Mazda3 Sedan 2019 Review

It's certainly a looker, the new Mazda3 sedan. While some prospective buyers find the styling of the hatchback confronting, the sedan gets by without the huge C pillars – and arguably looks all the more elegant for it.

Longer overall than the hatch and finished in the very handsome Soul Red Crystal metallic – a $495 option – the Mazda3 G20 Pure sedan tested looks richer than its $26,000 price tag suggests. Inside, the G20 Pure variant embraces a Peugeot-style minimalist design ethos. It's pleasing to the eye, although it's hard to overcome that feeling there should be more buttons and gadgets.

The car's air conditioning panel for the entry-level car tells the tale that you've bought the 'el cheapo' model. So too does the fabric upholstery for the seats. It's very durable and comfortable, but doesn't shout 'material wealth' to friends riding around in the car. And as good as the front seats are, for the money asked buyers might expect electric adjustment of some kind.

The same is true of the test car's manual air conditioning, which just can't provide the precise temperature setting that an automated climate control system can manage on a cold morning. It was enough to make one pine for the dual-zone climate control of the Mazda3 G20 Evolve – one level up from the G20 Pure.

Those qualms aside, however, the Mazda3 sedan does deliver nicely contoured seats (in the rear as well) and a very practical driving position. There's more than enough adjustment available in the driver's seat and the steering column to strike the right balance.

All the controls are where they should be and the wiper and indicator stalks are soft-damped for a touch of quality. The instruments are stylish but easy to read, featuring a large-format dial for the speedo in the centre, flanked by the engine temp/fuel gauge in one unit and the (smaller) tachometer on the other side. It's a little more conventional in looks than the previous Mazda3's instrument layout.

A new, larger infotainment tablet looks better integrated in the dash than that of the previous model's. And the ability to change or adjust functions by touching the screen is not missed.

Also on the plus side, the Mazda3 G20 Pure is very well equipped with high-tech features like a reversing camera with rear parking sensors, intelligent high-beam assist, forward collision warning, lane keep assist and AEB (autonomous emergency braking). You won't get all that in your typical $25,000 small car from Europe...

Things look a bit poverty-stricken in the Mazda3's rear seat though. Again, one is reminded that this is the new entry-level model and Mazda Australia has made some product-planning concessions to keep the price down and still offer advanced driver-assist technology.

There are no adjustable vents in the rear, no USB or 12V ports and no folding centre armrest for rear-seat passengers in this grade. While the storage bins in the rear doors can accommodate smaller plastic bottles and are relatively useful, there's nothing to hold cups securely in place for the kids.

As for adults, taller passengers may find the accommodation in the rear of the Mazda3 a bit tight. Headroom is fine for adults of average height or below, as is the car's kneeroom, but gangly teenagers will miss room to stretch out, even with space under the front seats to place the feet.

Boot space is a major selling point for the Mazda3 sedan, as opposed to the shorter hatchback variants. That sort of capacity (444 litres) is just 30 litres less than the boot space of the larger Mazda6 sedan. Mazda has achieved this in its small-car package by various measures, including a space-saver spare under the floor. But the luggage capacity of the sedan is average at best, when compared with other small sedans. Honda's Civic does better, as do the Hyundai Elantra, the Kia Cerato and even the Subaru Impreza.

Unfortunately, also, the boot space of the Mazda3 is compromised by old-fashioned gooseneck hinges for the boot lid. On the upside, however, the boot lid is reasonably light in weight and easy to open and close – with an electric switch under the Mazda badge outside, and a functional hand grip inside the lid.

Unlatched from inside the boot, the seats fold down almost flat and open up a through-loading aperture to liberate space for transporting longer items.

The 2.0-litre engine of the Mazda3 G20 Pure produces more torque than the median for small cars around the same price, and peak torque is right in the mid-range, where it's desirable in urban environments. But it takes a decent prod of the accelerator to goad the Mazda3 into action with traffic bearing down on you when you pull out of a side street.

The engine feels slow to respond in the car's default powertrain mode. It's a lot livelier in the Sport mode however, but in terms of top-end power it's not that brisk and can sound a little coarse – although not as coarse as some direct rivals from Korean brands.

The Mazda powerplant is much happier at low revs rather than wailing away up around the 6500rpm redline. Keep it in the mid-range and everything is fine. The engine produces a burbling bass note without labouring or struggling when the transmission holds revs down to as low as roughly 1200 rpm. At 100 km/h, the engine was completely inaudible, with just 1900rpm showing on the tachometer. Only a slight rustling wind and some tyre noise disturbed the serenity in the cabin.

