Guam Day 87 - COGS Ep. 4 - The Mazda 3

5/10/2022 - A quick look at our Guam ride for this Cogs article. Our 2016 Mazda 3 has worked out really well for our time here on the island. The small sedan has great gas milage at 30 city/42 highway, not that you ever get upto highway speeds on the island, seats four comfortably, five uncomfortably, and has a trunk large enough for all our scuba gear, and paddle board needs. Even better the bike rake fits on the back for upto 3 bikes for our evening rides. I would say for a small island without many extra hauling needs this has fit our needs. 

These Mazda 3s must have been very popular some 6 years back on the island, we see many used ones for sale as you drive by the lots. This one was purchased from a small car rental agency when Joan first got to the island, and I think this fits the story well to why so many are around. Tourism thrived on this island before covid hit with some 2 million people visiting. Last year the reported tourism numbers were down to  90k visitor, night and day difference. So, this says less about the peoples needs that live on Guam, at least new, but is evidence of a time when tourism was high and covid was not a concern. 

 Our vehicle does sport some nice "modifications" from its previous life, the front fascia shows signs of custom reformation from the typical parking garage experience, and some scuffs near the trunk are evident of many loved bags coming in and out for long Guam stays. Also, the number of small interior stains from the application of sunscreen is evident, perfect beach car! These are very normal cosmetic things you see on the island in most vehicles, and I think it says a lot about the usage and needs of island life. Vehicles on the island are not some super polished trophy that you sometimes see in the states on the roads, but much more a thing to be used fully in its life to enable great adventures. 

Milage is an interesting one, we are just about to roll over 35k miles. For a normal mainland car, I would argue that, wow, that sounds like it would almost be a new car, maybe 2 or 3 years in age. Here on Guam you can see its taken almost 6 years to rack up that kind of milage, initially a rental no less. There just isn't that much ground you can cover on island that is 35 x 10 miles. There are some additional signs of wear that I would label as island or region specific. The first is the headlights, they are starting to show signs of UV "fog", the sun here is incredibly strong and presents quite a challenge in long term robust design to ensure clarity. Vehicles that have larger miles accrued also show signs of clear coat burnout from the sun and then rust due to the high moisture level and salty sea so close. The UV strength can also be seen in the interior, both in faded seats, and in the dash showing some irregularities in fit + finish. I have never been in a car so hot here on Guam that has sat out in the sun, internal temps get scary hot and thus you see some of that wear come through over time. Thankfully this one has a working A/C unit, very thankful for that, but this is a common failure point on the island to hear about used vehicles where a new compressor or evaporator is needed. Lastly, add in the potholes to your wear and tear cycle, the suspension has some squeaks and rattles under high load. Guam is a tough environment for vehicles, which is why they are treated more like things to use than ways to identify class or wealth.

The features I find most interesting are on the inside of the car, more specifically the controls and buttons. The volume knob for example is on the center console closer to the passenger side. Very abnormal, as volume knobs are generally found to be close to the radio, and biased towards the driver. (I don't know of any other vehicle or brand that has put the knob on the passenger side) As you look up though, you see a center stack screen that has is not yet a touchscreen, and a little further down your heating and cooling controls that look nice and symmetrical, perfect for Left or Right side drive configurations internationally. So, then where do you put the highly used volume knob? Well, if you put your arm on the armrest while you drive then the location for the volume knob is a perfect distance for your arm. This is a very strategic choice by Mazda, and can be seen in some of their other vehicles. And in 2016 when touchscreens were very high end options, they had to stick with a knob. The second feature that I find works really well is the selector knob and button next to the volume control. Getting from screen to screen is intuitive as you rotate the knob in either direction and then click to move into application / settings desired. Even better though, there are additional high level buttons for home, music, nav, and favorites. These high level buttons enable quick moving from one app to another without the need to hit back a number of times. Between the two sets of knobs the usability is quite nice and I must say that once you get used to the volume position, part of me doesn't want to go back. 

Ok, so I have gotten into the nitty gritty here, the Mazda has really worked well. The only change I think I would have made would have been to have more off-road capability. The 4x4 trails here look quite amazing, but for the extra cost, and cleaning, we just will need to find a friend with a bronco sport!