The automotive community is abuzz with complaints about the front-end styling of the 2010 Mazda3, the newly redesigned version of a car enthusiast favorite.
“The smiling-carp face is as off-putting as facing rotten soybeans at breakfast,” wrote Car and Driver magazine in its review.
“Some staffers aren't exactly enamored with its eternally grinning mug,” noted a slightly more diplomatic Motor Trend.
But aside from the new face – which Mazda claims has aerodynamic benefits, which isn’t as obvious in dark-colored Mazda3s, and which some may find attractive anyway – the redesign of the 3 was fairly conservative. The basic character and appearance of the car is largely unchanged, with largely incremental improvements.
As before, the Mazda3 is a compact car that is not an economy car. An economy car, like these seven sedans, is designed for people who are looking for transportation on a budget, saving money in purchase price and fuel costs by buying something small.
The new Mazda3, like the old, is a compact sports sedan and five-door hatchback/wagon. Its relatively compact dimensions and light weight give it a performance advantage, not an economy one. It out-accelerates and out-handles the cars that are at least technically its competitors. You pay a price premium for this performance over a Toyota Corolla, even as you accept less interior room and refinement.
The new Mazda3, which just began appearing on dealer lots and remains listed in the “upcoming” section of Mazda’s web site, is a bit quieter than the car it replaces. There are slight upgrades to its interior. The rear seat is a bit more comfortable. The available larger engine has gotten bigger.
But the basics are the same, as evidenced by a full test drive of a loaded $25,560 S Grand Touring five-door hatchback and a few minutes more poking around in a midlevel $19,020 I Touring sedan.
Get into the front, and you’ve got plenty of space in comfortable, well-bolstered seats. The Grand Touring’s leather seating looks and feels nice, and the lower models’ cloth feels high-quality if not plush. There’s no abundance of soft-touch interior materials, but everything is well-assembled, looks nice, and feels solid. You get good visibility all around in sedans, but the view out the rear could be better.
In the back seat, the sedan felt more spacious and comfortable to me, though specifications give the slight edge to the hatchback. Adults will fit, but a few other compact cars manage better comfort, with higher seat cushions and extra head and leg space.
The sedan also continues to have a fairly small trunk, at just 11.8 cubic feet, and the opening isn’t large. The rear seat folds semi-flat to expand the volume, but even the more practical hatchback is no cargo hauler. The cargo area is narrow, and the back hatch opening is much higher than the load floor, complicating the loading of dogs or bulky cargo. Mazda lists cargo volume behind the rear seat as just 17 cubic feet packed to the ceiling – a Volkswagen Jetta sedan has 16 without obstructing the rear view. Maximum cargo volume for the 2010 Mazda3 hatchback isn’t listed yet, but expect it to be similar to the 2009’s low 44 cubic feet.
But maximum practicality isn’t the focus of the sport-focused Mazda3 customer. The driver’s seat is definitely important to that customer. It’s also nice not to have downscale interior appointments. The new Mazda3, like the old one, is just fine in both of those areas. And even if it’s not as roomy as a few competitors, it’s certainly more useful in either sedan or hatchback form than the average sporty car.
And the fun-to-drive nature of the Mazda3 is the car’s most important point. And while some may prefer a bit of extra steering heft, it continues to deliver what its customers are looking for.
The Mazda3’s steering is quick and precise and returns very good feedback. The suspension seems to have firmed up a bit in the redesign to further cut back on body roll; the car darts around fast corners and traffic circles with ease.
The 2.5-liter 167-horespower 4-cylinder in the Mazda3 S models replaces last year’s 2.3-liter and is shared with the larger and heavier Mazda6 midsize sedan. That engine is sufficiently peppy even in the Mazda6 and give the Mazda3 even more zip. I was only able to drive the 148-horsepower 2.0-liter I sedan very briefly and at lower speeds, but this engine carries over from the previous generation car and is enough to provide sufficient if not thrilling acceleration. (All hatchbacks are S models; the sedan is available in either version.)
Some reviewers have called the Mazda3 a budget BMW 3-Series. That’s something of a stretch. The 3-Series and its competitors have an extra solidity and tightness that you don’t find in a compact Mazda. The Mazda3 is fun to drive, yes, but those luxury cars will give you a different type of driving experience.
The manual transmission would keep things even more fun on the Mazda3 at least, and cut down on the cost to boot, but all the 2010 Mazda3s at Castle Mazda so far have come with the automatic. You can tell the 5-speed automatic to upshift or downshift, but systems like that add little to the driving experience. Mazda3 I models have a standard 5-speed manual; S models get a 6-speed.
Refinement, however, has not become a Mazda3 strong point. The 2.5-liter engine isn’t quiet even in the Mazda6, and it’s louder in the smaller car, though it doesn’t sound unpleasant. There’s also too much road noise. Neither engine suffers from excess noise and vibration at idle. The ride on the S was very busy on a low-quality road, but at least it doesn’t slam over larger bumps. Past I models have been slightly more compliant (though similarly noisy) – I wasn’t able to drive the I enough to say whether that’s still the case.
Perhaps the biggest measurable improvement to the new Mazda3 is its gas mileage. The automatic transmission I model improves to EPA ratings of 24 miles per gallon in the city and 33 on the highway, from 22 city/32 highway in the 2009 model. The S automatic also gained slightly to 22 miles per gallon in the city and 29 on the highway; that’s low for a compact car and no better than the larger Mazda6 (the Mazda3’s transmission is likely geared for quicker acceleration over maximum fuel efficiency) but better than the smaller engine on the outgoing Mazda3.
But even with this gas mileage bump, the Mazda3 continues to be a different type of compact car from a Toyota Corolla. The Mazda3 is more expensive, but you’re not paying extra for added practicality or refinement. (Compared to most economy cars, you in fact pay extra for less.)
What you pay extra for is the steering sharpness, the handling agility, and the engine performance that make the Mazda3 more fun to drive than other compact cars. I avoid the word “competitors” because it doesn’t really compete against a Corolla and its ilk. If you’re the type of customer that wants a sporty drive from your compact car, the Mazda3 is easily your best choice.
But which Mazda3? The redesign was evolutionary, and dealer inventories remain rich with 2009 Mazda3s that are priced to sell. Drive both and determine for yourself whether the incremental upgrades and the fresh look are worth it, or wait for the discounts to bring the price down on for the 2010s.
And if sporty driving dynamics aren't important to you at all, don't pay extra for the Mazda3 over other compact cars. Corolla and company are eagarly waiting to duke it out for your business.
Vehicles tested: 2010 Mazda3 I Touring sedan, 2010 Mazda3 S Grand Touring hatchback
Vehicle base sticker prices: $15,715 sedan / $19,900 hatchback
Vehicle sticker prices as tested: $19,020 sedan / $25,560 hatchback
Test vehicle provided by: Castle Mazda of Silver Spring, Md.
source: Dc Car Examiner
