Originally Posted by
Steve B.
My wife has the '19 Mazda 3 with the 2.5L, it replaced an Impreza. Peppy and good car to drive. I had to replace the 18" wheels and tires in the first week due to pothole blow outs, cost me a grand, but high performance wheels and tires are on about EVERY car in this class except the very base models. My biggest complaint though is the rear hatch is minuscule and there's not a lot of room behind the rear seat. This would not be my choice of car if I was putting a bike inside on a regular basis, but then all I've ever owned is small wagons or small SUV's (Foresters) which I chose specifically as I put a bike in the back.
Ours is a sedan, so can't comment on the hatch. My son puts his bike on a trunk mount rack, but he has a $300 "college kid" bike.
We didn't have any problems with the wheels or tires on the 3. Maybe our roads are relatively good, but we do have problem areas. I don't think anyone in my family has ever blown a tire out in a pot hole.
Consider yourself lucky that those wheels and tires only cost $1,000 in total. The tires on my wife's car and mine are about $2,000 a set (good for about 20,000 miles), and the wheels are between $1,500 - 2,000 each.