The venerable Mazda 3 lately supplied one the widest vary of fashions in its section, nevertheless it has been considerably in the reduction of with its most up-to-date replace.
You’ll be able to now not get the Mazda 3 with a guide transmission, nor with a mild-hybrid powertrain. Your entire vary is now automatic-only and the 2 petrol engines on provide are non-electrified.
With these modifications to the Japanese carmaker’s small hatch and sedan, the bottom asking value now begins past $30k for the primary time. The Mazda 3 vary now begins at $30,320 earlier than on-roads for the G20 Pure, and extends to $42,320 earlier than on-roads for the G25 Astina.
Past this, Mazda has additionally made some upgrades to the three’s in-car tech. A bigger 10.25-inch display screen is accessible throughout the vary, and sure variants achieve wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, in addition to a wi-fi telephone charger.
I famously known as the current-generation Mazda 3 one of many best-looking new vehicles you should purchase in one in all our current group op-ed tales, however does this replace make you need to think about it over a equally sized and priced SUV?
How a lot does the Mazda 3 value?
The Mazda 3 vary now begins simply over the $30,000 threshold due to the latest replace that noticed the cheaper guide variants get the axe regionally. It now begins at $30,320 earlier than on-roads for the G20 Pure hatch and sedan.
Our tester is the mid-spec G25 Evolve SP variant that now begins at $34,520 earlier than on-roads, $1410 greater than it was pre-update. It’s the most affordable variant with the extra highly effective 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine.
The automotive got here with the non-obligatory $2000 Imaginative and prescient Know-how Package deal that now provides a bigger 10.25-inch display screen, in addition to a surround-view digital camera, Cruising & Visitors Help, driver monitoring, entrance cross-traffic alert, and entrance parking sensors. It was additionally completed in Soul Purple Crystal metallic paint, which prices an additional $595.
This brings the full quantity of our tester to $37,115 earlier than on-road prices, or $41,570 drive-away for Victorian consumers (every state has barely completely different taxes). Hatch and Sedan variations are the identical value throughout the board.
Mazda 3 pricing:
- 2024 Mazda 3 G20 Pure: $30,320
- 2024 Mazda 3 G20 Evolve: $31,870
- 2024 Mazda 3 G20 Touring: $34,520
- 2024 Mazda 3 G25 Evolve SP: $34,520
- 2024 Mazda 3 G25 GT: $38,420
- 2024 Mazda 3 G25 Astina: $42,320
Equally priced rivals embrace:
All pricing excludes on-road prices, until specified
Within the SUV world, this value will get you a small SUV together with the likes of the Hyundai Kona N Line ($36,000), Kia Seltos Sport+ 2WD ($35,800), Mazda CX-30 G20 Touring ($37,210), Nissan Qashqai ST+ ($37,890), Subaru Crosstrek 2.0R ($38,490), and the Toyota Corolla Cross GXL 2WD ($37,730), amongst others.
What’s the Mazda 3 like on the within?
Should you had been ready to see if there are any earth-shattering alterations with this replace to the Mazda 3’s inside, assume once more.
Strolling as much as and hopping into the Mazda 3 could be fairly a mission. I all the time neglect how low to the bottom the automotive is and discover I generally have to contort myself to climb in. That is even worse after I have to get again out.
The seats on this G25 Evolve SP tester are completed in a trusty black cloth upholstery which have an inoffensive design and seem like they’ll stand the take a look at of time.
The driving force’s seat is surprisingly electrically adjustable in 10 other ways, which I wasn’t anticipating given it has cloth upholstery. There’s additionally electrical lumbar adjustment, in addition to two-position reminiscence.
The seat itself is deliciously snug and someplace I can sit for longer journeys and never get overly fatigued. There’s loads of bolstering to hug you in, and the seat goes fairly low.
It’s not stunning that almost all of the inside can be largely black, given the Evolve SP trim is a sporty blacked-out variant. This implies nevertheless, the cabin is somewhat darkish and monotonous.
Up entrance the Mazda 3 seems to be fairly upmarket given its value level and equally priced rivals, with loads of soft-touch plastics and supplies in your line of sight. Should you attain down decrease you’ll discover the inevitable tougher, scratchier plastic.
Forward of the motive force is a buttery mushy leather-wrapped steering wheel that has a skinny, triangular form to the rim and is a pleasure to carry.
The buttons and switches on the steering wheel have been given a matte black look with this newest replace, nevertheless their addictively clicky nature is retained. There aren’t any mushy buttons within the cabin in any way!
