Mazda3 2013 Review - International

OVERVIEW

And over the next five or 10 years there won't be a return to the popularity of large cars we've seen in the past. In fact, expect Australia's top-selling car right through to 2030 and beyond to be a small car or possibly a compact SUV. Why is that? It's because the modern small car fills the same footprint as an early six-cylinder Holden – that decades-old paradigm for what a true family car should be.

That's not just in Australia either, it's a global thing.

The modern small car, like the Mazda3 that is the subject of this review, is much better equipped, far safer and easier to own and operate than any previous family car type from the past. That's the march of technology and marketing for you.

All of this is a long way around saying that Mazda has moved the game on another several metres down the field with its new Mazda3. It may not park itself as one or two competitors in the small car segment do, but it's right up to the mark in every other respect.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

The other point working for the Mazda is its brand image, which defies gravity and is very much where the importer wants it to be. It means that the Mazda3 can be priced higher than Toyota Corolla or Hyundai i30 – as well as Ford Focus and Holden Cruze – without significant risk to its sales numbers.

Mazda is keeping very quiet indeed about the Mazda3's model hierarchy for Australia, but one thing's for certain – the SP20 model will be no more, since all 2.0-litre variants will feature SKYACTIV technology now.

We're betting the diesel variant will be a variant of its own when it arrives, but possibly sharing some equipment with the SP25 equivalent powered by the new 2.5-litre SKYACTIV petrol engine.

Mazda Australia is not committing to retaining the grade names (Neo, Maxx Sport, SP25) for the next-generation car, but nor is it ruling them out either. Apparently the local arm has been conducting market research clinics to find out what flies and what doesn't.

Since the current model structure has worked so well for Mazda Australia in the past it's probable that the importer will persist with two levels of trim powered by the 2.0-litre SKYACTIV engine. The Mazda3 Neo equivalent will remain the entry-level model, with a mid-range Maxx Sport counterpart poised between the base grade and the 2.5-litre flagship.

Look for a starting price just above $20,000 – as is the case currently. Mazda may be encouraged by the pricing of the Hyundai i30 to raise the entry-level variant's price to around $20,500, or it may stay put and capitalise on the new car's longer equipment list to wrest sales away from the Korean brand and Toyota. One thing is certain, it won't introduce the new Mazda3 at a starting price of $19,990. That has been flatly denied.

Given the state of play with other cars in the segment, expect Bluetooth with audio streaming, voice control and smartphone apps in the base model, in addition to the usual host of features expected in affordable small cars – electric windows/mirrors, remote central locking and air-conditioning.

Wheels at the entry level will likely be 16-inch steel rims, with the mid-range model moving to alloys and a Bose premium audio system. Auto-on/off headlights and rain-sensing wipers are not standard for the current Mazda3 Neo, but don't be surprised if they are incorporated as standard equipment in the new model's base level of trim.

The mid-range Mazda3 is likely to score partial leather trim (gear knob/steering wheel), satellite-navigation, dual-zone climate-control and at least some of the i-ACTIVSENSE electronic safety features; among them perhaps Blind Spot Monitoring and Smart City Brake Support.

The known unknown for the mid-range Mazda3 is whether it will inherit the full i-ACTIVSENSE package. Rumour has it that the i-ACTIVSENSE features will be offered as an optional safety package across the range, but some of the individual features may be fitted as standard at even entry level. Rear Vehicle Monitoring, a radar-based system to detect fast-approaching vehicles from behind, will not be offered in Australia.

The 2.5-litre flagship model is certain to come with most if not all of the i-ACTIVSENSE features, including High Beam Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning System and Forward Obstruction Warning, assuming these aren't also part of the standard specification for the mid-range level of trim. Leather trim is on the cards for the flagship model also.

PACKAGING

I'm not entirely convinced that the one-dial binnacle works to great effect, but perhaps it's a question of getting used to it. The tachometer on the left in basic models is harder to read than an orthodox dial.

The new Mazda3 joins a select group of small cars that can effectively accommodate adults in the rear seats. With a wheelbase stretch of 60mm and changes to the seat design in front there's now more knee room behind the driver, and adults can sit back there quite comfortably, even if the driver is over 180cm tall.

Headroom in the rear of the new Mazda3 combined with the added legroom means the new car is achieving a level of spaciousness comparable to the Suzuki Kizashi, which is nominally a mid-size sedan.

Luggage capacity, we've been told, is 408 litres for the sedan and 308 litres for the hatch.

MECHANICAL

For the present there's no word on fuel consumption or CO2 figures, but Mazda Australia management previously told motoring.com.au that the new models would be comparable to the figure of 6.1L/100km in combined-cycle testing for the current model's SP20 SKYACTIV variant.

Mazda will offer a 2.2-litre diesel in the range at some indeterminate point in the future, and there is a possibility we'll see the hybrid variant join the Aussie range also, although that will be completely contingent on the value of the Australian dollar and the landed cost of that car, which features Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive technology licensed to Mazda.

Mazda claims that the two SKYACTIV-G engines for the local range produce 10 per cent more power, with the 2.5-litre engine's torque raised as much as 15 per cent in the mid rev range. The engines are also up to 10 per cent lighter than before, contributing to reduced overall weight and fuel consumption.

