Mazda3 2.0 Hatchback Review

One - "I will slow down occasionally so the public can get a clear view of my car."

Two - "I will never scoff at the physical shortcomings of other cars."

These are just a few of the "pledges" which new Mazda3 owners will have to take when buying their car. And there's a very good reason for it - the car is that good.

The front of the new Mazda3 has "Furai" delicately smudged all over, its side profile proudly displays a sporty gradient flowing up to the rear, where it's met by even more aggressive tail lamps and a jutting bumper.

But its face is where all the action is.

Like the madly-styled Mazda Furai, much of its cues are focussed at the front lower end - below the headlamps. On the Mazda3, that's where its new front grille lies, like a huge smile. The little fog lamps are housed in fast, upward-swooping corner vents, further emphasising the Furai's "Sound of the Wind" design philosophy.

Sadly, it doesn't have the concept car's 450 hp Wankel engine. Instead, it comes with a 148 hp 2.0-litre inline-four engine, now mated to a five-speed automatic.

Accelerating from standstill to 100 km/h takes 10.6 seconds. Keep your foot down and the fat hatch will get to a top speed of 205 km/h.

But that's not as important as the way it handles - beautiful.
It's front-wheel driven with the same chassis as before - with a 2,640 mm wheelbase. But Mazda's engineers have stiffened the whole structure with more liberal use of high strength steels and as a result, a better chassis on the whole.

The car's suspension further adds to the focus on handling, using updated MacPherson struts at the front and multi-links at its rear. A torsion beam could have been introduced, thus cutting costs and increasing the rear trunk's capacity. Thankfully though, Mazda remained steadfast to their goals, resulting in the new 3 being able to put a smile on your face whenever you charge through a corner.

Inside, the same philosophy continues.

Sports seats hug your body as you "Zoom Zoom" and paddle-shifters behind the wheel reinforce the car's sporty characteristics.

Unfortunately, the multi-function steering wheel is still too cluttered with buttons, and pushing with the thumbs to downshift just doesn't excite as much as a quick tug at a paddle on the left. The five-speed automatic changes gears smoothly, but would make the whole package feel more complete with slightly faster shift times.
Piloting the Mazda through a tight series of bends, you might find yourself accidentally changing your audio tracks or volume, if not downshifting unintentionally.

It's a bit of a pity that it might distract enthusiastic drivers from feeling entirely in control, but the car's lively response should keep most smiling.

Its build quality isn't too shabby, either. The centre console may look a little dated, but it's still an improvement over the outgoing model and the build quality remains a notch higher than other Japanese counterparts.

Little has been changed for its rear leg room, though. Still an issue for those on the tall side, not much has been done to improve its seats.

Further back, its protruding bumper provides the illusion of a car with much larger dimensions. In fact, its boot, with seats up, only offers 340 litres of space. Fold the seats down and you get an extra 1,020 litres.

The Mazda3's dimensions may have grown slightly, but the engineers wanted to create a lighter car, through the use of better materials and placing other components on a diet. And they succeeded. In total, its weight has gone down by fifteen kilogrammes.

What hasn't gone down, unfortunately, is its fuel consumption. Even with a conservative right foot, the car's information display showed an average consumption of about 11 litres per 100 km.

Despite that, it remains an attractive car to own.

It's blessed with good looks and impressive handling, and an overall feel that's less Japanese and more European. Along with its S$85,988 price tag, you get things like dual-zone air-conditioning and adaptive bi-xenon headlamps, keyless entry and a start button, multi-function steering wheel and a factory fitted body kit.

With such a price, it's anyone's guess if the new Mazda3 will continue to sell well, or if market conditions will blow it away, leaving only the sound of the wind.