Mazda3鈥檚 of the past were always marketed as - and indeed actually were - a fun-to-drive vehicle that embodied Mazda鈥檚 old 鈥榸oom zoom鈥?mantra. They looked the part both inside and out and, most importantly, walked the talk. Or is that drove the talk? The new 3 doesn鈥檛 have much of that left, in my opinion. Let鈥檚 start with the exterior design. In sedan form especially, the new 3 looks as if it鈥檚 settled comfortably into its early 30s. It takes on a more elegant look, but it still doesn鈥檛 stray too far from its youthful appearance of the past. It looks like it may enjoy a night at a symphony, but will still back it up on the dance floor if any old school track from Ludacris comes on. It has a long sleek hood with sleek headlights and a wide and pronounced grille. The rear takes some cues from the old Mazda6 to my mind, but that isn鈥檛 a bad thing.
Circular tail lights still lets everyone know it鈥檚 down for beer and wing night, not just a five star meal. An interesting thing about those lights is that they are all LED (meaning the head, tail, brake and turn signal lights) regardless of the trim you choose, but if you choose a top trim, they illuminate differently. The wheels are stately, if a bit uninspiring. But overall, the look works well as an evolutionary take. Inside is really where you start to realize the new 3鈥檚 maturity. My tester was the top tier GT trim, granted, but in any trim, this is hands down the nicest interior money can buy in the segment right now. In fact, it probably bests more expensive offerings outside the segment. The dash in particular is simple yet elegant and the infotainment unit is integrated so seamlessly and fluidly with the rest of the dash design - something even the likes of Mercedes seems unable to accomplish these days. And speaking of infotainment, the whole system has finally gotten an update. It is completely revamped with a more simplistic vibe.
It is still operated by a premium feeling knob between the seats, which makes for easier and more responsive operation than a typical touchscreen. My only gripe is how difficult it is to tune or scroll through simple radio stations. Before you had to click between two to three different sub menus. You have to scroll between two to three different sub menus. Maybe I didn鈥檛 spend enough time playing around with its operation, or maybe the solution was right in front of my face, but I couldn鈥檛 figure out how to do it in a more simplistic way. Another sore spot is the channel list. Thankfully the interior impresses in other ways with a proper head up display projected onto the windshield, supple cream coloured leather with comfy seats to match, and a Bose sound system. If you鈥檙e the type that doesn鈥檛 like silence then you鈥檒l want to take advantage of using the latter because the cabin is noticeably quieter.
Very little engine or wind noise penetrates the cabin making for a more premium driving experience. But about that Bose system, the bass speakers aren鈥檛 located in the front doors like they typically are in any other vehicle. Instead they鈥檙e put under the cowling to reduce vibration. It鈥檚 little stuff like this which Mazda dedicated a lot of effort into addressing that makes this feel like a more expensive car than it actually is. Interior room itself is good up front and adequate in the rear. Once your kids hit the teen years, they may start to complain about leg room though. Trunk space comes in at 374 litres with the seats up which isn鈥檛 vast by any means, but it will do the trick for most. In Canada, we have two power trains to choose from and they are both carryovers from the previous generations. That means the 2.0 litre 4 cylinder making 155 horsepower and 150 pound foot torque is still what you get in the base and mid trims as standard. The 2.5 is back unchanged at 186 horsepower and ditto torque.
