Today I went and test drove a Mazda 3s sedan. I also got a chance to check out the 3s 5-door hatch. Both are pretty nice looking cars within the tall econobox genre, and in general feel more expensive than they really are. Anyway, on to the evaluation.

Exterior
The cars look nice. They do a decent job of not looking so tall even though they really are. The hatchback especially does a good job of looking slinky despite its height. Overall the styling was pretty nice. Nothing stunning but pretty solid.

Interior
Overall the interior is very nice. The materials have a generally high quality look to them although there are a couple of cheap touches such as a bunch of unused switch blanks on the dash to the left of the steering column, and a mysterious circular hole that was plugged up to the left of the cigarette lighter. Maybe it's an access panel for something but it looks stupid. There's a fake carbon fiber trim strip across the middle of the dash that does a good job of breaking up the monotony without looking too fake in the process. The stereo has nice big buttons and a bunch of gimmicks that I didn't really bother to play with which might hopefully appease those who would like to put a system in the car since there's nothing that even closesly resembles a DIN slot in the dash. Oh well, not like I care. The lighting is a reddish amber which stands out pretty well. The seats are comfy but a bit plain looking and the bolsters on the front seats are not much. With the front seats adjusted so that I fit comfortably there was reasonably good room in the back. The steering wheel is a nice dimpled leather 3-spoke piece with audio and cruise controls on the side spokes. It looks pretty good and feels nice but the rim is a bit thin. Sight lines out the front are better than I was expecting for a compact with a high dash but the seating position and the way everything lines up actually give you a pretty good view without feeling like you're perched on top of the car. The view out the back isn't as good with the big C-pillars and high deck preventing me from telling where the car ended when backing it up. In general the interior was a pretty nice execution.

Drivetrain
The car I drove had the 2.3 liter inline four that makes 160 hp and a 5-speed stick. Engine power is what it is, it feels like 160 hp and has decent get-up-n-go but this is a 2800 lb car so it's not really going to feel that impressive or like it can produce a real surge of acceleration. Clutch takeup is nice and light and the shifter is very nice as well. Not quite up to Honda standards but for any other company's fwd shifter it's pretty damn nice. Clutch behavior was a little odd when pulling away from a stop but I got used to it just fine. The engine is nice and quiet unless you really get on it, exhaust is pretty much inaudible.

Handling
First off, the car "drives tall." It's tall, and you can feel that it's tall. It doesn't feel overly tippy but in tight turns there's a lot of body roll which is kind of added to by the fact that you're sitting pretty far above the center of gravity. As a comparison with say, my dad's Mercedes E420 which is a much larger overall car but is the same height, the Mazda has more body roll in the tight stuff despite the Benz's softer suspension. Such is the cost of having a tall car with a relatively short wheelbase and narrow track. The example I drove also did not come equipped with the sport package that includes 205/50-17 all season tires instead of the standard 205/55-16's. The steering was a bit on the light side but that was probably due somewhat to the all-season tires. A stickier compound would help grip and also firm up the steering a bit. At the very least it could have used the larger tires although I would probably put something a bit wider and stickier on the car as well as firm up the suspension, especially the sway bars. As a starting point it's definitely not a bad way to go. Brakes felt plenty capable and pedal effort was nice and linear.

Summary
One thing that doesn't really fit any tangible description is just the overall way the car drives. It doesn't really impress in one particular area but everything it does is at least pretty good. It's basically effortless to drive and only when you hustle it a bunch more than typical econobox driving does it begin to get a bit unsettled. Overall it's a really nice car and is the first time I can actually say that I enjoyed driving one of the new crop of really tall compact cars like the Focus, Corolla, Jetta, etc. The 3 does share its platform with the next generation Focus that won't show up in America until probably 2007 as we're getting a refreshed version of the current Focus in 2005, and the new Volvo S40 sedan and V50 wagon. While that does bode well for the Focus, I'm not so sure about the Volvo because it's supposed to steal customers from BMW, Audi, Lexus and Infiniti and I don't know if a tall front-driver (even a good one) can compete in that segment. But whatever, for its price the Mazda 3 is definitely worth taking a look at and dare I say the best compact economy car out there right now.

 

:goodjob: Write-up!

 

the mp5 had a poorly placed armrest
it was too far back
and the cup holders coulda been better

did it feel tall because the seats were high?
the mp5 seats were a bit high

 

The whole car is tall, so I guess the seats are a bit high up. The seats don't feel so high up and even though the dash is kind of big you can see over it really well. I'm not quite sure how they pulled that off really.

 

I saw an ad for one... peeked my attention...especially the price Nice review!

 

thats why you gotta drop it like its hot:thumbup: i saw one at this mazdaspeed store in the mall and the nerd working there got all mad cuz i was shifting the gears and he was like...excuse me sir, im gonna have to as kyou not to pretend your driving! i was like :wtf: ok...im gonna try the rx8 now...he was getting all pissed but it was funny! i like the way the mazda 3 looks though(the hatch) its clean..i like teh tails