Vehicle Review: 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring - More Disneyland Adventures!

It is time for another vehicle review and this time it is for the 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring! This is my first time reviewing a Mazda3 and based off it's stunning good looks I knew it was going to be a great week of driving!

My best friend Brittney came down to visit me and all of her luggage easily fit in the trunk! It was off to drop off all of her luggage and then to spend our first night in Disneyland!

Reflecting on a magical night in Disneyland with my best friend!

This is what it looks like when you are literally the last car in the Toy Story parking lot! It was such a smooth drive both to and from the park and we would be heading back early the next morning!

And this is what it looks like when you are one of the first cars in the Disneyland parking lot the next morning! The 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring made it such a joy to even drive in Southern California traffic. We zipped our way in comfort and style!

As many of you know one of my favorite things to do at Disneyland is to eat! Stopping at Redd Rocket's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland for lunch!

I am also always on the lookout for new food items to try at Disneyland! Here is the limited cherry vanilla cotton candy! Subtle in flavor but it was so good!

You get a powerful 2.5L 4-cylinder engine that produces 184 horsepower that gets 30 MPG combines and 27 MPG in the city and 36 MPG on the highway! This is just a purely fun vehicle to drive and it handles so well on the road! You will just want to hop in and drive, even if you have no particular place to go!

Take a 360 degree look inside the 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring! You get heated leather seats, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a heads-up display, heated steering wheel and a moonroof. 

The 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring comes with a huge amount of features outside of the vehicle as well! LED fog lights, LED headlights and running lights, blind spot monitoring, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, adaptive front lighting and more!

It was a great week of driving around the Southern California area all week! A wonderful vehicle that will become your favorite as it did mine! Great looks, an interior that looks premium, and a fantastic driving vehicle that is very comfortable and stylish!

With all the premium packages the 2018 Mazda3 Grand Touring as tested came in at $28,370.

Vehicle Review: 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring RF - Disneyland and Food Adventures

This is my first time reviewing the Mazda Miata since 2014 and I can already tell there have a been a lot of changes over the years! New for 2017 is this Mazda Miata MX-5 Grand Touring RF. The RF is for Retractable Fastback which refers to the power-folding hardtop. But let's get into the review! 

Thanks to my buddy Mike for the incredible drone photography! 

The cabin is nicely laid out and there is plenty of legroom for myself and I am 5 foot 6 but taller friends had difficulty getting out of the car. 

Gauges are bright and controls are all easily within reach. There is automatic climate control, push button ignition and power everything as to be expected with a vehicle of this type! 

The large 7-inch touchscreen has voice command, HD Radio, Aha, Pandora and Stitcher internet radio integration, SMS text message audio delivery and reply, Mazda Navigation System, SiriusXM, and speed sensing automatic audio controls. The steering wheel has audio, phone and cruise controls. There is a Bose 9-speaker audio system that delivers crystal clear sound with driver and passenger headrest speakers and a subwoofer. There is even a CD player! 

The first place I headed to was of course to Disneyland! My awesome friend Erin and I had tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party, an event that is sold out every single year! We went as Hiro Hamada and GoGo Tamago from Big Hero 6! And yes, that Baymax is a candy bucket! We ended up with more than enough candy from all the treat stops that we didn't even go to all of them! Plus, there are special Halloween fireworks, a Halloween parade and special character meet and greets and other entertainment that make this a good to event every single year!

Halloween also brings special food and drink offerings to The Disneyland Resort! Erin and I both got the poison apple-tini with the exclusive green poison apple glow cube from The Carthay Circle Lounge in Disney California Adventure!

Vehicle Review: 2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring FWD

It's time for the first vehicle review of 2015! This time it is the 2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring FWD compact SUV! I was not planning on test driving this vehicle at the OC Auto Show last year but I am so glad that I did! This is a fantastic vehicle and perfect for driving the family around or just going out for a night on the town.

As soon as my foot hit the accelerator, I feel in love with this vehicle and so will you. The 2015 Mazda CX-5 handles more like a car than a SUV. If this is the soccer mom vehicle, then you better get two because dad will want to drive this one as well. Plus, with SkyActive technology, this compact SUV gets combined 27 MPG with 25 in the City and 32 on the highway. That makes this one of the best fuel economy vehicles in its class!

Sporty good looks make this SUV stand out! The Soul Red Metallic color of the vehicle helps the 2015 Mazda CX-5 stand out as well! The 19-inch alloy wheels are perfect!

The HID headlights are super bright and throw out enough light for four lanes of traffic. Driving at night has never felt safer with the road so easily seen. The side mirrors offer one of my favorite safety features, the Blind Side Monitoring (BSM) system.

Plush seats up front are roomy and supports your body while driving. Trust me, you will appreciate the sports designed seats when you test out the handling of the CX-5. The seats feel like they hug your body. Mazda takes its rich racing heritage seriously, even for a family vehicle.

The interior is large and spacious! All the controls are easily within reach! The 2015 Mazda CX-5 is in fact the only compact SUV to offer my favorite feature, the push to start button as part of their standard package!

The dashboard gauges are simple and easy to read.

The 5.8-inch color touchscreen entertainment/navigation system is handy. You also get a backup camera. Entertainment options include AM/FM radio, Pandora, Sirius, a CD player and to play any audio on your phone. The navigation system is powered by TomTom.

Climate controls are simply and straight forward.

Your rear passengers will find a ton of leg room waiting for them.

The smooth lines continue to the back of the vehicle.

Look at all that space in the back! There is more than enough room for groceries, or luggage or to carry whatever you want to.

You also have a full size spare tire.

Super easy pull tabs easily drop the second row seats for additional storage space. This is probably the easiest way to drop seats I have seen in a SUV.

You will want to take your 2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring FWD everywhere! It looks great at any venue, whether it is a night out on the town to take in the latest play or simply driving the kids to school.

Shopping at night at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

Dropping friends off at the airport or here at ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Tranrsportation Intermodal Center) in Anaheim. The lights can be changed to any color. This night the building is Orange as it was the night that longtime Anaheim Ducks player Teemu Selanne retired. He is the first Duck player to have his number retired.

Good night from ARTIC!

One of my favorite SUV's to drive! Great handling and performance in and around the Orange County area! Head-turning looks and fantastic fuel economy makes this the compact SUV for you and your family!

The 2015 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring starts at $25, 795 but my review vehicle came in at $30, 910.