Mazda3 G20 Touring hatch 2024 Review

Hiroshima-based Mazda helps make the decision between hatch and sedan variants of the Mazda3 easier by equipping and pricing both identically.

Our test car is the 2.0-litre-only G20 Touring hatch, priced before on-road costs at $36,990, and a competitor for the $39,100 Toyota Corolla ZR hybrid hatch, Kia Cerato GT hatch ($36,860) and the $36,000 Hyundai i30 N-Line hatch.

For Mazda3 buyers wanting more punch and willing to forego some cabin luxuries, the G25 Evolve SP model starts at the same $36,990 as the G20 Touring but gets the bigger 139kW/252Nm 2.5-litre Skyactiv engine without the G20 Touring’s part-leather trim and powered driver’s seat. The G25 engine is also standard equipment on the Mazda3 GT and Astina.

The Mazda3’s premium-status leanings are implied by the standard inclusion, across all variants, of

features such as embedded satellite navigation, a wide central colour infotainment screen, a head-up display and keyless push-button starting. Standard Mazda3 features also include an eight-speaker audio system, air conditioning with vents for the rear passengers, and self-dipping LED headlights.

Standard equipment from Touring-spec upwards – but optional on Pure and Evolve models – is the Vision Technology pack that lifts safety levels with the addition of four-camera 360-degree parking views, a larger, smartphone-friendly 10.25-inch widescreen colour display, driver-monitoring, front cross-traffic alert and front parking sensors.

Also standard on the Mazda3 Touring are part-leather upholstery and a powered driver’s seat with two-position memory settings, but there’s no heating function.

The warranty is basically industry-standard, with five years/unlimited km of cover backed by roadside assist for the full warranty period.

Servicing is due every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, and Mazda covers its bets by quoting estimated, rather than fixed servicing costs.

On this basis, owners can expect to pay an estimated $3,181 in servicing costs for seven years or 105,000km. That’s an average of $455 per workshop visit, the highest individual cost being $626 for a major service at 90,000km and the lowest, $346 at 15,000km, 75,000km and 105,000km.

The Mazda3 hatch and sedan scored a five-star ANCAP rating in 2019 with a maximum eight points earned for full-width frontal impact, side impact and oblique pole impact, and four points for city autonomous emergency braking (AEB) functions. At 7.71 points out of a possible eight, the Mazda3 scored well in frontal offset collision testing, as well as whiplash protection, for which it earned 1.83 points out of a possible two.

The overall score was boosted significantly by Mazda’s inbuilt secondary safety systems – high and low-speed AEB, pedestrian avoidance, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, tyre pressure monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. All of this was helped further by the Vision technology pack’s inclusion of front parking sensors – complementing the standard rear sensors – plus the addition of cross-traffic alert for the front as well as the back, driver attention detection, and auto-dimming interior and driver-side mirrors. There is also a full array of front, rear and side cameras feeding the high-res, in-cabin screen on the dash panel – and counteracting the Madza3 hatchback’s compromised rearward vision.

The Mazda3 has seven airbags – including a diver’s kneebag – but does not include a front-centre bag to protect front-seat passengers from each other in a side-on collision.

Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, as well as a wireless phone charging pad, are standard in all Mazda3 variants, as are two USB-C ports in the centre console.

A reflective head-up display on the windscreen, and a bigger 10.25-inch screen as seen on CX-5 and CX-8 Mazdas, are also standard on Mazda3 from the Touring grade upwards.

The 2.0-litre G20 engine – but not the 2.5-litre G25 – employs cylinder deactivation to assist with fuel economy.

Updated in May 2023 with cylinder deactivation and improvements to the combustion process, the normally-aspirated 2.0-litre G20 Skyactiv four-cylinder engine is the only powerplant available for the Mazda3 Touring.

The 114kW/200Nm outputs are relatively strong given its capacity, but they are not at the same levels as the 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo shared between the N Line Premium Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato GT competition.

The outcome of that is the hatch version of the Mazda3 Touring isn’t quite as favourably endowed as its more powerful rivals, despite its relatively lightweight at 1342kg, and nor is the Mazda as economical as the Toyota hybrid.

