Small sedans are less "in" than they used to be — which may be why Mazda offers its smallest sedan, the 3, another way.
You have your pick of sedan or five-door hatchback. Both are essentially the same 3 presented in two different forms. One costs less — and has less room for cargo — because it's a sedan and has a trunk. The other costs a little more — and gives you more room for cargo — because it has a hatchback rather than a trunk.
As the saying goes, "you pays your money and you takes your choice!"
What It Is
The Mazda3 is a compact-sized sedan — or five-door hatchback — that competes with others in the class such as the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra. It emphasizes style and athletic handling, along with the option to pick the body style that suits you.
Plus some other things.
Prices for the sedan start at $20,800; the five-door hatchback stars at $22,750. In addition to the sedan's lower starting price, it also comes standard with a less-powerful 2.0-liter engine, while the hatch comes standard with a larger and stronger 2.5-liter engine, which is also optionally available in the sedan.
Both versions of the 3 are also available with a turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter engine.
The sedan version offers it for $30,550 to start. The same engine in the hatch stickers for $31,550.
You can get AWD either way, too.
As well as a manual transmission — only with the hatch, not the sedan.
A top-of-the-line Premium Plus version of the hatch (with the 2.5 turbo engine and AWD) stickers for $34,400. But you can get the same drivetrain, sans the hatch, for $33,100 if you choose the sedan version of the 3.
What's New
For the 2022 model year, Mazda has added a Carbon Edition to the roster of options. It is chiefly an appearance package that bundles gray exterior paint with black exterior accents and red leather-trimmed interior.
What's Good
Choose your style — and your price.
Multiple engine/transmission and drivetrain choices.
One of the most enjoyable-to-drive cars in the class.
What's Not So Good
Sedan is automatic only.
LCD interface for the audio system is fussier to use than rivals' systems.
Outward visibility in the hatch is less than in the sedan.
Under The Hood
The sedan version of the 3 comes standard with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 155 horsepower; it's paired exclusively with a six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.
Optional in the sedan and standard in the hatch is a larger, 2.5-liter engine that makes 186 horsepower, making it one of the strongest optional (and standard) engines in the class.
It's available with a six-speed manual transmission — in the hatch.
Or you can choose the optional six-speed automatic, standard in the sedan, which is automatic only. There's one more engine option, too.
If you want to own the strongest and quickest hatch in this class, choose the turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine.
Feed it premium unleaded and the computer will dial up maximum boost — and 250 horsepower.
On The Road
Economy cars used to be just that. They got good gas mileage — and they didn't cost you much.
The 3 is more than just that.
It is economical and enjoyable — especially the hatch because of its very strong (for the class) standard 2.5-liter engine and the available manual transmission to go with it. This engine likes to rev — peak horsepower is achieved at 6,000 RPM — and the manual gives you full control over it.
On the downside, outward visibility is not-so-great in the hatch; the side glass is short relative to tall doors, while the hatchback shape narrows the view to the rear. The view of the outside world from inside the sedan is much better, in part because there is more side-glass area (especially concerning the rear door glass, which there is more of than the driver/passenger side door glass) and the larger rear glass.
At The Curb
It's nice to be able to choose the suit that ... suits.
The hatch offers more practicality — more than three times as much space for cargo (47.1 cubic feet) than the sedan (13.1 cubic feet) at the price of some visibility — per above comments.
The hatchback layout not only offers more space but it opens up the space available; the opening is wider. You can use the entirety of the car's interior to fit things that would never fit in the sedan.
On the other hand, if you don't need the extra space - and prefer not to pay for it - the sedan's got you covered. The increased visibility's free, too.
The Rest
This "economy" car comes standard with rain-sensing wipers, LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, remote vehicle monitoring and an eight-speaker stereo rig. There was a time — and not so long ago — when you had to buy a Cadillac or a BMW to get such equipment.
You can also get multistage heated leather seats, adaptive headlights that follow the curves of the road and a 12-speaker audio system.
The Bottom Line
It's a shame about the limited availability of the manual — but green lights as far as just about everything else!
Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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