Mazda3 Sedan Touring 2014 Long-term test - 2

The Mazda3 long-term sedan has quickly become popular among the motoring.com.au staff for its combination of size, value and efficiency. From P-platers to young families, the Mazda3 range offers something for everyone… it’s no wonder they sell so many of them

The task in front of the Mazda3 Touring 2.0 Sedan long-termer is ostensibly simple: Transport my wife to her office and my two-year-old daughter to and from childcare, on the way to her next fairy party.

It doesn’t get any more real-world than this.

The first thing I notice is the choice of ISOFIX or traditional anchorage points for the baby seat, making installation relatively straight-forward.

Once installed, however, I pick up on something that Ken Gratton alluded to in his long-term introduction of the popular small car: a relative lack of rear-seat room. Even with the front passenger seat pushed forward, it’s a tighter foot-fit for my daughter than I would have expected.

During the course of our commutes, other items make themselves known. Firstly, the Bluetooth connection’s capability to display text messages on the interior screen is welcome (something I wouldn’t notice without my wife in the car) and the attributes of the safety pack.

At $1500, it includes an electrochromatic mirror, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and smart city brake support.

While I agree with Ken that it would be complete with reverse parking sensors, the blind-spot monitoring, which ‘beeps’ when you indicate for a dangerous lane-change, is a welcome fixture. But I question whether this further diminishes the driver’s traditional need to head-check effectively.

In that urban jungle, the upswept exterior line that reduces driver vision through the rear-side windows is frustrating at times, as is the relatively small rear windscreen opening, but at 408 litres (compared to 308 in the hatch) there has to be a price to pay for storage.

Under acceleration there’s no doubt you miss the power and torque of the larger 2.5-litre petrol four-pot also available in the 3, however. this smaller unit remains keen enough to respond to throttle inputs and enjoys revving.

More curiously, the six-speed automatic lacks smoothness at times, say when picking up the accelerator post-roundabout, where there’s a slight delay as the torque converter locks up and drags the appropriate gear.

In coming into those roundabouts, the over-powered brake pedal makes for slightly jerky progress, though your foot can adapt with familiarity.

When asked to turn corners, the Mazda3 reveals a fine combination of ride, handling and steering response. The suspension also does a good job of smoothing bumps out at speed, and there appears to be less road noise transmitted through to the cabin than in the hatch, though it is still well behind the benchmark Volkswagen Golf in this regard.

Our time with the Mazda3 made it easy for us to ‘feel’ it was our car, especially if the baby seat was swapped for a booster or removed. As an ownership proposition it has a lot going for it, being efficient, well-equipped, comfortable (though a little noisy), dynamic and reliable.

What more could you want for the everyday?

2014 Mazda Mazda3 Touring pricing and specifications:
Price: $28,990 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 114kW/200Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.7L/100km (ADR combined)
CO2: 134g/km (ADR combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP)

Also consider:
>>Toyota Corolla
>> Ford Focus
>> Hyundai i30