Behind the steering wheel are a set of analogue dials for the revs, temperature and gasoline gauge which sandwich a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster that has a round bodily aspect constructed into it for the speedometer.
There isn’t a lot content material displayed inside this round aspect. You’re in a position to have a basic needle for the speedometer, present the common gasoline financial system, or a driver help readout.
Certainly one of my favorite elements of the Mazda 3’s inside is a head-up show comes as customary it doesn’t matter what variant you choose. It’s crystal clear and exhibits all of the crucial info you’ll want to see whereas driving, together with a digital speedometer.
Now to the centrepiece of this replace, the Mazda 3 is now obtainable with a bigger 10.25-inch Mazda Join infotainment system. It’s even a touchscreen, though you’ll want to be stationary, in park, and now have the electrical park brake on with a view to really use this performance.
With the intention to get this bigger infotainment system within the Mazda 3 G25 Evolve SP you’ll want to go for the $2000 Imaginative and prescient Know-how bundle that additionally provides an array of additional security gear. Solely the G25 GT and G25 Astina get the larger display screen as customary.
Should you don’t go for the non-obligatory Imaginative and prescient Know-how bundle you’ll rating the carryover 8.8-inch Mazda Join infotainment system as a substitute.
No matter which display screen you get, whereas driving you’ll want to work together with the display screen utilizing a basic rotary dial with shortcut buttons flanking it. This takes somewhat bit to get used to, however when you do it’s really fairly easy. Not really touching the display screen additionally means there gained’t be as many smudgy marks.
The display screen itself has loads of processing energy, which implies it boots up rapidly upon startup and new pages load rapidly.
One other spotlight of this replace is the wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can be found along with the common cabled variations of each. It’s essential to get the G20 Touring or above to reap the benefits of wi-fi smartphone mirroring.
For my whole time with our tester I used wi-fi Apple CarPlay with my iPhone 12 Professional Max and had no connection points in any way. This was genuinely stunning as a result of nearly all of the vehicles I drive that provide wi-fi smartphone mirroring sometimes minimize out briefly in a technique or one other.
That is helped by having a wi-fi telephone charger, one more new characteristic within the MY24 Mazda 3, that truly works. The one letdown was my telephone stored on overheating which is often an indication of misaligned wi-fi charging coils.
The Mazda 3 G25 Evolve SP comes with satellite tv for pc navigation as customary that sounds nice on paper, however is definitely an actual ache to make use of in observe because of the rotary dial. Attempting to kind factors of curiosity takes ceaselessly as you’ll want to scroll backwards and forwards heaps of occasions.
Below the infotainment display screen I’m glad to see the slick local weather management setup with the bodily knobs and buttons has been retained. It’s tremendous compact and a pleasure to work together with.
One thing to notice is because of the cupholder placement, if you happen to put a bigger water bottle in there, the local weather controls can generally get blocked.
The centre console is completely plastered in piano black, which fortunately in our tester wasn’t too scratched but. It wouldn’t take lengthy to get all dusty and grubby although.
Certainly one of my least favorite elements of the Mazda 3’s inside is its centre console lid. You first want to slip the lid again earlier than lifting it up, which feels somewhat awkward. Below the lid are a set of latest USB-C ports which change the USB-A ports.
Transferring to the second row you realise how a lot the general person expertise is geared in direction of individuals within the first row.
The seat and plastics are nonetheless mushy however there may be completely no area in any respect. At a leggy 182cm I completely can’t sit behind my very own driving place. Fortunately there’s simply sufficient headroom.
When it comes to second-row facilities there are rear air vents, and a mushy fold-down armrest with cupholders. There aren’t any USB ports for rear passengers.
The Mazda 3 Hatch’s boot measures in at 295 litres, which doesn’t nice on paper, however is totally wonderful in observe. It’s not large and also you shouldn’t actually count on it to be.
There actually isn’t a lot to the Mazda 3’s boot in addition to a singular mild on the left-hand aspect. There aren’t any hooks for luggage or netted sections.
Fortunately there’s a space-saver spare tyre, although a correct full-size unit wouldn’t go astray. It’s nevertheless higher than a can of goo or nothing in any respect.
What’s underneath the bonnet?
The Mazda 3 now solely obtainable with two completely different engines, following the axing of the 2 mild-hybrid engines with this newest replace.
Our G25 Evolve SP tester is powered by a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine producing 139kW of energy and 252Nm of torque.
