Mazda3 Sedan 2009 Review

3volution of the species

Same again, only better. That's the essential mantra when you're re-birthing any significantly successful model these days. Especially when it's a model that accounts for a third of the company's entire sales, as is the case with the Mazda 3.

Having accumulated two million sales around the world since its 2003 debut (January 2004 in Australia), the original Mazda 3 has emphatically defied sales gravity by sustaining remarkably constant and buoyant popularity, even in the current twilight of its career.

Revealed publicly at November's Los Angeles motor show, the second-generation Mazda 3 reaches US showrooms in January as a four-door sedan, with five-door hatch to follow a few months later. By then, both versions will be nearing their May/June joint release in Australia.

For an inkling of what's ahead, we previewed the US-spec sedan in California. The Americans get 2.0-litre 3i and 2.5-litre 3s models. The smaller engine has a five-speed manual transmission as standard, while the larger unit sports a six-speed. However, for Australia, both engines will be backed by six-speeders. Like Australia's out-going SP23, the 3s offers an optional five-speed auto, which the formerly four-speed auto 2.0-litre now also adopts. Ditto Australia.

Interestingly, the 2.0-litre engine's 110kW/183Nm outputs are near as dammit the same as our existing 2.0's 108kW/182Nm figures, but Mazda claims the more important difference is found in lower fuel consumption. In concert with the car's reduced rolling resistance and improved aerodynamic properties, not least a slippery 0.29Cd drag coefficient, the new 2.0 is said to be up to 10 percent more efficient than its predecessor in highway driving.

Appropriately, for an engine surely slated to inherit the SP23's crown, the 2.5-litre version makes no bones about being even more muscular than the well-endowed 2.3-litre we're familiar with. Putting 124kW and 227Nm at your disposal, the 2.5 comprehensively shades its smaller sibling's 115kW/203Nm outputs, while also bringing skinnier fuel consumption into the equation.

Regardless of the respective engine characteristics, both models drive impressively well.

Although the kerb weight is up by about 50 to 60kg according to model and spec level, you wouldn't guess it from the performance and driving dynamics.

As expected, the 2.5-litre engine gives the 3 plenty of oomph and accentuates the car's intrinsically sporty character. But it doesn't fall into the big-and-brawny trap that snares your average big four-bangers. On the contrary, even as you flex the 2.5's muscles and enjoy the ease with which it revs, or exploit its gear-ratio-ignoring tractability from low speeds, the unblemished smoothness and comparative quietness are unmistakable.

The everyman's 2.0-litre is no duffer either. Thanks to improved refinement, the smaller engine spins even more responsively and more crisply while making perceptibly less fuss. Since the breadth of the manual 2.0's performance is scarcely compromised (if at all) by the US-spec five-speed 'box, it's likely to be better with the six ratios we'll get here.

Given Mazda's deserved reputation for first-class chassis engineering and driving dynamics, it comes as no surprise that the new 3 handles with distinction. Still, the real eye-opener is not so much that it carves through corners with great grip and a radiant sense of handling balance, more that it does so without impinging upon the admirably supple ride quality or inflicting stern body control.

The well-weighted steering's subtle, but tangible sense of connection, its directional integrity and the pointedly responsive turn-in are point-scoring qualities in their own right. But in the new 3 they share top billing with the car's perceptibly quieter running and the tightness and tautness of the body, almost regardless of road conditions.

Changes to the 3's braking system amount to tweaks to a package that includes front and rear rotors and calipers carried over from the previous car. That said, the 3 offers an almost clean sweep in the dynamics department.

However, one question unanswered by the preview drive is the road-noise issue; an aspect where the out-going model wasn't renowned. LA and its environs certainly have their share of 'loud' surfaces, none of which noticeably raise the aural ire of either the base or upmarket 3s to noxious levels. Even so, the car's response to Australia's notoriously growly coarse-chip roads remains to be seen.

Visually, the already top-scoring 3 has risen to another level in the styling stakes. Based on an evolutionary version of the C1 platform shared with Ford's Focus and the Volvo S40, the new 3 shows why Mazda again resets the meter for compact-car visual appeal. Its lines embody degrees of automotive artistry, proportion, confidence and attention to detail ordinarily reserved for larger, costlier models.

Although the door openings are reminders of the superseded model, they're actually quite different. And no body panels carry over to the new models.

While the wheelbase and body width are unchanged from the original, the 3i and 3s are 115mm and 95mm longer than their respective forerunners, and 5mm taller. Fractionally wider in the tracks, too.

The latest bodyshell is a thoroughly revised structure; stiffer and stronger than before, yet virtually no heavier thanks to techniques and expertise learned during the development of the Mazda 6. Besides using thicker and/or higher tensile metal in strategic places, the shell's many joints benefit from precision welding, complemented in places by being bonded with structural adhesives.

The new 3's interior is invitingly hospitable. Mazda makes no secret of its intent to secure the 3 at the top of the class, in part by including more features and more sophistication.

Thus, the cabin's attractions include soft-touch materials, also large, legible instruments with look-at-me luminescent markings. Atop the centre stack, a multi-information panel displays trip computer and audio info, as well as the optional navigation system. The features and equipment vary with the spec level of course, and will vary again from US to Australia. For example, US models with electric driver's seat have three-person memory settings, a class first.

Another touch welcomes occupants with footwell and door-handle lighting, followed by brightening of the instrumentation, centre stack and other controls. Adjusting the audio or air-con causes the control's illumination to pulse momentarily in recognition.

Where the base versions have conventional central locking and turn-key ignition, the 3s models' keyless electronic entry system is accompanied by a pushbutton engine starter.

What it all means is that Australian motorists and keen drivers can look forward to the evolved Mazda 3 with renewed anticipation.