Drive is transmitted to the front wheels by optimised six-speed transmissions – a manual as standard or automatic as an option. The automatic option is the same SKYACTIV-Drive transmission already offered in the current Mazda3 SP20. Fuel efficiency is aided by a damper clutch for the auto transmission's torque converter, operating from low speeds to reduce slippage.

Other features of the new Mazda3 aimed at lowering fuel consumption are an active grille shutter and i-ELOOP. The former channels air over the body rather than through the grille, thereby reducing the drag coefficient to 0.275Cd for the hatch or 0.255Cd for the sedan.

Developed originally for the Mazda6, i-ELOOP is a capacitor-based energy recovery system that converts kinetic energy from braking to electrical energy to supply the car's electrical systems. It reduces parasitic losses through the car's alternator.

Another system that serves to reduce fuel consumption is the Mazda3's electrically assisted rack-and-pinion steering – now lighter and smaller. The Mazda's underpinnings have been given a comprehensive workover, with brakes – disc on all four wheels, ventilated at the front – providing a better response, Mazda claims. Pedal feel is improved and the car stops in shorter distances, according to the manufacturer.

With further changes to the suspension, the Mazda3 is said to ride better, but with enhanced cornering and straight-line stability.

SAFETY

But crash safety has not been by any means the major focus of designers working on the new '3'. Active safety has been at the forefront of efforts to improve the small Mazda's standing in the marketplace.

With a remit to design an all-new body, the designers made sure that it was not only good-looking but good-seeing – from the driver's seat. The base of each A-pillar has been shifted rearwards 10cm and the exterior mirrors are now mounted on the door skins, also reducing blind spots from the driver's seat.

Then there are the high-tech safety features that typically don't appear in the equipment lists of vehicles priced below $40,000 as a rule. In the Mazda3, these include: High Beam Control, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning System, Forward Obstruction Warning, Smart City Brake Support and Active Cruise Control. All are bundled together under the label 'i-ACTIVSENSE'.

COMPETITORS

But Toyota's Corolla remains ahead of Mazda3 this year. The new Mazda could turn things around pretty quickly for the company. To jump in front of Corolla once more will require snatching sales from other worthy opponents, among them the Ford Focus, the Holden Cruze and the Hyundai i30.

Selling in smaller numbers but still on buyers' shopping lists are the Volkswagen Golf 7, Subaru Impreza, Honda Civic and Kia Cerato. All four are a cut above the Nissan Pulsar and aging Mitsubishi Lancer that are in the same segment as Mazda3.

ON THE ROAD

On the outward leg ‘our’ Mazda3 was a bare-bones 2.0-litre model with the six-speed manual transmission, but for the return journey the car's engine was the 2.5-litre mill driving through the six-speed automatic transmission.

We had been warned that the cars were pre-production models riding on all-seasons tyres, which won't be fitted to Australian-delivered vehicles. Making allowance for both those points, the Mazda3 in either iteration rode very well across a range of road surfaces and was generally quiet.

Curiously, there was relatively less road noise from the tyres on LA's awful freeway surfaces than on some smoother bitumen out in the sticks. An assessment of the new car's noise-insulating qualities should probably wait for its local launch or a seven-day road test on home turf. But on balance the Mazda3 was acceptably subdued more often than not.

The 2.0-litre engine struggled with some of the hills on the way to Santa Clarita – which are moderately challenging grades, it must be said. What the steeper climbs revealed was that the smaller displacement engine is a serviceable unit with linear torque, but it's not a particularly sporty engine. There's not a lot more performance to be had after 5000rpm. It will reach the redline, but faster acceleration is bound to be achieved by shifting up to the next gear long before then.

Of the two engines, the 2.5 is definitely my favourite. It is willing to rev, but gives away nothing in useable, mid-range torque. While it's no Weber-carbed Alfa four-cylinder, it certainly sounds sportier than the smaller engine. And the added power – and engine braking – enhances the whole driving experience.

The 2.5, with 18-inch alloys, rode as well as the 2.0 on its 16-inch wheels, but also felt a little more in touch with the road. There was more weight through the wheel and I was a little more confident driving it harder. That's not to take anything away from the 2.0 variant, but the 2.5 was just that much more fun.

Both variants were forgiving and communicative. Steering response was prompt indeed and leaving the braking late into a corner didn't result in push. Quite the contrary, if anything. The car's variable toe-in on the rear suspension could be felt on even fast bends on the freeway. It's a bit of a cheat in some ways, but contributed to the lively feel of the car in corners.

Even on 16-inch all-season tyres, the Mazda3 maintained a composed attitude through corners and only conveyed grip was beginning to fade with some tyre squeal at higher speeds. But... and I keep saying this, the 2.5 was more fun to drive, while the 2.0 was the 'safe' option.

Kudos to Mazda for the six-speed manual transmission, which it claims is the first all-new manual box since the 1980s. The ability to take a seat in a left-hand drive car and swap cogs right-handed without stuffing it up is a credit to the light and precise shift mechanism that proved so easy to use.

Mazda Australia tells us it is yet to sign off the final specification of the new Mazda3 for Australia, but if this one short drive indicates anything at all, it'll have a hit on its hands – and none the less so for offering drivers a 2.5-litre model with manual transmission at an affordable price.

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