Well, mine is a previous generation model. It has no built in nav, so I have to mess either with my phone or garmin unit, its bluetooth intergration is archaic, sound insulation is poor, and the audio quality is very lacking. But most of all its got a weak 4 cylinder and wrong wheel drive. It has very good handling, an excellent automatic transmission, and its got superior fuel economy, and its not really a bad car overall - but I'm stuck driving it 5 days a week, and I'd much rather be in something like a 328 or IS250. But first I gotta get rid of the mazda with minimal damage.

 

^^ haha good one chikoo. of course the lexus is250 will be a whole lot smoother and quieter not to mention more comfortable.

of course you are comparing the top of the line trim mazda with regular IS

 

Grand touring model is a fully loaded version of the car. Most of the ones you see on the road are touring models, and don't have nearly as much equipment.

 

true, and now they have two engines so there's the "s" grand touring which will have more zoom zoom.

 

The reason I didn't buy a Mazda this year was because I couldn't find a model with the V6. I was shopping for the prior gen Mazda6. Their production numbers suck.

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Long list of features doesn't make it on par with a luxury automobile...

 

I've cut leases short many times. I got out of an '07 M35 lease and received a refund of $350. However, the next time I cut a lease short I had a payment of over $3,000 that was rolled into the payments on my new car. It really depends on the residual value calculated at the time of leasing and how much the leasing company still shows you have remaining in payments. It typically will not be to your benefit to cut a lease short unless you can absorb the extra money you owe into the payments on your next car.

 

^^^ yup, it's all a numbers game + negotiation. if leasing company has no reason/benefit to negotiate, they won't.

 

Never updated this thread, but I didn't cut the lease short, just gave the car to someone to use until the lease expires, and got myself one of these. Got it back in June. Much better than the Mazda.

 

congrats. better... in... every... way...

 

Well, Lexus service for one. The second would be upmarket materials exterior and interior. That is as it should be. The Mazda is at a much lower price point.

The only real advantage of the Mazda is the driving experience, but Lexus has also upped their game in that regard.

Same for BMW. Och, congrats on the upgrade!

 

Nice!!!! Got some M performance goodies too? Didn't want the M2?

 

Nah, no M performance goodies. Most of them are useless cosmetic stuff anyway, except the LSD. And the M2 is still sometime away, and I simply couldn't wait anymore. I ordered this back in February only to receive it in June.

 

Thanks. The Mazda driving experience sucked horribly compared to Lexus, trust me. It handled well in the sense that it didn't have much body roll and had sharp steering response, but it was still unmistakeably FWD, very underpowered, lacked any premium feel inside and out, the infotainment system (or rather lack of one) and audio quality were a joke. When I was buying it I figured that I'll only drive it to work and work related errands - but after a while I realized that this is when I do most of my driving anyway. I wont be making this mistake again when it comes to buying a car.

 

Have you driven a GTI or Golf R? Wondering if that would have served your purposes as well.