That is mated solely to a six-speed torque-converter automated transmission with drive despatched to the entrance wheels solely. The beforehand obtainable six-speed guide possibility was axed with the 2024 replace.
The Mazda 3 hatchback with the two.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine has a claimed mixed gasoline consumption of 6.6 litres per 100km. Over nearly 1000km of largely rural freeway driving I used to be really in a position to beat the declare and obtain an indicated common of 6.5 litres per 100km.
All Mazda 3 fashions now include cylinder deactivation, in addition to engine idle stop-start. G20 and G25 fashions require minimal 91 RON common unleaded petrol and have 51-litre gasoline tank.
How does the Mazda 3 drive?
Beginning up the Mazda 3 feels very acquainted and nearly homely. It revs fairly excessive initially at round 1500rpm, however finally dials it again after warming up in a minute or two.
Our G25 Evolve SP tester with its bigger 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine has loads of energy from a standstill. You’ll be maintaining with site visitors with no worries in any respect.
Should you push the throttle somewhat tougher you’ll simply pull forward of the vehicles on the lights, which is all the time nice enjoyable.
The Mazda 3 now solely comes with a six-speed automated transmission as all manual-equipped variants had been axed with the most recent replace. Fortunately the automated transmission is among the slickest in the marketplace.
The six-speed transmission does flare the revs when it must, however for almost all of the time it retains them down as little as attainable to minimise gasoline consumption. There’s additionally sufficient torque to take care of the low revs.
I’d love for the transmission to have an additional ratio or two as a result of at some factors the automotive revs somewhat bit prefer it has a repeatedly variable transmission (CVT). I’m grateful nevertheless it doesn’t shift up and and down gears aimlessly.
Thanks partially to Mazda 3’s compact dimensions, it feels tremendous straightforward to park. The steering is somewhat heavy at decrease speeds although, and the hatchback’s C-pillar is tremendous thick which significantly reduces visibility.
Our G25 Evolve SP tester got here with the non-obligatory Imaginative and prescient Know-how bundle that provides a surround-view digital camera, entrance parking sensors, and entrance cross-traffic alert, amongst different options. You don’t get these as customary until you step all the way in which as much as the flagship G25 Astina.
The Mazda 3’s suspension tune errs on the firmer aspect which isn’t horrible, however one thing to bear in mind for individuals contemplating this automotive. You’ll be able to really feel nearly each bump you go over, however the automotive is rarely uncomfortable.
I attribute a part of this firmer experience to the tester’s 18-inch alloy wheels which are wrapped in low-profile 215/45 R18 tyres.
On pimply city roads you possibly can hear and really feel the Mazda 3’s suspension doing a whole lot of work to suppress what it could possibly. Over velocity bumps the automotive’s torsion beam rear suspension may slap a bit, which doesn’t really feel very nice.
Dialling up the velocity and the Mazda 3 rewards you with nice driving dynamics that verge on being sporty. It nearly yearns for extra energy.
Talking of extra energy, in North America the Mazda 3 is accessible with a 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive, nevertheless each are off the playing cards in Australia.
At round 80km/h the engine’s cylinder deactivation is most obvious. You’ll be able to really feel by means of the accelerator pedal that there’s a little bit of an unbalanced thrum coming from the engine bay. This is sensible because the engine is working on simply two cylinders relatively than the complete 4.
The cylinder deactivation solely actually works when travelling alongside a flat highway with mild acceleration, as letting your foot of the accelerator causes the engine to disengage and pushing the throttle somewhat tougher causes the opposite cylinders to fireside into life.
At correct freeway and freeway speeds, the Mazda 3 is an extremely good cruiser. I used to be in a position to get some actually low gasoline financial system numbers (~5.5 litres per 100km) on one explicit journey which I used to be fairly happy with.
On nation roads the suspension will get somewhat unsettled on very similar to it does on tremendous pimply city roads.
I’ve to say that I completely hate how each Mazda I drive has a magnified driver’s aspect mirror, which considerably impedes visibility. I discovered I needed to do actually critical head checks when doing lane modifications to truly guarantee there wasn’t a automotive in my blind-spot.
On the protection entrance, the Mazda 3 G25 Evolve SP is absolutely loaded. As I discussed above, our tester got here with the non-obligatory Imaginative and prescient Know-how bundle that additionally provides Cruising & Visitors help, which is Mazda-speak for lane centring and site visitors jam help.
This method really works rather well on clearly marked highways and freeways. It does nevertheless begin to lose its method on regional and rural roads the place the markings aren’t fairly as clear. In these situations I selected to modify it off and correctly steer the automotive myself.
