ideaman7

Make sure you save the paper cover over the spare key. The owner's manual (on page 56) says to save it because it has "important vehicle key cut information." It sounds like you need this to make extra keys.

I am also very impressed with the car in my first three weeks of ownership.

We received about three inches of heavy wet snow today in the Northeaster storm now blanketing New England. I took out my SE on the un-plowed roads of Providence to see how it handles in snow. My conclusion? Pretty damn well. My last car was a 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 with a separate set of winter wheels mounted with a set of Yokahama IceGuard 20 sport snow tires. There was not a lot of difference between the two cars and I do a lot of winter driving in northern New England. I went around corners fairly fast, stopped short several times, and went up a pretty steep hill with good results. I will still buy another set of wheels and snow tires for the C-Max since I ski in New Hampshire each weekend in the winter but I was impressed with how the C-Max handles snow.

Hi RaPieR, I bought my C-Max Hybrid SE after my 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 was totaled by a driver who ran a stop sign and broad-sided my car. I liked the Speed 3 but had bad customer service from Mazda and the service department at the dealer. I also own a 1988 RX-7 convertible which I bought new in January, 1988. I will probably end up with 215/60R16 snow tires or similar for the C-Max, just waiting for TireRack or Discount Tires Direct to have the info on C-Max wheels. By the way, I have 4 16" x 7" wheels with 4 Dunlop sport snow tires left over from my Speed 3. Time for Craigslist to sell them.

I liked the way the panoramic roof makes the interior look airy and bright so I bought mine with the roof. Is it worth $1200? Maybe not, but it makes the car for me. Goes well with the silver exterior.

Thanks for the help. TireRack and other tire sellers recommend dropping down an inch of wheel size and upping the aspect ratio to 60 to maintain tire diameter and not affect the speedometer. 60 series aspect ratio is better for snow and ice performance but I may just get 17" snow tires with 50 aspect ratio (same as the OEM tires) so as not to possibly have a tire rubbing problem.

Does anyone have any idea on the correct size wheels and tires for snow tires/wheels? TireRack and Discount Tire Direct do not have the C-Max in their system so they cannot advise as to what will fit. I am thinking 16" x 7" wheels with 215/60 R16 tires but I need to find out if they will fit without rubbing.