I had this Mazda on test just before Christmas, hence the delay in getting the road test report written. Fortunately for the duration of the test we had the last of the reasonable weather before the rain, slush, snow and ice of the Christmas period. This latest Mazda 3 is a comfortable, spacious and good looking car.
Power is provided by a 1.6 litre, turbocharged, direct injection diesel engine, driving a five speed manual gearbox. Its engine is modestly tuned, yet it can still deliver a top speed of 187 kph (116 mph) with 0-100 kph acceleration in 11.0 seconds. Of even better news is the fact that its combined cycle fuel consumption is an excellent 62 mpg (4.5 lt/100 km), with exhaust emissions of 119 gm/km, allowing it to slip into Irish road tax band A, with an annual charge, at present rates, of 104 Euro. On the urban cycle it is credited with 48 mpg (5.8 lt/100 km), which is very satisfactory. On the extra urban cycle, the official figures quote 74 mpg (3.8 lt/100 km). Certainly from a performance and fuel consumption point of view, I had no complaints regarding this Mazda.

Inside it was attractively laid out from a driving point of view. The leather rimmed steering wheel had a good high quality feel. It was geared to give three turns from lock to lock, making the car easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces, yet out on the open road, it had a precise well controlled feel. The main instrument binnacle had two large analogue dials, with white lettering on black faces. Between these two instruments there was a digital panel that gave other useful information. In addition, at the top centre of the facia, there was another digital information panel, that was clearly visible to both driver and passengers. The left hand horizontal arm of the steering wheel also housed additional audio controls, while the right hand arm had controls for the instrument and information system settings. The audio system had pride of place, below the two central air vents at the top of the centre console. Three rotary switches below that controlled all the various functions of the air-conditioning system. The driver’s door armrest had the electric window controls, central locking switch and the adjustments for the heated, electrically operated, rear view mirrors. The five speed gearchange, had a smooth and precise feel, making the car both relaxing and a pleasure to drive.
In the modern manner, the braking system incorporated anti-lock, electronic force distribution, emergency brake assist plus traction control and worked in conjunction with a dynamic stability control system. The car was fitted with ventilated discs at the front and plain discs at the rear.
If I do have a concern, it is that, like so many other cars today, this Mazda comes with a Spacesaver spare wheel. While this is certainly better than no spare at all, it does limit you when touring or when towing a trailer of any kind.
Talking of trailers, this Mazda 3 can tow braked trailers/caravans of up to 1300 kg in weight, or unbraked trailers of up to 600 kg. That should be more than satisfactory for most normal family needs. Its enclosed luggage space is a similarly satisfactory, for a car of this segment, 0.430 cubic metres. If that is insufficient for your holiday needs, you can carry up to 75 kg in a suitable container on the roof. That 75 kg includes the weight of the container and its necessary fittings and mountings.

The rear seat backrest is split 60/40 to allow additional awkwardly sized items of equipment to be carried, as the occasion demands. The centre section is harder and more firmly padded than the two seats on either side, which does make a fifth passenger less comfortable than those on either side. If your rear seat passengers are adults, it is better to limit their number to two and lower the folding centre armrest, thus offering more comfort and convenience. Also, as the armrest and storage box, between the two front seats, extends backwards into the rear footwells, kneeroom and footroom for a centrally seated, rear adult passenger, is considerably reduced.

Above left : Normal luggage space --------------- Above right : Additional luggage space

Currently Mazda give a three years/100,000 km warranty, with three years roadside assistance, plus a three years paintwork cover. Their anti-perforation warranty is for 12 years. Servicing is recommended at intervals of 20,000 km (12,000 miles) or one year, whichever comes first. The other big advantage is that road tax band A classification, which means that this spacious, comfortable, attractive, economical to operate, medium sized family car, can be bought as part of a scrappage trade-in. Under their scrappage deal, Mazda is offering 3,500 euro off any car traded-in under the terms of the governments’ scrappage scheme. This makes this new Mazda 3, 1.6 diesel saloon even more attractively priced.

Technical data