So interestingly...

My first thought when I found the rust on the Mazda was "I should buy another old Mazda."

I don't think I want to go the LS route, because that would make too much sense. I was actually thinking of doing another Duratec 2.5 swap, except instead of turbocharging it I'd build a high compression street engine. Or maybe a K-series. I wanted to make an S54 work and I think I could, but not easily. I also considered a 3.6L GM V6 swap, as that's becoming more popular in the RX-8 community. But I hate how they sound.

Ok, new Civic hatch looks…fine. Doesn’t set my world on fire but it’s pleasant. Specs seem decent, too, for a commuter—and this is before we see an Si or Type R version.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...back-revealed/

Nice blue but guessing most of us would not be happy with the way it drives. Yes, type r or maybe si would be ok.

The back end looks an awful lot like the Model 3.

The back end of the sedan looks a lot more like the Model 3. At least the hatch has a heckblende.

But the Model 3's back end is pretty derivative, and looks quite a bit like a Jetta and...one of the Hyundai's, I can't be bothered to look up which one.

Anyway, I'm pretty psyched about this car because it seems like the perfect answer to the "what car to get for a teenager" question, assuming you're going to get a teenager a new car (which I realize is a separate issue).

Was thinking about this, too. Although, I think the more likely answer is used Mazda3 hatchback, if I can find one.

Edit: Here's one in Va. https://www.carmax.com/car/20640276

Not much of a discount off of new, though.

Civic, Mazda 3, Focus, etc, all make sense to me as cars for new drivers. Something with as many distracted-driver aids as possible. :)

This. My daughter has done great with her Mazda 3, and has actually admitted to me the nannies have saved her butt a couple of times.

Pretty durable little cars, too.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

Nice. And it's a plus that they don't completely suck to drive. Worst flaw is underpoweredness IMO.

Well the turbo version fixes the power issue :D

Though I think the new version with a turbo is only available with an auto :(

{sad trombone}

Hence why (well, one reason why) I'm still driving around the one we bought new in 2009.

So my trusty Mazdaspeed might not be so trusty after all. It just rolled over 220,000 and recently it has been going through oil at quite a rapid rate yet it doesn't smoke out the exhaust and it doesn't leak. I needed to get it on the lift to swap to the winter tires and change the oil so I gave it a quick checkover. Plugs look good and it's not leaking anything. No oil in the charge pipes, so that's a positive. I did a quick leakdown test and came back with 2% leakdown on cylinders 1, 2 and 4, and 16% on cylinder 3. With pressure applied to number 3 at TDC I can hear air coming out the hole for the oil fill cap. So, that's rings (or more likely a cracked ring land, pretty common on the 2.3 DISI engines).

As crappy as this car is, I kind of like driving it and my wife is a bit attached to it. I also can't easily replace it without spending a pile of money. It still runs fine, I just need to keep an eye on the oil level. I'm seriously contemplating swapping out the 2.3 bottom end for a 2.5 (like I have in the RX-8). They're pretty robust and the local salvage yard has a pile of low mileage units they are happy to sell me for $275 a pop. It would just be a weekend job to yank the 2.3, swap the cylinder head and accessories over to the 2.5, and drop that in. Even in its current state, the 2.3 is worth around $500 so I'd be roughly neutral on cost... it's just a lot of labor.

Decisions...

If it comes down to a weekend of labor and you like the car, what do you have to lose? It’s probably less effort & stress than you’d put into finding a replacement car right now.

How come a 2.3 lower end with a cracked ring land is worth the same as a 2.5?

The 2.5s have the same bore, just a different stroke?

Seems like a no brainer to do the swap if you’ve got a free weekend.

I think the answer writes itself

Yep. Especially considering the state of the auto industry currently.

I think because there are orders of magnitude more 2.5s out there than there are 2.3 DISIs. The 2.3 DISI also has a forged crank and the block is set up with an oil drain. But really, I don't know? :dunno:

2.5 is a larger bore (89mm vs 87.5mm) and a larger stroke (100mm vs 94mm).

Larger bore but the 2.3 head bolts up?

The entire line, 2.0, 2.3 and 2.5, share bore centers and chamber dimensions.

It rolled over 230,000 on the way to work this morning.

The 2.5L that was supposed to end up in this car is now in the RX-8. With an EcoBoost 2.3 crank and some other goodies. So I guess I need to go pick up another 2.5 :lol:

I'd really like to keep this thing on the road long enough that something used and electric (that I wouldn't be ashamed to drive) becomes cheap enough for me to pick up. Figure that's another ~ 3 years, at which point it'll be close to 300k miles. Adding oil every other fuel stop is annoying.