Highlights:
MSRP: $20,695 base
Motor: 2.0-litre, four-cyl
HP: 155 @ 6,000 rpm
Torque: 150 @ 4,000 rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed automatic
Layout: Front-wheel drive
Fuel economy: 6.7 L/100 km city, 4.7 hwy (manufacturer estimate)
There aren’t as many smiles at Mazda anymore — at least not on the cars. The completely redesigned Mazda3 tosses its formerly signature happy face front bumper to follow suit with the earlier-released CX-5 and 6 that embody the brand’s new styling direction. Called KODO, or Soul of Motion, through its swoopy body lines, the vehicle is supposed to look like its moving even when stationary. The Mazda3 has received many accolades from the auto world in the short time it’s been available — including recently Best New Family Car both under and over $21K by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada — but I may be in the minority that yearns for yesteryear.
Don’t get me wrong. The Mazda3 is a fine vehicle, and I was enamored by the bigger and more elegant 6 when I tested it earlier this year. Both have strikingly similar noses with the same large black multi-slat grille, anchored by chrome “wings” that extend towards the headlights supposedly giving the front end a three-dimensional quality. I just think the lines work better on the Mazda6’s longer and sleeker body, whereas on the Mazda3 it gives it a flattened appearance. I found the look of the 2013 MazdaSpeed3 pretty close to perfect, however that’s neither here nor there. Because of a hiccup during booking, we received a six-speed auto Soul Red Mica Sport GS hatch for a week rather than the originally scheduled Titanium Flash Mica (grey) manual. Equipped with the optional $500 convenience package, there are some extra goodies like rain-sensing wipers, heated front seats and side mirrors, as well as nicer interior finishings like leather on the steering wheel and gear knob.
Getting into the cabin, the thing that draws your gaze first is the new seven-inch center display for the audio and navigation systems that sits on top of the dashboard rather than inset into it. Mazda says they chose this positioning so drivers would only have to minimally move their eyes to see it. Looking like a bit of an afterthought, it is a tablet-looking device that only appears to be removable. It is controlled via the increasingly common media “dial” behind the shift lever. It made setting and accessing radio presets difficult because instead of being able to press a numbered button, you now have to press the “favorites” button next to the dial and then scroll the wheel through a list to find saved stations.
The GX comes with the familiar 2.0-litre, 155-horsepower Skyactiv engine that features a high compression ratio, lightweight design and now also a newly designed exhaust system that bumps up the torque slightly to 150 lb-ft and causes peak delivery to come on sooner at 4,000 rpm. Not blistering performance, but that’s not the strong point of the base engine. Combined with the suite of other Skyactiv enhancements like a more aerodynamic body that weighs less and a more efficient transmission, fuel consumption numbers have come tumbling down to an observed 6 L/100 km during a mixture of city and highway testing (for Mazda’s estimates see below). Driving feel has improved, too, due to beefier suspension components and an increased torsional rigidity of 31 per cent over the previous hatchback.
Pricing for the GS starts at a respectable $20,695 and for that you get sport exhaust, automatic headlights, keyless entry with push button start and a slew of other equipment you would expect from a car of this class in 2014. I may not have yet experienced “JinbaItta” — a connection between car and driver — but with all the attention this vehicle is getting as of late, I may have to give it another go.