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Marton Pettendy30 Jan 2014
REVIEW

Mazda Mazda3 2014 Review

The new Mazda3 is a very polished effort, but it's not without flaw

Mazda Mazda3 Maxx (hatch) and SP25 Astina (sedan)

Launch Review
Adelaide, South Australia

After what seems like the world’s most drawn-out car launch, the all-new Mazda3 is finally here and it has big shoes to fill, with the second-generation Mazda3 having outsold all other cars Down Under in 2011 and 2012, and amassed 3.9 million sales to be the Japanese brand’s global best-seller. Arriving just four months after it went on sale in the US, the new Mazda3 will again be about as popular in Japan as it is in Australia, where it will duke it out with Toyota’s staple Corolla for market dominance. To do so, the wider, lower and stiffer new Mazda3 range brings the full suite of ‘SKYACTIV’ body, chassis, engine and transmission technologies for the first time, bringing more performance despite efficiency gains of up to 30 per cent. The expanded six-model Mazda3 hatch and sedan line-up, comprising three 2.0-litre and three 2.5-litre variants, starts just $160 higher than before at $20,490 plus on-road costs for the base Neo manual, and tops out at $38,190 plus ORCs for the new SP25 Astina auto flagship.

As we discovered at the global launch in California last July and our first local drive at the Anglesea proving ground in October, the new Mazda3 makes significant strides over its top-selling predecessor in all key areas.

Wrapped in a stylish new bodyshell that remains well proportioned and distinctive, even if the rear-end of the latest hatch is a little more generic than before, the new 3 cabin is roomier, quieter and more upmarket than ever.

The base Neo lacks the larger seven-inch full-colour dash-top infotainment screen that dominates the interior of all other models and therefore also misses out on their reversing camera, sat-nav, internet radio capability and classy new console-mounted Commander control system, which offers all the functionality and tactility of similar multimedia interface systems from Germany.

But it offers the same understated yet elegant new dashboard design – complete with tasteful piano-black and chromed highlights – as well as the same soft-touch surfaces and the same wide range of height and reach adjustment for the front seats and steering wheel in upstream models.

The rear seat is lower and offers more leg and shoulder room (and the same generous head room as before), but is short in cushion length and, combined with the rising rear window line, limits rear-side vision and could make small kids feel claustrophobic.

Oddly, boot capacity reduces slightly, while the sedan continues with gooseneck hinges and all models retain a temporary spare, but the 60/40-split rear seatback comes with a remote-release button.

The entry-level Neo also loses the alloy wheels of the outgoing Mazda3 base model but comes with larger (16-inch, steel) wheels and more standard equipment than Volkswagen’s cheapest Golf, which costs $1000 more.

On top of a host of standard safety equipment, a $1500 option pack brings the latest luxury-car driver safety aids including blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic low-speed collision avoidance and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

For a further $2500 ($22,990), the manual Maxx hatch we drove first adds alloy wheels, a rear armrest, leather-clad steering wheel, gearshifter and hand brake, and the above-mentioned niceties, led by Mazda’s all-new MZD connectivity system.

Matched with a short-throw six-speed manual gearbox, the Maxx – like all 2.0-litre models – delivers a generous 114kW and a competitive 200Nm of torque, offering healthy acceleration above 3000rpm and zesty performance to beyond 6000rpm.

In automatic sedan form, it also matches the efficiency of the base 1.4-litre turbo-petrol Golf 90TSI at 5.7L/100km (although we recorded 7.9L/100km on the mostly straight launch drive beyond the Barossa Valley outside Adelaide), with the manual sedan and auto hatch rising to 5.8L1/00km and the manual hatch to 5.9L/100km.

Naturally, with a healthy 138kW and 250Nm available at lower revs (also on 91 RON standard unleaded petrol), the top-shelf SP25 Astina auto we drove later in the launch was much perkier and used only slightly more fuel (8.5L/100km actual, as little as 6.0L/100km claimed).

But outside sport mode or overriding it with the manual gearshift paddles, the smooth-shifting six-speed auto was at times a little slow to downshift, and the loudest part of the Mazda3 is still its engine.

Road noise was also an issue on the coarse-chip roads we encountered, even on the base model’s high-profile 205/60 R16 tyres.

True to form, however, the latest Mazda3 steers, handles and rides with aplomb, thanks to a body that feels stiffer than before (but still not as vault-like as the Golf 7). The suspension is firm and sporting but consistently isolates its passengers from everything including small pockmarks to deep, sharp-edged potholes.

The new electric steering feels almost as sharp as before, pointing the car with satisfying accuracy and returning plenty of confidence-inspiring feedback, while remaining devoid of any torque steer, kickback or rack rattle.

Indeed, the new Mazda3 cements its position as the best-handling Japanese-made small car, thanks to a sporty chassis and steering that’s as crisp and natural as the European-made Golf, Ford Focus and Honda Civic hatch, even if it’s louder and perhaps less compliant than the Volkswagen.

Like all SP25s, the Astina flagship ups the ante of the sophisticated new Mazda3 cabin by replacing the central analogue speedo and LCD tacho of lesser models with a sportier instrument binnacle dominated by a large central analogue tacho and digital speedo.

Also seen in the base SP25 – which lowers the entry-price of a 2.5-litre Mazda3 from $31,490 to just $25,890, perhaps making it the best value in the expanded range – are 18-inch alloys with 215/45 R18 tyres, front foglights, a rear spoiler (sedan) and keyless starting.

From SP25 GT level upwards there’s a handy head-up display, which shows vital vehicle info such as speed and navigation (but not audio info) on a pop-up transparent panel that works well but is just a tad chintzy.

Upstream GT and Astina variants look the part too, by adding LED daytime running lamps, LED tail-lights and adaptive bi-xenon headlights, as well as a nine-speaker 231-Watt Premium Bose sound system, leather trim and six-way power adjustment for the heated front seats, among other niceties.

For $36,190 (auto adds a further $2000 across the line-up), making it $590 more than the cheapest Mercedes-Benz A-Class, the SP25 Astina range-topper flagship offers the full gamut of driver safety aids, including lane departure warning, forward obstruction warning, radar cruise control, automatic high beam and all-speed auto-braking.

No, the new Mazda3 isn’t quite as accomplished as the benchmark-setting Golf, but all models deliver more performance, more standard equipment and similar efficiency for less money.

Now bring on the hotter new Mazda3 MPS and diesel models, which could be one and the same.

2014 Mazda3 SP25 Astina price and specs:
Price: $38,190 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 138kW/250Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.0L/100km (combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star Euro NCAP

What we liked:
>> Improved ride and handling
>> More space and refinement
>> Classy design and solid value

Not so much:
>> Engines still not the quietest
>> Tyre noise on coarse surfaces
>> Lower rear seat limits outward vision

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