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Mazda 3 review 2024
Mazda 3 2019 (5) (1)
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Mazda 3 2019 (1) (1)
Mazda 3 2019 (3) (1)

Quick overview

  • Sleek looks
  • Quality of build
  • Fun to drive
  • Well equipped
  • Gloomy rear cabin
  • Limited rear visibility for driver
  • Weak performance of base engine
  • Hatch’s boot space

Overlook the Mazda 3 small hatch at your peril as it is one of the finest cars in its sector. It’s more than up to giving the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series or Mercedes A-Class a bit of a bloody nose in the way it looks, drives and feels inside. As you’d expect of a Mazda, the 3 has been put together with care and attention, which makes is feel more solid and a cut above the likes of the Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra. It also has the looks to impress thanks to its clean lines, and the details are all there to make this a car you will be very happy to own.

Mazda comes up smelling of roses, too, for the way the 3 drives. While it might not be quite as outright sporting in its attitude as a BMW 1 Series, it’s not far off. You can hustle the 3 along country roads with vigour and it will continue to hold its line and put a smile on your face when most rivals have long since run out of ability. Only the Ford Focus is a match for the Mazda in this respect and at a similar price. And none of this comes at the expense of comfort, though Mazda 3s in the higher trim levels with larger wheels do have a firm edge to the way they deal with potholes and dips in the road surface.

The one area where the Mazda 3 does let itself down is with the entry-point 122hp 2.0-litre petrol engine. It’s not very powerful for this size of motor and it just feels underpowered and underwhelming, which is a pity as it’s a smooth, refined engine once you get the car up to speed. On the plus side, Mazda uses mild hybrid technology to keep fuel emissions down with both of its petrol engines, though we’d steer towards the 186hp 2.0-litre for a more engaging and relaxed driving experience.

Unusually, Mazda offers the 3 in both hatch and four-door saloon shapes. Few will bother with the saloon as it has a smaller boot and is less practical. The hatch, on the hand, is as good as most at accommodating people and luggage. Remember, though, the high window line and dark materials can make the back seats feel gloomy and claustrophobic if you’re planning long trips with the kids.

Prices

The Mazda 3 range gets going with the SE-L trim with the 122hp engine that costs from £23,265. Next is the SE-L Lux at £24,365 and you can add the automatic gearbox to this and most upper trims for around £1500. Upgrading to the 186hp 2.0-litre engine will put add around £3000 to the final bill. Next in the trim range is the Sport Lux that costs from £25,465, while the GT Sport Edition starts at £27,065 and the GT Sport from £27,365. A GT Sport Tech version of the Mazda 3 goes from £28,265, while this model in Edition spec begins at £27,965. The saloon models that only come with the more powerful 186hp engine are priced identically to the five-door hatch models in the same trim. Look around and you can save up to £2000 on a brand new car, while going for a nearly new example with around 3000 miles under its wheel will save you about £3000 over the list price. A three-year old Mazda 3 with average mileage costs from about £18,000.

Infotainment, comfort and practicality

The Mazda 3 does a very good job of looking after its driver thanks to the amount of space it provides. If you’re particularly tall, the saloon version of the 3 is even better due to its slightly higher roof line, but you won’t struggle for head, leg or shoulder space in the hatch. All trim levels of the 3 come with a height adjustable driver’s seat, which is manually operated in most but electrically worked in the GT Sport versions that also come with a head-up display for the driver. Mazda also provides a steering wheel that moves for reach and depth, so finding the ideal seating position is simple for the driver.

Ahead of the driver is a dash display that’s a paragon of clarity. Mazda sticks with three simple round dials for the main instruments, with the speedo in the middle, revs to the left and a multi-gauge on the right for fuel and temperature. The steering wheel features buttons to scroll through various functions on the dash, and its rim has a pleasingly thicky, sporty feel.

