![]() The model was well received by the automotive press for its performance, handling, styling and interior, with some describing it as feeling like a more expensive sports sedan/saloon despite its value-oriented price. The BK series Mazda3 was first unveiled at the 60th Frankfurt Motor Show on 10 September 2003, and launched in Japan in October 2003 as the Axela. The Mazda3 became one of Mazda's fastest-selling vehicles, with cumulative sales in January 2019 of over 6 million units. Ī performance-oriented version of the Mazda3 was marketed until 2013 as the Mazdaspeed3 in North America, Mazdaspeed Axela in Japan, and the Mazda3 MPS in Europe and Australia. For the 2019 model, the all-new Mazda3 is equipped with the updated Skyactiv technologies, including a spark-controlled compression ignition engine marketed as the Skyactiv-X. The fourth-generation Mazda3 for the 2019 model year was unveiled in November 2018 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The third-generation model is the first Mazda3 to adopt the "Kodo" design language and a more complete Skyactiv range of technologies. The third generation was introduced in mid-2013 as a 2014 model year. For the 2012 model year, Mazda began offering the Mazda3 with their newly developed Skyactiv technology, including a more rigid body, a new direct-injection engine, and a new 6-speed transmission. The second-generation Mazda3 for the 2009 model year was unveiled in late 2008, with the sedan premiering at the Los Angeles Auto Show and the hatchback at the Bologna Motor Show. It was first introduced in 2003 as a 2004 model, replacing the Familia/323/Protegé in the C-segment. Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smithcan be reached at or 40.The Mazda3 (known as the Mazda Axela in Japan (first three generations), a combination of "accelerate" and "excellent" ) is a compact car manufactured by Mazda. It still looks and feels fresh but has been around long enough for buyers to expect a discount, making an appealing car even more so. The Mazda3 went on sale in December 2003, as a 2004 model, and as the replacement for the Protege. Handling is excellent, much more neutral than most front-wheel-drive cars. It’s most in its element, though, on winding roads, where you can give the independent suspension a workout. The Mazda3 s is certainly happy in the city, and it gives a very good ride on the highway, even on rough pavement. On the fourth and highest speed, you’ll reach for the stereo volume button. One complaint: On the second speed, the fan for the air conditioning is loud. Rear-seat room is about average for a car this size, as is trunk space. The Mazda3 s feels very familiar, very quickly. The front cloth-covered bucket seats are pretty comfortable, and the gearshift lever is in just the right place. Inside, the instruments are nicely placed, but I’m not a fan of the sound-system layout, which revolves around a huge on-off/volume button. Mileage with the five-speed manual is an EPA-rated 26 mpg in the city, 32 on the highway. That’s with the five-speed manual transmission a five-speed automatic adds $950. Options were a power sunroof and a six-disc CD changer, offered as a $890 package. The hatchback model gets only the 2.3.īase price of the test car, a Touring model, was $17,615, and that buys a lot of standard equipment, such as side and side-curtain air bags, P205/50R-17 radials on alloy wheels, an AM/FM stereo with CD player and six speakers, cruise control, disc brakes with anti-lock, keyless entry, air conditioning and power locks, mirrors and windows. The base Mazda3 i has a 2.0-liter, 150-horsepower four-cylinder, while the sportier Mazda3 s has a 2.3-liter engine. The Mazda3 comes as a regular four-door sedan, such as the test car, or as a four-door hatchback. Its 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine has 160 horsepower, 37 fewer than the Civic Si’s 2.0-liter engine, but the difference doesn’t feel that big, likely due in part to the Mazda’s 11 extra foot-pounds of torque. Though the engine and transmission aren’t quite as refined as the new Honda Civic Si - which, incidentally, only comes as a two-door coupe - the Mazda3 s sedan is at least as much fun to drive, and it has four doors. Both cars offer genuinely good value and, when outfitted in their sportier trim, serve up a fun-to-drive factor that rivals German cars.Ĭase in point: The 2006 Mazda3 s. They don’t get the attention - or the sales - of comparable models from Toyota and Honda, but don’t overlook the Mazda3 and its bigger brother, the Mazda6. ![]()
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