Nearly 20 years of Mazda3 ownership

Secunda's Ben Mlaza is a Mazda owner who doesn't even consider another brand. His experience with Mazda started with the Mazda3 nearly 20 years ago.

Ben works in quality control at South African petrochemical giant Sasol, but he's originally from the Eastern Cape, and he travels there every year for family holidays. That means he needs a dependable family car with excellent driveability for the long highway journey from Mpumalanga to the Eastern Cape.

A Mazda3 man – twice over

When Ben was in the market for a car in 2008, he bought a Mazda3 2.0. Regrettably, that car was written off in an accident, but Ben chose to stay with the Mazda brand.

In 2015, he bought a second Mazda3, and 11 years later, Ben has covered 213 500 km in it. "It's still going like it's new, and it's comfortable," says Ben. "It's a beautiful car. I'm sticking with it."

For Ben, fuel economy remains a favourite feature. "I think it's how economical it is on fuel. I love that," he says. Mazda is renowned for its naturally aspirated engines, especially the Mazda3 2.0. These engines deliver more consistent, repeatable real-world fuel consumption figures than many turbocharged engines, where consumption can vary wildly.

No eating in the car

The care Ben takes of his Mazda3 is just as personal. Only Ben and his wife drive it, and eating in the car is forbidden. On family trips, they stop to eat rather than bring food into the cabin. That's also a sensible strategy for safety, because those roadside stops give Ben, who does the driving, time to rest and recover.

When asked whether he would stay with Mazda if he had the budget for a new car, Ben names the CX-60. Mazda's large luxury crossover SUV has balanced proportions, terrific cabin build quality and a powerful inline six-cylinder engine option, which makes it ideal for long-distance road trips.

His advice to anyone choosing a car is practical: choose something you feel sure about and stay within your means. "Buy what you can afford," he says.