According to Consumer Reports, going back several years, the Mazda sedans/hatchback, in general, were more reliable than the CX-7/CX-9 SUVs, but the new smaller CX-5 SUV has been very reliable its first year out. The Miata, though, has been the most reliable Mazda over the years, hands-down....perhaps due to the relatively simple mechanicals/electronics on the manual-top version..

 

Girlfriend has Mazda3, just oil changes for 30k, her mother has a CX7 that is oddly the same price out the door as the 3, so Mazda is aggressive with selling the cars

As for Honda, never been a fan of the questionable reliability, I have come across to many people who had breakdown issues, outside of the factory warranty, and honda themselves admitted those parts/failures should have never happened.

So my vote is Mazda, then Nissan, Toyota etc, I never cared for Honda, even the upscale Acuras only really improve in the fit and finish Honda lacks on, but then still some of the older Acuras on the road look beat

 

I've owned 5 Mazdas since the 1970's and they have been wonderfully reliable!
These days I shy away from Mazdas only because they tend to be very firmly suspended, but if you want a sporty car, certainly go for a Mazda...

 

This whole post is a little off.

I highly doubt her mother got a S Grand Touring CX-7 vs your GF's Mazda3. Basic CX-7's can be had for roughly the price of a moderately equipped Mazda3. But not the high end ones. Mazda also has lots of incentives like 0 down and 0% APR.

Questionable reliability? No car is perfect, and neither are automakers that are considered to be problem free. But questionable reliability? No, you just have a knack for finding people who have had bad experiences with Honda which happens. IQS, JD Power, and Consumer Reports just to name a few have consistently listed Honda in the top 5 for years.

? ANY older car on the road can look beat.

 

A little off, everyone is, its the people who think they are normal that concern me

Same price, minus a couple feature but the dealer was clearing out inventory and it happened to be the right time and place, it was a helluva deal

No duh nothing is perfect but they age rather poorly, especially in a short 3-5 years for a 35,000 vehicle, I've seen Lexus abuse the same way that look stellar after a 5 year abusive ownership, the bodys are not that great

 

In my opinion from experience, what Mazda needs is a much better customer service from its USA corporate, a much improved quality of the dealer network, and some QC.