others:
where is the PROOF that its worse than the 2010?
you guys were singing that cars praises to no end...but you only ever tested a gt.
so is it a gt thing? is the i touring something that has ALWAYS been cheaper?
compare it to an older i touring. to a current gt. to an old gt. whatever you guys gotta do. DO IT.
most of the posters here indicate its no different than a 2010 REGARDLESS of trim....
and yet a few swear it is.
SO WHICH ONE IS IT???
@billit9: lol. you kid right? the one reason i never made the jump from my then-honda fit (2007) was because they felt like they had a super similar interior...with the exception of leather, the mazda felt no more 'upscale' than my fit, which back in its day was lauded for its materials.
@penboy: yup def your opinion. pretty much anyone universally praises the gti and golfs interior. is it an audi? no. but it feels like one compared to anything else in the class.