How can you compare a Mazda 3 to a BMW 328?
Q. I heard you on your radio program one day extolling the virtues of the Mazda 3, calling it the poor man’s BMW 328. Are you nuts? How can you compare this front wheel drive Mazda to a fabulous rear-wheel-drive sports sedan?
A. The MazdaSpeed3, the car I was talking about, is within several inches of the BMW328 and weighs about the same. Both cars seat four adults and although smaller the Mazda offers about the same interior room. You can also carry more stuff in the Mazda. The Mazda is powered by a 263 horsepower engine that develops 280 foot pounds of torque. The BMW 328 with the 2.0 liter turbocharged engine develops 240 horsepower and 255 foot pounds of torque. The BMW has legendary handling and steering and is considered (myself included) one of the best compact sedans on the road. The Mazdaspeed3 is surprising how good it is. The handling is first rate, the steering offers great feedback and the engine is powerful and smooth. A base BMW starts at about $37,000 and the Mazdaspeed3 about $24,000. My point was you can get great performance and handling without breaking the bank.
Q. I am interested in getting my 2008 Honda Odyssey a set of winter tires and would like your advice. I went to Tire Rack for some research. The web site suggests that in addition to my OEM tire size (235/65/16) I can also use 225/70/16. What are the advantages / disadvantages between the two? I also saw that there are two types of winter tires; stud-less and stud-able. Since I am driving around the Boston areas I don’t think I would be adding studs for the stud-able tire. Based on what I have researched, it seems the stud-less would outperform the stud-able without studs but the stud-able tires seem to be cheaper. Would you be able to provide some insights?
A. Personally I would stay with the 235/65/16 tire size, this is the correct size tire for your Honda. Although the 225/70/16 tire would certainly work, my inclination is to stay with the stock tire size. Regarding stud-less tires versus stud-able tires, they both have strengths and weaknesses. The rubber compound on the stud-less tire that allows for better traction will tend to wear quicker. Tires with studs work very well on ice but may not work as well as the standard tires on a dry road. Unless you live on a glacier, I wouldn’t think about studded tires. The best traction will come from the stud-less (ice) tires. Being a bit frugal, conventional winter tires would be my choice. You will get far superior traction than the stock all-season-tires as well as good tire life and as you pointed out, have a more reasonable cost.
Q. My 2004 Pontiac Sunfire on occasion will have a problem with the gauges. The speedometer will register odd speeds and the gas gauge will read incorrectly. From time to time the other gauges will act up as well. Any ideas why?
A. The first place I would check is with the battery ground cable. Your car has a ground cable that attaches to the battery tray that can corrode or is sometimes left off during battery service. I would also check all other wiring to the dash cluster before replacing the cluster itself.
Q. I have a 1994 Honda Accord with a four-cylinder engine. When I first start my car it cranks up and start fine, but if I turn it off and try to start it up a few seconds after, it keeps cranking and won’t start. If I wait about five minutes then it starts up and runs fine. About two years back, I replaced the distributor when the car would stall while driving, but now I’m having this start up issue. What do you think is wrong?
A. For any engine to run it needs to have fuel and ignition to come together at just the right time to combustion. The first test would be to see if there is an ignition problem and then test if there is a fuel delivery problem. The most common problem with some Honda vehicles is the main computer relay gets hot and fails. The relay is about $75.00 and will take less than one hour to replace.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com