I’m not sure which Mazda3 I like better. The five-door Sport with its rakish profile and handy hatchback design or the sleek, contemporary
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
four-door sedan with its more traditional stance and secure trunk, they’re both so good looking.
Of course, that’s just my opinion, and to be completely honest there are a number of very stylish compacts currently on the market. It’s always a personal taste issue, but there are a few undeniable design traits that are more appealing to the majority of new car buyers than others. While certainly trendy, today’s car buyers seem to like big, gaping grilles, and the new 3 delivers with the largest maw in the model’s history. It just so happens the 3’s grille manages to satisfy the crowd’s appetites in a particularly elegant way. A discrete chromed collar wraps its lower extremities before melding seamlessly into the car’s elegantly jeweled headlamps, these just above a sporty cluster of available driving lights and fogs at each
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
corner. The hood looks as long as dimensionally possible for a compact car and front fender swells are muscular in a femininely feline sort of way, whereas the rear quarters, with their gracefully shaped yet complex taillight lens detailing, either swoop down in a gradual recline or notch into a slightly more abrupt trunk, fashionable no matter the body configuration.
My test car was the four-door sedan version, simply dubbed Mazda3, while it was fitted out in mid-grade GS trim. Base models get the GX designation and top-line versions GT, the key differentiator to the latter being a larger 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine capable of greater output and commensurately stronger performance.
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Like the base GX, the GS utilizes a DOHC, 16-valve, 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with direct-injection that puts out 155 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 150 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm and comes mated to a standard short-throw six-speed manual transmission or smooth and quick-shifting six-speed automatic with manual shift mode, the former rated by Natural Resources Canada at a claimed 8.0 L/100km in the city and 5.8 on the highway, while the latter is estimated to achieve a slightly thriftier 7.9 city and 5.7 highway rating.
Mazda trademarked the Skyactiv name to encapsulate a number of technologies it uses
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions, but its story is more of a philosophy than a collection of parts. Certainly there are components to meet its Skyactiv ends, such as lightweight yet rigid Skyactiv body structures (providing better handling and improved crash protection); lightweight but strong Skyactiv-chassis designs (ditto, in part thanks to rpm-sensing variable electric powered rack and pinion steering); Skyactiv-G (gasoline) and Skyactiv-D (diesel – not available in Canada) low friction and high compression engines (with a 14.0:1 compression ratio achieved by using 4-2-1 exhaust, cavity pistons, multihole injectors, and yet more technologies, resulting in up to 15 percent better fuel economy and torque); the compact and lightweight Skyactiv-MT (manual transmission – with no reverse idle shaft and a shorter secondary shaft); compact and lightweight Skyactiv-Drive (automatic transmission – that
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Mazda claims incorporates the benefits of all competitive transmissions – conventional automatic, continuously variable and dual-clutch automated – due to a "dramatically widened" lock-up range that improves torque transfer efficiency resulting in a "direct driving feel that is equivalent to a manual" as well as a "4-to-7 percent improvement in fuel economy" compared to the previous automatic); and with the Mazda3 GT, the availability of i-ELOOP regenerative braking. A driving enthusiast will immediately notice that the technologies listed not only improve fuel economy and emissions, but also performance, which is perfectly in tune with Mazda’s longstanding adherence to fully engaged driving enjoyment, or what it likes to call “Zoom-zoom”.
Mazda
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
could have gone the hybrid route instead, but as you may have heard or even experienced, the majority of hybrids don’t exactly get the blood boiling or even bring it to a tepid temperature. Mazda’s choice to coin Skyactiv and incorporate such technologies is testament to its focus on frugal fun, witnessed in the fabulous and legendary MX-5 roadster as well as its more practical hatchbacks, sedans and crossovers.
The Mazda3 GS totally lives up to the brand’s efficient yet enjoyable philosophy, with strong straight-line performance off the line and equally impressive scoot when passing on the highway, plus good steering response and nimble handling along with a comfortable ride from its fully-independent MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension setup that comes standard with stability bars at both ends, not to mention above average interior
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
roominess and comfort, a nice assortment of standard and optional equipment, and superb interior quality.
Mazda has long been a leader in cabin refinement, and this really shows up in the new 3. The entire dash top is made from high-quality soft-touch synthetic, as are the front door uppers, while nice padded cloth inserts keep elbows resting on the padded armrests from getting bruised. While a carbon-style surface plate surrounded the door-mounted power window and lock switchgear as well as the steering wheel-mounted buttons, my tester made good use of glossy piano black plastic surfaces around the door handles, surrounding the side vents, across the dash, and on the lower console surrounding the shift lever and infotainment controller.
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
All of the car’s knobs, buttons and toggles are amongst the best in the biz, feeling close to premium in their construction and application.
On that note, the Mazda3 GS gets a BMW-like infotainment screen perched atop the dash in the centermost position. It’s nicely finished so it doesn’t look like an aftermarket add-on, and its colour-quality and resolution is way above par for this class, as is the aforementioned controller that comes fitted to the lower console, which Mazda incidentally dubs HMI Commander Switch. Housing it here instead of directly
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
on the centre stack as every other mainstream volume producer does, allows easier access with less of a stretch, but you’ll want to take some time to get used to where all of its various buttons are so you won’t have to take your eyes off the road to make adjustments. Mazda incorporates audio controls on the steering wheel spokes so that you don’t need to use the classic volume knob next to the large BMW iDrive-style rotating infotainment controller, but being a bit old-school I found myself reaching down to the knob in order to turn the volume up, down or mute it altogether – it’s nice to have the option. Using a controller instead of the touchscreen (you can do either) keeps the display clear and clean too. The infotainment system itself is easy to navigate through, with nice big icons that light up as you rotate the controller, letting you know where to press in order to enter a given category, while the standard rearview camera system automatically
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
operates as soon as you slot the shifter into reverse. Altogether, it’s an intuitive infotainment system that functions at a high level, reiterating that near-premium experience the Mazda3 provides so well.
