Mazda MAZDA3 Interior Review
The standard cloth interior is sturdy, in blue or red check with leather at the edges. The leather is smooth and black and a well-priced option compared to other cars.
The seats have adequate bolstering, but when Mazda's performance arm, Mazdaspeed, makes a version of the Mazda3 it should have racier seats. Power seats aren't available, but who needs them in a car this small? There is adjustable lumbar support, and the hip position is elevated, reducing front legroom a touch, but providing excellent forward visibility as well as a very tidy relationship with the pedals and especially the short shift lever. There's no dead pedal, but the outside of the driver's right shin rests comfortably on the edge of the center stack.
In the rearview mirror of the five-door, the two rear headrests and the center brake light (CHMSL) intrude a little bit into window space.
The three-spoke leather steering wheel feels great in the hands, and the control buttons (cruise control, sound system) have a positive feel. There's an attractive faux carbon fiber horizontal strip on the panel, while the dashboard shelf is golf ball grainy, not unlike the new Cadillacs, although Mazda says it was the Porsche Boxster they were trying to copy.
The glovebox is not only huge (9 quarts), but the door is dampened and it has its own light. There's a deep but not long console under the driver's right elbow, and between the seats are two built-in cupholders with a neatly hinged cover in black plastic. The cupholders have a canal between them so other things such as a cellphone can be stored and easily reached there.
Cargo space with the seats folded flat in the five-door is 31.2 cubic feet. We came out of an Ikea store with an unassembled table in a flat box measuring 48 inches long and 30 inches wide, and it slid neatly in the back of the five-door with the 60/40 fold-down rear seat flattened. Flipping the seats down is easy. We reached in from behind, pressed down on one small square button on each side, and an easy shove forward dropped each seat flat. A separate compartment is hidden under the floor.
The three big gauges are dead ahead for the driver, but they're awfully busy down in the tunnels where they effectively hide from the glare of the sun. They are electroluminescent, which means day or night the numbers are lit in reddish-orange. Even without the color the 140-mph speedometer is busy, with hash marks and a smaller kilometer measure with more hash marks inside the mph numbers. The dash panel looks better at night than day, with the reddish-orange lighting having its chance to be seen. There are glowing rings around most of the dials including the cigarette lighter, in kind of a dull maroon.
There are 12 new colors, some of which look almost metalflake, for example the new Solar Yellow Mica, probably just as bright but not quite as bold as the Protege5 yellow.
Mazda MAZDA3 Road Test
The larger, more powerful 2.3-liter engine that comes with the Mazda3s has plenty of spirit. It makes 160 horsepower, but it is after all a non-turbocharged four-cylinder, so there's not a ton of torque. At 1000 rpm there's only 120 pounds-feet and it climbs to 140 at 3000 and peaks at 150 at a relatively high 4500 rpm. Be prepared to downshift to accelerate suddenly, either with the manual five-speed gearbox or the four-speed automatic.
Redline is 6500 rpm but the engine is happy zooming to 7000. The 16-valve engine is quite sophisticated, with variable valve timing and a variable induction system which optimizes intake efficiency and torque. The block is aluminum, there's a cam chain rather than a belt, and the exhaust manifold is stainless steel. It's very smooth and quiet at consistent freeway speeds, and has a nice sporty sound when the engine's revving under acceleration. The 2.3-liter engine with the manual transmission gets 25/32 miles per gallon, and the 148-horsepower 2.0-liter gets 28/35.
The standard five-speed manual shifts beautifully, especially the upshifts, which were almost as smooth as an automatic, with no real driver effort. This is the result of the redesigned synchronizers and cable linkage for reduced friction.
Mazda calls the optional automatic transmission Activematic. You can just put it in Drive and go, but it features a manual mode programmed for quick shifting, making the Mazda3 the only car in its class offering such a transmission. It's also programmed to maintain its gear going downhill for slope control (engine braking), and uphill to reduce hunting.
Handling is quick and nimble, making the Mazda3 fun to drive. On twisty country roads, the Mazda3 is a blast and it's sharp, true and steady in emergency lane-change maneuvers. The Ford group in England designed the suspension, but it was tuned by Mazda at its long, rolling test track at Hiroshima.
The five-door with the 2.3-liter engine comes with slighter larger brakes than those on the 2.0-liter Mazda3i. We found the brakes to be quite effective and sensitive; a mere light touch on the brake pedal around town is nice. In fact, the whole braking system has been upgraded with better hoses, master cylinder and pads, plus wider tires.
Mazda MAZDA3 Lineup
The Mazda3 four-door sedan comes with a 2.0-liter engine, while the five-door hatchback is available with either a 2.0-liter or 2.3-liter engine.
Mazda3i is the designation for the 2.0-liter, and it only comes in a four-door ($13,680), which doesn't include air conditioning, power windows, mirrors or door locks, cruise control, automatic transmission or ABS. Some good things it does include are a stainless steel exhaust system, halogen headlights, a great five-speed transmission, AM/FM/CD sound system, and two-stage front airbags, adjusted for appropriate deployment power by sensors.
The package you need for that base stripper ($1,190) includes the power controls, cruise control and remote entry, more adjustment for the driver's seat, and 16-inch alloy wheels. That still leaves out the optional air conditioning ($850) and automatic transmission ($900). Even more important is the safety package ($800), a deal you can't afford to pass up, which includes ABS with EBD (brake distribution electronically balanced front-rear), side-impact airbags for the front seats, and side air curtains for front and rear passengers. That would make a well-equipped Mazda3i more like $17,420 plus $520 destination.
The Mazda3s is available as a four-door ($16,405) or five-door ($16,895). Standard equipment includes all the power conveniences and air conditioning and foglights. Options include the automatic transmission and the safety package with ABS/side airbags/curtains; plus leather interior ($590), Sport Package with 17-inch wheels ($490), Moonroof and 6-CD package ($890), HID headlights and tire-pressure monitoring system ($700) and navigation system ($1750).