The transmission tunnel has a storage tray ahead of the gear lever, augmented by reasonable door bins and a cubby with lid to the rear of the gear stick. Immediately behind the gear lever is the rotary controller for Mazda’s infotainment screen which sits on top of the central dash. Unlike most of its rivals, Mazda does not provide a touchscreen, so everything is worked through the rotary knob that you use to scroll and click with like a computer mouse. It’s a very intuitive system and the on-screen menus are arranged in a way that makes it easy to search through. Added to this are some shortcut buttons around the rotary controller to take you to key pages. The screen itself is clear and quick to react, and its 8.8-inch monitor is easy to read. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can hook up your phone quickly to access apps through the infotainment. On the dash below the screen are the heater controls that have physical buttons and knobs, so adjusting the ventilation on the move is a doddle.

Turning our attention to the back seats, we find one of the few areas where the Mazda 3 cedes ground to its key rivals. Access is okay through the doors but not as good as in some others in this sector. Adults will find headroom is limited in the hatch due to the slope of its roofline. In the saloon version of the 3, it’s a bit better, but you’ll still wish you were sat in a Ford Focus or Skoda Scala as both provide more room for knees and shoulders. Kids will also find the back seats of the Mazda a bit claustrophobic as the high window line makes it feels hemmed in.

Head round to the boot and, a little unexpectedly, the Mazda 3 saloon offers a bigger boot with the rear seats up or down. The saloon provides 450-litres of load carrying ability with the back seats occupied by passengers compared to 334-litres in the hatch. That figure for the hatch trails the class best by some margin and there’s no adjustable height boot floor. You’ll also find there’s a fair drop from load sill to boot floor that can make lifting out heavy bags a bit of a chore. Tip the 60-40 split and tumble rear seats down, which is done with levers on the seats rather than in the side walls of the boot, and you free up a maximum load volume of 1138-litres in the saloon and 1026-litres in the hatch.

Which 2019 Mazda 3 model should you buy?

Mazda starts the 3 range with the SE-L trim, which is only offered with the hatch fitted with the 122hp engine. It comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic wipers and headlights, and rear parking sensors. It also has lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, blind spot alert with rear cross traffic warning, and adaptive cruise control. Inside, there’s air conditioning, electric windows all-round, and the 8.8-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. To this list, the SE-L Lux adds a reversing camera and front parking sensors, heated front seats, keyless entry, climate control, and radar cruise control. Sport Lux models benefit from 18-inch alloys, adaptive headlights, rear privacy glass, and paddle shifters on the steering wheel for cars with the automatic gearbox. The GT Sport trims have door mirrors that tilt down to help when reversing, black leather upholstery, powered front seat adjustment, and four extra speakers over the usual eight in lower trims. At the top of the range sits the GT Sport Tech versions of the 3 that have a 360-degree monitor for a bird’s eye view when parking, and cruise and traffic support to make driving in slow-moving queues easier. These top trims also have front cross traffic warning, and smart brake support included.

Value for money: how much does a 2019 Mazda 3 cost to buy and run?

When it comes to running costs, the Mazda 3 is on a par with its key rivals, so the 122hp hatch offers 51.4mpg combined economy and 124g/km carbon dioxide emissions with the six-speed manual gearbox in the five-door hatch. Opting for the auto changes those figures to 47.1mpg and 138g/km. With the 186hp engine, you’ll see 54.3mpg and 118g/km with the manual ’box, or 47.1mpg and 137g/km with the auto. If you’d rather have the saloon, the official figures are 56.5mpg and 114g/km for the manual, or 47.9mpg and 135g/km for the auto. For first year road tax, all of the Mazda 3 models with emissions up to 130g/km will pay £190, while those that stray above that number pay road tax at £230 for the first year of ownership.

Verdict: Should I buy a 2019 Mazda 3?

Like its rivals, there’s good and bad when looking at the Mazda 3. With this Japanese hatch,, the positives outweight the negatives quite considerably in our view. Much of the Mazda’s appeal lies in its looks, style and quality, which are undoubtedly very good in all instances, and all are well equipped. It’s also a brilliant car for the driver to sit in, and it’s pretty handy on twisty roads.

The Mazda isn’t quite as good at absorbing bumpy roads as a Ford Focus, and nor does it offer as much rear passenger or boot space as its key rivals. You also have to be sure you can get along with the way the petrol engines need to be revved to get the best from them, but they do offer decent economy and emissions to keep running costs very reasonable.