More power means more thirst. Compared with the G20-engined Mazda, the higher outputs of the Hyundai i30 N Line Premium and Kia Cerato GT bring fuel economy penalties: The Mazda3 G20 Touring hatch claims a combined 5.9L/100km; the Hyundai and Kia are quoted respectively at 7.1L/100km and 6.8L/100km (the hybrid Corolla ZR, though mustering a pallid 103kW, boasts a combined fuel consumption of 4.0L/100km).

Reflecting the G20’s new cylinder-deactivation system and improvements to the combustion process that came with the latest Mazda3 update in May 2023, the Mazda3 Touring hatch gains an 0.3L/100km advantage over the previous G20 engine, with the sedan slightly better still at 5.8L/100km. Mazda says the 2023 changes also brought lower C02 emissions.

In real-time, our Mazda3 Touring hatch didn’t come close to matching the official fuel consumption figure; the test vehicle recorded 8.0L/100km over a week of varying conditions. We suspect, with due attention, that the G20 Mazda3 could do a bit better.

Although the Mazda3 Touring hatch is unarguably tight and communicative on the road, with well-controlled though slightly firmish damping and reasonably quick and reactive steering (2.8 turns from lock to lock with a fairly tight 10.6-metre turning circle), it’s not quite Euro-style in its overall ride and handling finesse.

It’s fair to say though that the ride, for most of us, is absorbent enough to deal comfortably with indifferently-surfaced roads. The steering is sufficiently communicative and the ventilated-disc front, and solid-disc rear braking system is strong enough to help thread through the twists and turns with accuracy and confidence.

Of course, there’s only so much that can be done with 114kW and 200Nm, and the auto transmission, though crisp, smooth and paddle-shiftable, is still only a six-speeder. But the 2.0-litre engine’s underlying and at times vocal pluckiness is enough to make the small Mazda hatch feel anything but inadequate.

That said, there’s continued talk about a gutsier, AWD 186kW/434Nm 2.5-litre turbo Mazda3 to rival the Toyota Corolla GR and Volkswagen Golf R. The main problem is that it’s currently built in left-hand-drive form only.

If there was any particular aspect of today’s Mazda3, regardless of model, that draws especially favourable reactions, it’s the work put into the cabin. Here is where the whole premium-aspirant focus is at its sharpest.

From the stylishly restrained, elegant architecture to the choice of materials, the functionality, and the consideration for passenger comfort, the small Mazda is a lesson in how to be visually attractive without being too flamboyant. There’s nothing flashy about the Mazda3’s cabin, but there’s plenty of pure class. And Mazda’s avoidance of distractive touch-screen technology in favour of tactile buttons is to be absolutely applauded.

There are some things about the Mazda3 hatch that are less than outstanding though: The line of driver-vision towards the rear three-quarter view is very constrained because of the narrowness of the kicked-up window line and the thick C-pillars; the back-seat legroom is not generous, and the boot feels less than the claimed 295 litres.

In terms of load-carrying function, the five-door Mazda3 makes the versatility of a hatchback an essential, not a side benefit. Although the 73 per cent of Mazda3 buyers who opt for the hatch version might disagree, practical considerations suggest the Mazda3 sedan, with its reasonable 444-litre boot, just might be the better option.

Unless your choice of a small car is dictated by its ability to accommodate a load of full-size adult passengers in comfort, along with their luggage, the Mazda3 Touring hatch is right up there as a leading contender in the small car segment.

If the swoopy, coupe-like, ultra-clean styling doesn’t convince you, the sublime interior (despite its back-seat and driver-visibility shortcomings) just might. It looks at its slinky best in darker shades from the Mazda3 palette, particularly Machine Grey – although it’s unquestionably an eye-catcher in Mazda’s vibrant Soul Red hero colour.

The Mazda3 Touring hatch is a composed and rewarding drive too, the willing 2.0-litre Skyactiv engine nicely vocal, as well as economical.

If there is a more charming entrant in the small-car segment, we’ve obviously forgetting someone.

2024 Mazda3 G20 Touring hatch at a glance:

Price: $36,670 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 114kW/200Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 136g/km
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP Year 2019

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