Until Mazda ’s smallest four-door rolled onto the scene more than six years ago, the compact car segment wasn’t a very exciting place for enthusiasts.
And, for the most part, it still isn’t. For crying out loud, the Toyota Corolla is the hands-down best selling compact car in the United States. As enthusiasts, we weep for our country.
But the first generation Mazda 3 was a runaway success at its introduction, quickly eclipsing its Protege predecessor’s annual sales by finding a strong following among those who actually relish the experience of driving.
What is it?
Looking like a really happy version of the old 3, the new-for-2010 car gains a more refined interior and some substantial performance upgrades. Our tester’s lower case ‘s’ means that it is powered by the larger 2.5-liter four-cylinder and that it includes its own sport suspension in addition to a handful of additional features.
We’ve chosen to sample the more popular four-door sedan rather than the still-reasonably-popular five-door hatchback.
What’s it up against?
Everybody wants a Corolla. But the 3′s real rivals are cars like the Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta and Subaru Impreza .
Don’t count out Detroit’s upcoming two-prong attack on the segment; the Chevrolet Cruze has garnered positive reviews overseas and the 3 lends much of its platform to the 2012 Ford Focus.
Any breakthroughs?
At this price-competitive point, automakers don’t often debut new features. Such is the case with the 3. Still, it can be optioned up to near luxury car-spec with available HID headlamps, memory for the (heated and leather covered) driver’s seat and navigation.
Our press car didn’t come with any of this, but we saw little reason to complain with its decent level of specifications. Step up to the pricier Grand Touring trim level if you’re a hedonist with a Mazda budget.
How does it look?
You can’t look at any vehicle in Mazda’s lineup bar the Tribute (which must be worth 1,000 points on car spotting bingo) without seeing influence from now-former Mazda design chief Laurens Van den Acker.
The 3 is perhaps his most expressive design, although its larger Mazda6 brother likely also takes a prominent place on his design resume.
Styling is, of course, quite subjective, so we won’t waste much prose trying to convince you one way or the other about the polarizing look. Generally speaking, we like everything but the grin; the 3′s tail looks more complete and upscale than before and its shoulder haunches befit its strong performance credentials. But the smile is simply too cartoonish and its detailing too complex to really warm us up.
Overall, though, the 3′s low price belies its upscale style. This is a car that simply never looks or feels like it a compact, despite its positioning and dimensions.
And on the inside?
Gone is the old 3′s symmetrical dashboard and cramped back seat, replaced instead by a sweeping, driver-focused control arrangement. We liked the old interior, but the new look is wholly unique and appealing in a different way.
The outgoing car’s tiny and complex radio and climate controls have given way to widely-spaced buttons and knobs, although their display is now up closer to the driver’s line of sight. Situated next to the red-and-black audio display is a rather low-tech trip computer that rests where the optional mini navigation screen would be. We think the trip computer would be better off if parked in the instrument cluster, but at least it is fairly simple to use.
The aftermarket industry must cringe when they see designs like this, but for the rest of us, it works perfectly. We’re especially impressed with the tactile feel of every button and knob you can find; they feel like they belong in an Audi or a Lexus costing three or four times more. In fact, of all the 3′s interior materials, only a cheap-feeling flocked headliner feels out of place. Every other surface matches or bests the class leaders.
A new three-spoke steering wheel loaded with generally well-placed buttons is situated perfectly for an ideal driving position complemented by form-fitting sport buckets covered in classy cloth trim. The six-speed stick’s pokey leather-covered lever sits exactly where your hand would rest and the trio of pedals are all exactly where we would want them. That this is a driver’s car is evident from the moment you get situated.
But does it go?
For the refresh, Mazda upped the outgoing 3′s 2.3-liter four-cylinder to 2.5-liters. We’ve seen this engine before – in the much larger Mazda6, as well as the Ford Fusion and even the Ford Escape . With just 2,963 lbs. to tug around, it’s better suited here than anywhere else.
The 167 horsepower, 168 lb-ft. of torque four-banger is mated to a slick-shifting six-speed manual transmission that boasts a perfectly weighted clutch. Not too light so as to betray its enthusiast mission, the clutch is nonetheless perfectly usable on a day-to-day basis.
The four-cylinder never struggles to motivate the 3, providing it with ample around town and highway passing power. We’ve spent some time in a 2.0-liter Mazda3 i, a compact car we’d consider adequately powered. The s? Plenty peppy. Seeking lots of power? Find the positively manic Mazdaspeed3.
Where the 3 really shines – and this truly goes for every trim level – is when the road turns curvy. Its steering is positively telepathic, transmitting every road imperfection directly to the driver via the meaty, three-spoke leather-wrapped unit. The same goes for its taut suspension, which proved sufficiently compliant over rutted terrain yet helped the 3 maintain its poise when the going got, well, curvy.
At times, you forget the Mazda3 is a front-wheel-drive sedan. It responds so predictably and so delightfully neutrally to inputs that it feels almost like all four wheels are moving. It doesn’t offer the goofy slide-ready tossability of an all wheel drive car, but that’s no bad thing. Instead, it rewards the driver with a positive, immediately enjoyable experience. It’s a car that isn’t hard to have fun with, even on the simplest on ramp or hint of a curve in the road.
As for fuel economy – well, it’s not a strong point. The Mazda3 s actually has a larger fuel tank than the i: 15.9 gallons rather than a paltry 14.5. But the bad news is that the s sips fuel at a rate of 21 mpg around town and 29 mpg on the highway – our testing roughly mirrored those figures. Opt for the five-speed automatic and you’ll see a bump up to 22 mpg in the city. The less powerful 3 gets 25/33 with a stick. Oddly, the Mazda6 is actually rated at 30 mpg on the highway with this engine.
Why you would buy it:
It’s that Mazda trick: Take a basic four-door and inject enough enthusiast cred to make a compact car into a car guy (or gal)’s best friend.
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Why you wouldn’t:
Millions of Corolla buyers can’t be wrong. Or can they?
Leftlane’s bottom line
Mazda swears that the ’3′ in Mazda3 is nothing more than a logical way of numbering its product offerings. Comparisons to a more prodigious 3 – the BMW 3-Series – are inevitable. And with good reason; the Mazda3 makes a terrific companion for anyone looking for a dose of fun mixed in with some practicality.
It leads its class in almost every measurable way and it improves upon its predecessor by adding refinement but losing none of that special driving spirit.
2010 Mazda Mazda3 s Sport base price, $19,185. As tested, $21,760.
Sirius Satellite Radio, $430; Moonroof/Bose Package, $1,395; Destination, $750.
Words and photos by Andrew Ganz.
