Car Review: Mazda 3

Car Reviews: Mazda 3 (2009)

OVERALL RATING - 4/5
PRICE RANGE - £11,000 to £19,000
STYLE - HATCHBACK

The Mazda 3 was released earlier this year with prices ranging from £11,000 to £19,000 and an engine range of 1349 - 2261. It is a hatchback saloon style car with fuel options of either diesel or petrol and falls into insurance group 3 - 17 (UK only). It is looking to be a close rival to its popular competitors in the same class; the Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Volkswagen Golf.

The top range model is the Mazda 3 MPS 2.3 Turbo with Aero-Kit, it has a 2261 cc front wheel drive petrol engine and CO2 emissions of 231 grams per kilometer. It develops power of 260ps at 5500 RPM (revolutions per minute) and torque of 280 pounds per foot (lb/ft) at 3000 RPM. This model comes with a decent six speed manual gearbox and weighs a total of 1483 kg.

For £19,000 as standard you get; power-steering, full airbags, alarm, seat-belt pre-tensioners, central locking, alloy wheels, electric windows and mirrors, RDS radio, CD player, split/fold rear seats, climate control and electric sunroofs. You can also have a radio cassette, satellite navigation and reversing sensor fitted by a dealer, or leather seats and metallic paints for an extra cost.

The performance of the car is pretty good for a hatchback and for the price-range. The top speed of the top end model is 155 mph, it can accelerate from 0 - 62 mph in 6.1 seconds. It averages 29.1 miles per gallon on a combined cycle, with a fuel tank capacity of 55 litres (12 imperial gallons) which means an average of around 360 miles on a full tank of fuel.

As a Mazda it is naturally a reliable little car and not a bad performer, its affordable to run, well built and well finished (especially the interior) and very good for its price range.

Three engine sizes are available on the 3: 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0 liters, the two liter is my favourite of the three, the smaller engined cars have firmer handling making the drive at slower speeds slightly uncomfortable, thehydraulic steering of the 1.6 is more receptive and responsive than the electro-hydraulic 2.0 however, which needs to be made a little more sensitive.

The 3 is one of the roomiest and spacious cars in its class, easily seating four large adults, it has big doors for ease of access for the front and back, although it is a little tight on the shoulders in the back with three adults but fine for short-midlength journeys. It is also very welcoming for a driver, everything is easily adjustable; seats, steering wheel height and seat height.

The build quality of the car is very good, not as appealing in the interior the Vauxhall Astra or Volkswagen Golf, but everything seems well made and sturdy and Mazda's reliability record is very good, coming very high in WhatCar and JD Power customer satisfaction surveys very consistently. It has a four star NCAP safety rating, you get the full airbag setup as standard, anti lock brakes and electronic brake distribution is also standard and all models above the TS2 have stability and traction control systems. Alarms and deadlocks are standard on all models.

Overall the Mazda 3 is a very good little car, with good features for its price range. The main criticism is the rides firmness, especially at lower speeds, but i don't find this a problem personally, very well made and reliable, try a test drive today and see what you think!

Other cars in this range you may wish to consider: Vauxhall Astra, Volkswagen Golf, Honda Civic, Ford Focus.