The adaptive cruise management system interacts fantastically with different autos. What I imply by that is when vehicles merge into your lane on the freeway it doesn’t slam on the brakes.
Whereas it really works effectively in regard to different vehicles, the cruise management does get fairly confused with hills. It’ll actually decelerate when approaching a hill after which choose up an excessive amount of velocity when taking place.
It feels much more pure to take management in these conditions.
What do you get?
Mazda 3 G25 Evolve SP highlights
Exterior
- 18-inch black metallic end alloy wheels
- Area-saver spare wheel
- Black aspect mirrors incl. reminiscence, reverse tilt-down perform
- Auto-dimming driver’s aspect mirror
- Computerized LED headlights
- Halogen daytime working lights
- LED tail lights
- Rain-sensing window wipers
Inside
- 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster
- 8.8-inch Mazda Join infotainment system
- Head-up show
- Wired, wi-fi Apple CarPlay
- Wired, wi-fi Android Auto
- Wi-fi charger
- Satellite tv for pc navigation
- DAB+ digital radio
- 8-speaker sound system
- Two USB-C ports
- Twin-zone local weather management
- Electrical park brake
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
- Illuminated entrance self-importance mirrors
- Keyless entry and push-button begin
- Leather-based-wrapped gear selector
- Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel
- Black material upholstery with crimson accents
- 10-way energy driver’s seat with reminiscence
Is the Mazda 3 secure?
The Mazda 3 has a five-star ANCAP security ranking from 2019, with scores of 98 per cent in grownup occupant safety, 89 per cent in baby occupant safety, 81 per cent in susceptible highway person safety, and 76 per cent in security help.
Customary security options embrace:
- Autonomous emergency braking (ahead, reverse)
- Lane departure warning
- Lane hold help
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Visitors signal recognition
- Adaptive cruise management with cease/go
- Reversing digital camera
- Rear parking sensors
- Tyre stress monitoring
- Twin entrance, front-side and curtain airbags
- Driver’s knee airbag
Imaginative and prescient Know-how Package deal* provides:
- Encompass-view digital camera
- Cruising & Visitors Help
- Driver monitoring
- Entrance cross-traffic alert
- Entrance parking sensors
- 10.25-inch Mazda Join show (customary on G25 GT)
The Imaginative and prescient Know-how Package deal is customary on the flagship G25 Astina.
*$2000 on G20 Pure, G20 Evolve, G20 Touring, and G25 Evolve SP; $1500 on G25 GT
How a lot does the Mazda 3 value to run?
The 2024 Mazda 3 is roofed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee.
This replace has seen the Mazda 3 transfer to longer 12 months or 15,000km service intervals (up from 12 months or 10,000km).
2024 Mazda 3 service pricing:
| G20 | G25 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yr or 15,000km | $334 | $341 |
| 2 years or 30,000km | $530 | $536 |
| 3 years or 45,000km | $414 | $414 |
| 4 years or 60,000km | $530 | $536 |
| 5 years or 75,000km | $334 | $341 |
| Complete | $2142 | $2168 |
CarExpert’s Tackle the Mazda 3
Though it mightn’t appear to be the Mazda 3 has acquired a lot of an replace from the surface, it now receives a variety of inside comfort options that add a contemporary contact.
I’m unhappy to see the choice of a guide get axed from the Mazda 3 native line-up, however I do like this replace introduced the supply of a bigger infotainment display screen, wi-fi smartphone mirroring, in addition to a wi-fi telephone charger.
The Mazda 3 nonetheless retains its modern and upmarket seems to be, particularly in hatchback guise, and remains to be additionally an absolute hoot to drive. I want we received the supply of the turbo engine in Australia although, as a result of the automotive is actually begging for extra energy.
The mid-spec G25 Evolve SP types because the choose of the vary if you happen to’d like the most affordable variant that will get the bigger and extra highly effective 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine. It’s additionally fairly uncommon {that a} automotive has cloth upholstery and an electrically-adjustable driver’s seat.
I do know the Mazda 3 G25 Evolve SP could be the variant I’d personally go for, however I’m additionally actually enamoured with the burgundy leather-based that comes within the flagship G25 Astina.
One thing that sticks in my thoughts, nevertheless, is most consumers at the moment are in search of a high-riding crossover or SUV as a substitute of low-riding passenger vehicles.
Mazda already has an answer for this within the type of the associated CX-30 which is presently outselling the three – which might be your selection?
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