Mazda 3 Engine Problems

It’s not unusual for a car to do that on a cold start. That’s the way it has been calibrated and it won’t affect the life of the engine.

Diesels deliver their efficiency benefits best when on the open road, but it would still be more convenient for Uber use because they'd need to be refuelled less often than the petrol. The only thing I'd be concerned about re inner-city use would be the diesel particulate filter. If you only drive around the city, this probably wouldn't give the DPF the chance to cycle itself every now and again, which can lead to very costly repairs. If you do head out onto the motorway occasionally, this wouldn't be an issue. The new i30 is an excellent small hatch though, and I wouldn't hesitate recommending it.

It's probably easier to eliminate those that don't stack up, those being the VW Golf, Holden Cruze and Ford Focus.

All have transmission questions over them.

The best options would be the Mazda 3 and the Hyundai i30.

All of the cars you name meet your criteria of size, economy, performance and handling.

You could also add the Mazda3 and 6 to the list.

Of all of those I would nominate the Camry as the great all-rounder.

Fuel pumps are a relatively common failure across many makes and models, but two in a year does seem too much. They shouldn't leak when they fail as they're in the fuel tank. Regularly running low on fuel can cause the pump to overheat and fail, it can also stir up any sediment that's on the bottom of the tank and could cause a blockage. You can try approaching Mazda, but I doubt you will have any success, as your car is 12 years old.

They're quite different vehicles, the Peugeot is a roomy, comfortable, safe and pleasant wagon, and boasts 4.0 L/100km economy. The Mazda SP25 is a sedan or hatch, and a sportier drive with a firmer ride, and the 2.5-litre petrol engine offers an average of 6.0L/100km. If you're trying to choose which one to buy it comes down to what you want from your car, comfort and economy, or a sporty drive. Another thing to consider is maintenance costs and the Mazda scores there.

I have seen reports of the system not working as expected, but no real explanations yet. It could simply be that people are not up to speed on the system, and what parameters it uses to activate. It doesn't necessarily operate in every situation, and the engine can restart if, for instance, you slightly release the brakes or turn the steering wheel.

Thanks for the feedback. All systems are different and a Golf kills the engine every time you come to a full halt.

Clever indeed.

When doing your research you need to dig deeper and find out the claimed fuel consumption for city and country driving. The Mazda 3 manual is claimed to return on average 7.9 L/100 km, but when you look at the claims for city and country you find that it does 10.8 L/100 km and 6.2 L/100 km respectively, which lines up reasonably well with your experience remembering that the claimed figures are not real life ones like your own are.