re: Mazda vs Toyota/Honda

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Toyotas have never appealed to me, at all. It's the brand for people who say "I really don't care about cars."

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This is how I know you don’t know what the frick you’re talking about.

Which one of these produces the greatest SUV in human history, the Land Cruiser?

This is the way.

We have two young kids and drive all over the country a lot, including in snow a good bit. In lieu of a van, we’ve stuck w third-row AWD SUV. The Subaru Ascent performs superbly in bad weather. But I would probably trade it for this:
CX-90 PHEV

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It’s back next year. Will be on the CX-90 chassis. Which means rear drive, inline 6….basically a 5 series BMW that actually lasts.

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Well hell.. May have to get back into Mazda.

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Mazda is partnered with Toyota in the US now.

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Yep, gone are the days when you could get a Fazda, they looked almost identical to Ford vehicles like the Tribute (Escape) and Bseries trucks (Ranger) of the 2000’s.

Under the hood, Mazda even used Motocraft parts for some items.

Now Toyota supplies a lot of their parts.

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And I gave an overall opinion. The reliability difference between those three brands is negligible.

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Honestly the reliability difference between the top brands and the middle of the pack is negligible... Cars are just really reliable these days and usually major problems result in recalls and get fixed. 100k miles on a car use to be the end of the road, now that is just getting broken in.

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The two cars I'm considering are the Corolla or the Mazda 3.

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After having both for company cars I would choose the Corolla. I'm on my second one, I get a new one every 2 years. The first one was a base LE. I put 120k miles on it, I drive a lot, and only ever put tires and did oil changes, that's it. And my fleet company only allows oil changes every 7500 miles. Not 1 problem ever and I drive that thing like it wasn't mine, because it wasn't. They upgraded us to the XLE. I highly recommend paying a little more for that one. Better seats, radio, alloys, heated seats, sunroof, really a lot more for a little more $. I may buy this one at the end of my 2 year lease. They give us the option to buy them pretty cheap. My youngest well be turning 16 and getting his license around then. Might pick it up for him if it's still in good shape. Another thing is the self driving camera system works pretty damn well on them. I can drive from BR to Lake Charles and only tap the wheel every minute or so. It stays perfectly between the lines on the road.

Take a look at Subaru Crosstrek. My son is on his second one and he has good luck with them, cheaper than Outback.

Compared to Honda and Toyota, Mazda cars have better fit and finish, are fun to drive, and are just as reliable. But they aren’t as popular as Honda and Toyota, so even though you can get good value buying new they don’t retain value like Toyota and Honda

My Mazdas and Toyotas over the years have held up really well.