A look around my GS trimmed interior made these upscale intentions very clear. A leather-clad steering wheel is stitched in racy red thread adding a sporty touch that just happened to match my tester’s Soul Red Mica exterior paint, a theme that continued on with the automatic shift lever’s leather boot and emergency brake’s leather handle and boot. Stylish brushed metal accents adorned the lower steering wheel spokes, the three-gauge primary instrument cluster, dash vent trim, infotainment display and controller accents, shifter, e-brake button and door handles, while nice luxury touches such as bright and clear backlit primary gauges,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Bluetooth phone controls on the steering wheel, and pushbutton ignition added to the 3’s upper-crust persona. The seats were covered in an extremely attractive striped black cloth with grey stitching on the big matte black cloth bolsters, the seats themselves providing an ideal balance of comfort and support. Despite their cloth coverings, three-way seat heaters added some initial warmth while waiting for the three-dial manual HVAC system to replace winter’s chill with heat, and while the seat heaters are nowhere near the warmest in their class they’ll probably be just fine for all but those looking for therapeutic pain relief. Up above,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
a simple tilt and slide glass sunroof with a manual shade provided light and/or air, while I found the sunglasses holder in the overhead console even more useful.
We’ve covered a lot of features, most of which relate to the GS model I tested. I would be remiss not to mention standard features on the base GX model as well, however, as many of these are incorporated into this mid-grade trim level, some of which you’ll be surprised to find out are standard. The aforementioned soft-touch surfaces, cloth door inserts, piano black trim, backlit primary gauges, Bluetooth hands-free and even the pushbutton ignition switch come standard on every Mazda3, as does a smaller display audio screen for the four-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo with steering wheel-mounted audio controls, auxiliary and USB inputs, remote keyless entry for the speed-sensing double-action powered door locks,
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
power windows, tilt and telescopic steering, automatic headlight shut-off, variable intermittent wipers, illuminated entry, a 12-volt outlet with retained power, power-remote side mirrors with body-coloured caps, a convex passenger’s side mirror, body-coloured door handles, dual sport exhaust, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and electronic brake-force distribution, traction control, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), a full assortment of airbags, and 205/60R16 all-season tires, all for $15,995 plus a $1,695 freight and pre-delivery prep charge, or $18,995 plus freight for the automatic, which also adds standard air conditioning.
The base GX model’s tires circle around 16-inch steel wheels with covers, while the $19,795 GS model ($21,095 with the as-tested automatic) gets a nice set of twinned
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
five-spoke alloys, as well as turn signals integrated within the mirror caps (as per the press materials emailed to me from Mazda Canada and the manufacturer’s retail website, but for some reason these were excluded from my Mazda Canada-supplied test car), bright finished window trim instead of black, and a rear spoiler, while the interior upgrades include high-grade upholstery, a tachometer, trip computer, cruise control, air conditioning, exterior temperature gauge, illuminated vanity mirrors, the overhead console with sunglasses holder I mentioned earlier, as well as the seven-inch colour touchscreen infotainment display with its integrated rearview camera system, an SD card slot (only useful for the available navigation system), an
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
extra two speakers and HD radio added to the audio system, a rear centre armrest with twin cupholders, and 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks instead of the base model’s one-piece folding seat, all the better for maximizing the usefulness of its 350-litre (12.3 cubic-foot) trunk.
You may have noticed that I missed some of the other features mentioned further back in the review, a result of my tester incorporating a GS Convenience Package that for a very reasonable $550 adds the leather-wrapped steering wheel, shift knob and parking brake handle, heated front seats, heated door mirrors, automatic on/off headlights, and rain-sensing wipers. The powered glass sunroof and fog lights were the result of the optional $1,200 Moonroof Package. Altogether, including the $1,300 Skyactiv-Drive six-speed Sport mode automatic transmission, $300 for the special red paint and two option packages my 2015 Mazda3 GS tester came to $23,145 before adding freight.
If
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
you want the majority of these features plus proximity-sensing remote entry, dual-zone automatic climate control, voice-activated navigation, nine-speaker Bose audio with Centerpoint surround sound and AudioPilot noise compensation technology, head-up display, silver interior trim instead of piano black lacquer, HID headlights with LED DRLs, LED taillights and 18-inch alloys you’ll need to move up to the $25,995 GT model, while the GT’s optional automatic comes with paddle-shifters and a driver-selectable Sport mode. Additionally, adaptive headlights with automatic high-beam control and satellite radio can be had with the further adoption of the $2,500 Technology Package, and leather upholstery, a six-way powered driver’s seat with manual lumbar support, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror with an integrated HomeLink garage door opener will force you to upgrade to the $1,500 Luxury Package.
While
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| Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
the performance enthusiast within lusts after the GT, especially due to a six-speed manual finally being offered in top-line trim for 2015, my pragmatist side leans towards the more affordable and thriftier GS. This said there’s no reason a base GX model shouldn’t be on your radar either. It’s amply equipped and just as enjoyable to drive as the GS. Still, my 2015 Mazda3 GS with the optional Convenience Package and added Moonroof Package was the perfect compromise, delivering much of the top-tier GT’s luxuries along with the efficiency of the 2.0-litre engine for an affordable price. I recommend it highly.
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