While Mazda offers the entry-level variant with a six-speed manual transmission, the vehicle tested came with a six-speed automatic, which adds $1000 to the purchase price. The automatic is a competent unit, shifting smoothly even in sport mode, and providing almost immediate response when shifting manually. At this level the Mazda3 doesn't come with shift paddles.

Being a very young car – under 600km on the odometer at the beginning of the week – the Mazda3 produced fuel economy figures that were respectable, but not outstanding. In fact, this particular car wasn't as economical as the previous model Mazda3 tested for a comparison last year against Kia's Cerato.

On a 70km test loop the trip computer posted a fuel consumption figure of 8.0L/100km, and the Mazda3 finished the week on 8.7L/100km. That's in the right ballpark at least, helped by the Mazda's very slick idle-stop system, and a better result overall than one or two rivals. Where the Mazda really shines is on the open road, however, where the figure quickly falls below 6.0L/100km.

In a straight line, the Mazda3's steering is light but not highly communicative. A run in the mid-spec Mazda3 Touring a week later suggests the problem may rest with the choice of 16-inch alloys and Yokohama tyres for the entry-level model. The higher-grade Mazda3 was easier to hold on track riding on 18-inch wheels and Bridgestone tyres.

On-centre feedback aside, the new Mazda3 has made a significant step forward in driving dynamics over the previous model. The steering is quite precise when you start hurling the Mazda3 around, and feedback is better once there's some lateral load on the tyre.

Roadholding is incrementally better, body control is much improved, and none of the improvements are to the detriment of ride comfort, which is acceptably supple in this variant.

The Mazda's roadholding is now on par with the Kia Cerato we compared against the previous generation Mazda3, and there's little to pick between the new Mazda3 and the Cerato for cornering ability.

The Mazda3's handling is very secure and, once committed to a corner, the car encourages the driver to push on harder with mild understeer evident when the power is applied.

Throttle back into the corner and the Mazda3 adopts a very stable and flat attitude, with some semblance of oversteer. There's significantly less body roll in this new Mazda3 than we recall for the previous model. Complementing the car's cornering, the Mazda3's brakes are dependably strong and the firm pedal underfoot is reassuring.

As mentioned already, the Mazda3 G20 Pure was equipped as standard with traffic sign recognition, forward collision warning, lane-keep assist, intelligent high-beam assist and active cruise control. Overall, the traffic sign recognition worked to specification, but was occasionally caught out by quirks of Australia's road network.

At least, as most of these systems do, the Mazda system always errs on the side of caution, displaying the lower speed limit.

With the adaptive cruise control set the Mazda3 was frequently hunting around for the right gear and the right speed while negotiating bends on country roads. At first it seemed like the radar was detecting trees or Armco on the outside of the corner and slowing the car pre-emptively. But setting the radar for the shortest range had no effect on the car's inclination to drop speed and kick down to another gear around the apex or on the exit.

The issue was, in fact, a case of an over-reactive speed-limiter function that would reduce throttle on the way into a corner at the bottom of an incline. Then, mid-corner, the cruise control would be raising the speed again by kicking down a gear and feeding more fuel into the engine, because the road had levelled out and was now heading uphill and the car had washed off too much speed in the bend. I can't recall any car with a cruise control that has been quite so unsettled in its operation.

In contrast, the forward collision warning is not over-reactive; nor is the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, although there were a few occasions when the on-board safety robots were audibly demanding I leave more room when changing lanes and the lane-keep assist system did seem to struggle picking line markings on a wet road surface or a typical country road. Of course, that's probably true of most cars fitted with this type of system.

There's no denying that the Mazda3 G20 Pure is very well equipped where active safety is concerned. And for the occasional quirk, there's the excellent headlights with the intelligent high-beam assist to compensate. The bundled technology is good value, overall, in a car that is priced from around $25,000. Little wonder then that ANCAP has awarded the Mazda3 sedan (and the hatch) a five-star safety rating for 2019.

That's probably the Mazda3's trump card, and one of the stand-out reasons it won our recent small-car comparison.

How much does the 2019 Mazda3 G20 Pure sedan cost?
Price: $26,485 (as tested, plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 114kW/200Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.1L/100km (ADR Combined), 8.0L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 144g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2019)