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2004
Mazda 3 Hatchback
The
Good: Great
steering. Great ride quality. Modern Design. High quality feeling in all
parts. Roomy interior. DVD Navigation, Xenon Lights and much more
available as options.
The
Bad: Too sporty for
many people. Has the Euro tuner car feel which is not very comfortable for
daily driving. We prefer an automatic to the manual. Price can get high
with Navigation and other options.
Just
by looking at the clamor on chat boards across the web, you can notice that
Mazda has struck a winner in the 3. There is a fast growing community that
has fallen in love with this vehicle. We can easily tell why. The all-new
3 is one of the most fun to drive compact cars on the road today. The 3 is
available in four-door hatchback version or four door sedan, both of which
do not share a single body panel by the way. Get behind the wheel and you
feel a car that is ready to take on all roads and highways with nimble
performance, great steering feel, and a firm yet non-jarring suspension.
These are qualities that you could only find in German makes thus far. We
also liked the overall snug fit of the body panels and the low wheel gap,
which added to the aggressive design on the exterior. All of this is
available starting at $13,680 for the base sedan and $17,105 for the
hatchback.
The Mazda 3 five-door is sculpted on the exterior very nicely.
Panels flow so well that pictures do not do justice; it must really be seen
in person. Wheels are pushed to the edges of the car and a depressed line
flows from the front to the back as if air is constantly moving over the
body. The front bumper is large and low, side body cladding makes the car
look very sporty, and the rear end is rounded as in many concept vehicles.
The windows flow back and the roofline comes down just a bit towards the
rear. The third window cut in a wedge shape is particularly stunning. The
design of the 17 inch wheels is also sporty and clean, giving a much more
expensive look to the 3. Body panels are tight and fit very well. Doors
open with a solid feeling and there is a general sense that the car is built
well.
The interior of the Mazda 3 is larger than most compact models and
offers rear seat passengers something which they have lacked thus far,
legroom! Seats up front are snug and bolstered just right to keep you in
place without being uncomfortable. Stepping into the drivers seat you get
the sense that this car wants you to test its limits. From the sport seats
to the quick shift gearbox, the 3 makes you feel young again. Mazda has
used a large array of materials throughout the new 3, giving a much higher
end feeling, while still being fun and youthful rather than luxurious.
Plastics are higher quality, some with a soft rubbery feeling, and fabric is
textured with colored stitching so the car plays with your senses wherever
you look and touch.
The arrangement of the dash is typical Mazda and similar to that
found in the RX and the 6. A large central stack houses easy to push
buttons and large clear rubbery dials for temperature control which do not
feel cheap when you turn them. We did not like the placement of some
buttons on the stereo controls such as seek button on one side and the disk
up and down button on the other. A 6-disc CD changer is built into the
center console allowing for convenient loading. The slim digital display
atop everything shows stations in red digital text, and we would have much
preferred a full color display like those on modern cell phones. The
instrument cluster is reminiscent of the RX-8 with its dials set deep and
red glowing text that changes to blue glow on red text at night, very cool.
The blue color matched the exterior deep lustrous blue paint on our car. We
would like the red color scheme changed however as red is usually reserved
for something going wrong and when a red warning lamp blinks in the
instrument cluster it is difficult to pay urgent attention to it, perhaps the
warning lights should be yellow. The steering wheel mounted controls for
stereo and cruise control were handy and helpful. The wheel is manually adjustable, tilt and
telescoping.
All of the interior materials, from the leather on the steering
wheel, to the seat fabrics, and leather on the shift knob, were all things we
would find in a well thought out car, which the 3 is. Little touches that were nice to find
were the seatbelts being height adjustable as well as a driver seat that was
height adjustable by a push lever similar to that on VWs. Doors have built
in bottle holders for larger items when just the normal cup holders will not
do which was also a great feature. Finding faults is difficult but we did find some enhancements which would add to the 3. The driver's window was one touch up and down and we would
have liked all the windows to be such. Another minor problem was that the
passenger seat is not adjustable in height and there is no handle to hold
onto here, which makes riding alongside a fast driver uncomfortable. When
leaving the car there is no button on the key fob for closing the windows
you have left open unintentionally. Again, the door handles in the rear
compartment are designed incorrectly. They are made only for closing the door and
not for holding onto while seated.
The rear compartment is comfortable and inviting. Legroom is quite
good and the seats are comfortable for a car of this size. Headroom is also
great in this car. Both headroom and hip room in the 3 are more than the
Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and the Honda Accord. Rear legroom is equal to
the Nissan Altima and Accord, beating the Civic and Corolla. The seats are
split folding and are easy to use with the touch of a button. However, to
use the large truck space you must remove the rear hatch cover and store it
somewhere, which is a chore since there is no simple storage space for it.
If you do not need the space, we much prefer the sedan with its handsome
looks and more muscular rear end.
What is great in the Mazda 3 is the long list of premium options
that are not even offered by the rest of the competition. A Navigation
system based on DVD is available. Xenon lights are available. ABS with
side impact air bags and curtain airbags are available. A tire pressure
monitoring system is available. Two-tone cloth seats or black leather seats
are available. Many distinctive items for the exterior are also available
to give your Mazda a special look. The price of a Mazda 3 can go up to the
mid twenties but with 0% deals and a good dealer supply, you should be able
to get a great deal on the 3 in the real world.
On the road, performance is what this hatchback is all about. The
car is peppy even with the small 2.3-liter engine that provides 160
horsepower and 150 pounds of torque. All this power is sent to the front
wheels. We achieved a 0-60 time of 7.5 seconds which his quite good. If
you opt for the sedan you can choose a smaller 2.0 liter engine, but in the
5-door, only the 2.3 liter engine is available. The Mazda 3 pulls very fast
to triple digits and this can be attributed to a quick shift 5-speed
transmission that has a good mix of gear ratios and a lively engine that
behaves more like a high powered big block. The car is solid and stable at
high speeds. All we could wish for would be wider tires. We learned that
the designers of the 3 also looked at the BMW 3-series as their inspiration
and it really does show through in the mannerisms of the Mazda 3. Steering feel
is quite good, it is a bit heavier than the Mazda 6 which we just tested,
and this makes driving the 3 more fun. The steering is precise as well.
Move the wheel even slightly and the car follows. The electro hydraulic
steering along with liquid filled suspension bushings and an all new
multilink rear suspension design provides the 3 with the feeling of an superb
driving machine.
The Mazda 3 hatchback with manual transmission is ultimately a car for young
buyers. Its sleek body and our highly metallic blue color gave it a 'I-Robot'
futuristic look that only young buyers look good driving around in. There
is a bit of exhaust sound as well as the whirling of the engine when
approaching higher revs. The gearshifts are a bit on the hard side; at
times the car feels a bit too zippy for someone approaching the age of 30.
Perhaps the sedan version is a bit more sophisticated for the over 25 customer.
Comparing the 3 to other makes and models in this highly
competitive price range is quite easy if you are looking for fun. There is
little else that offers what the 3 can offer in terms of premium options.
Comparing the 3 to similar sized vehicles in the $15,000 range is easy.
Most other Japanese makes have a cheap shifter, with a plasticy interior and
very little sound insulation. Heck Mazda even made a few of these in the
past. Now with the 3, the segment will have to improve itself and it will
be a bonus for all us consumers. The only problem that arises is when you
add all the goodies to the 3, you get to a MSRP of $23,000, and then the
Altima starts looking better and better.
The Mazda web site is very good and shows you many of the vehicles
strong points. We suggest you take a look at the flash version by
clicking here. Right now with 0% financing and large cash back
incentives there is no reason not to head to the showroom. |