Mazda3 SP25 Hatch 2009 Review

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $30,690
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): N/A
Crash rating: Five-star ANCAP
Fuel: 91 RON E10 suitable
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 8.6L/100km
CO2 emissions (g/km): 204
Also consider: Volkswagen Golf 118 TSI, Ford Focus Zetec

About our ratings

Mazda is one of the style leaders of Japanese mass market brands. The Mazda6 and Mazda3, in particular, are leading the pack in terms of head-turning looks.

Though it helps (a lot!) a pretty car does not always translate to a sale. This begs the question, is the Mazda3 SP25 more than just a pretty face?

For an in-depth look at all the bits and pieces behind the range, check out our local launch review of the Mazda3. Meantime, if you're looking at getting into the $30K-something Mazda3 SP25, which replaces the SP23, you're in the right place.

Initial impressions were very favourable. I strapped in, adjusted the mirrors and managed to engage first gear without losing any limbs or destroying any property and the ambiance inside the car is suitably hip.

Like a fashionable new nightclub, the Mazda3 has a thoroughly trendy look and feel that includes some clever ambient lighting. Whenever you change the stereo volume, for instance, glowing lights on the centre console pulse and a similar effect occurs when you change the temperature settings. Sure, these features don't make the drive any better but they do add character and give the car a certain charm.

In general the interior of the Mazda3 SP25 is fairly good. Some of the plastics did feel a little cheap -- as though Mazda is cutting corners here and there -- but other aspects were very impressive. The central rotary dial on stereo is nice and large, good for quickly flicking through files on MP3 CDs and the layout of controls is fairly logical.

The steering wheel is a bit busy though, festooned with enough buttons to confuse an air-traffic controller, and in my opinion cruise control is in the wrong place on the steering wheel. It should be on the face (where the nav/menu controls are), not tucked away between the spokes. I used the cruise control a lot more than the nav during my week long test. I suppose given a few more weeks I'd get used to the clunky placement.

Standard on the SP25 and Maxx Sport Mazda3 models, the satnav system works well, despite the only input coming from the small steering wheel controls. That said, the LCD satnav screen is small. It's about the size of an aftermarket Tom Tom or Garmin system, but because it's recessed further away than a windscreen mounted unit, it can make you squint sometimes. Older drivers may find it less than ideal.

No problems with the seating position, but the interior is not without fault -- for starters there's no dedicated mobile phone cubby (a big no-no when this car is marketed at techno savvy generations X and Y) and only the driver's side window gets an automatic up/down function. The similarly-priced Ford Focus Zetec gets automatic up/down electric windows on all four doors.

The interior is fairly spacious, with enough room for four large adults (just!). The boot is a cracker -- with 300 litres of cargo space, you can fit in a lot of junk (we managed to fit a boxed 42-inch LCD TV in the boot with room to spare) and the split-fold rear seats setup is very good, effortless to unhitch and fold down.

Despite measuring 4.49 metres long and 1.75 metres wide – getting ever closer to medium car size – the Mazda3 SP25 still feels like a small car to drive. One of the chief reasons here is the responsive steering and tight turning circle of 10.9 metres, kerb to kerb.

It's a very practical city runabout, even with the 6-speed manual gearbox, and for a mid-sized 2.5-litre engine it's not too thirsty either.

At the end of the seven day test, during which we covered a smidge over 900km (about two thirds of which was freeway cruising), we had used an average of 8.7L/100km, which compares very well with the claimed 8.6L/100km figure. Bombing along the freeway, the Mazda3 sat at 100km/h in sixth gear with the engine ticking over at 2450rpm.

As an everyday runabout the SP25 works well. With the same chassis as the rest of the Mazda3 range, it has a smooth ride, absorbing 90 per cent of pot holes and road imperfections, and the car's handling is above average as well. That said, it is a bit of shame the 'sporty' SP25 model doesn't have a slightly stiffer suspension tune. Nonetheless, after a few runs through tight and twisty roads up in the hills, the Japanese hatch held up relatively well.

The steering is responsive, but the rev head within me wanted more. The power steering assistance makes it feel a little too light and tends to mask what the front wheels are doing. It does deliver progressive turn-in but is more suited to commuting and urban driving than break-neck hill climbs.

The electronic stability program or ESP system chimes in quite early, but it's not so intrusive that it ruins the fun.

Apart from the hot-stuff body kit and tasty 17-inch alloy wheels (fitted with 205/50 R17 tyres), the main difference between the Mazda3 SP25 and its 2.0-litre siblings is the larger engine. Propelled by a more powerful 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol mill, the SP25 cranks out 122kW at 6000rpm and 227Nm at 4000rpm -- an increase of 14kW, but more importantly 45Nm.

This extra twist comes in handy not only during general driving (you don't have to change gears as frequently as the 2.0-litre manual) but in the windy stuff as well.

The engine pulls well from low revs but for rapid progress it still needs to be spinning above 3000rpm. It's a fairly smooth thing but doesn't wind out as rapidly as some Japanese warm hatches.

Despite what are relatively narrow tyres, the SP25 has good grip levels and on most surfaces feels well balanced. As the suspension isn't supercar stiff, it'll absorb all but the most evil of mid-corner bumps.

The SP25 is not a hot hatch per se, more of warm one in a performance car's clothing.

Having driven a standard 2.0-litre manual Mazda3 before testing the SP25, I was a bit surprised to find that the difference in acceleration was marked. Perhaps this can be put down to the increased weight the extra kW and Nm must lug around -- the SP25 is around 80kg heavier than the base car.

At the end of the day, the Mazda3 SP25 is very charming hatchback with few major drawbacks.

The car's sharp style is still one of the standout designs in the small car segment, but in answer to our original question: yes, the SP25 is more than just a pretty face. This neatly engineered vehicle is expected to make up roughly a quarter of all Mazda3 sales in Australia and it's not hard to see why.

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