Mazda3 Maxx Sport 2004 Review

Mazda 3 Maxx Sport

If there was going to be a car in this magnificent (well, not really) eleven that punters might actually lust after, it was always the Mazda 3. Even a cursory glance at our muscular, 16-inch-wheeled Maxx Sport hatch says it costs at least $30K, and that it's the range-topping variant. It doesn't, and it isn't.

It's a brand new car, on a brand new platform, with a brand new engine. It'll do the standing 400m in 16.2 seconds - a class record. And it costs just $26,175 (or $26,747 plus cruise control), with the fully stocked and even sexier SP23 still upstream. Nice.

After releasing a string of impressive product over the last two years, there's now an expectation surrounding the emergence of a new Mazda - one that says it should rise immediately to a position of class leadership. Check. One that demands an ability to satisfy enthusiast drivers, while also rewarding the novice steerer with a tangible quality driving feel. Check. And one that finally consigns Mazda's dreary late-'90s period of emotionless, excessively conservative car design to the scrap heap. Check, mate.

Unlike the last 323 (and even the similar-looking BMW 1 Series), the Mazda 3 has a cutting-edge style and an athletic personality all its own.

Backing up the spunky look wholeheartedly, and with surprising pace, is the Mazda 3's new 104kW/181Nm 2.0-litre MZR engine. The 3's mill is sufficiently punchy and revvy (it'll wind out to 7300rpm) that it could easily power a competitor in the sports-coupe class. Very short gearing - shorter even than the Peugeot's - is masked by the 3's ability to rev hard, and is partially responsible for its staggering level of grunt. In any gear at virtually any speed, the 3 has heaps in reserve, and a hunger to be driven.

Pity, then, that it makes a fair amount of noise going about it. Not anything too unpleasant, mind, although if you allow the revs to hover above 5500rpm - say, in second gear while having a go on a twisty road - the engine buzzes back through the pedals and introduces a surprising level of harshness. It's not evident when you wind the 3 out through the gears, but, if you pause at high rpm, prepare for plenty of NVH.

Speaking of challenging roads, no car in this group can deliver as big a grin as the Mazda. Its combination of wide rev range, surging performance, and fabulous steering and handling provides a hot flush on demand when you're within cooee of a corner. Its eagerness, superb poise, adjustability, and delicious feedback reward every time you make a direction change, and its ride composure deserves commendation, too.

Damping is well judged, and control is guaranteed no matter what the load. It's a polished act, marred only by intrusive tyre rumble on coarse-chip bitumen, and a curious, dull knock from somewhere in the front suspension over particular bumps - noticeable on both the SP23 we drove earlier this year, and this Maxx Sport. Trust us, Mazda has it noted.

Inside, the 3 maintains its class act, with a groovy, fresh-looking dash design and a fabbo three-spoke wheel (with control buttons) pinched from the RX-8. Love the custom stereo with Knight Rider lights (but hopefully an aversion to playing David Hasselhoff CDs) and the domed instrument dials.

Likewise the door bottle holders, the huge glovebox, and the nicely supportive, sizeable rear seat. Pity about the crap pedal placement (only Ian Thorpe's size 17s could heel-and-toe), and the 3's noise issues. With improved refinement, it'd be close to a world-beater.

But it isn't far off. The 3 is great fun, great to look at, great value, and, we hope, great to own. It's the BMW of front-drive hatches, without the scary price.

* Read more about the Mazda 3 here.