There it was at last, on the test track and ready to be driven – two examples of the all-new Mazda3. You get an idea how important the all-new ‘3’ is to Mazda that we’re driving these prototypes in Australia months ahead of the first quarter 2014 launch.
So we don’t know the price and we don’t know the model grades but now - after a brief steer at the Anglesea test track near Melbourne – CarShowroom.com.au can confirm the all-new Mazda3 is excellent. It’s easily the best Mazda3 so far and that’s the best compliment ever because the current generation is one of the best small cars we’ve driven.
Speaking of the current Mazda3, if you ‘not-negotiable’ have to buy a small car now…well priced from $19,990, the Mazda3 in runout looks big-time enticing.
The all-new Mazda3 is going on-sale right now in major Northern Hemisphere markets and word from Mazda is the new model’s boost should see the Japanese giant secure global sales of 1.335-million vehicles this year. Already so far Mazda sales are up in Europe by 21 per-cent and by 12 per-cent in North America.
As we know, locally Mazda (driven primarily by the hot-selling Mazda3, Mazda2, Mazda6, Mazda CX-5 and Mazda BT50) is going gangbusters – the number three best-selling brand (and leading full-line importer) on-track for record sales this year of 105,000 vehicles and a market share around 9.2 per-cent.
2014 Mazda3 Overview
Obviously Mazda doesn’t want to tell the whole Mazda3 story this far out from launch. But here are three things we can tell you: the all-new Mazda3 will be available in sedan and hatchback models; the current $19,990 ‘driveaway’ runout starting price won’t carry-over to the all-new model; the model names will not be too dissimilar to the current lineup.
‘Neo’, ‘Maxx Sport’, ‘MZR-CD’, ‘SP20’, ‘SP25’ and ‘MPS’ are the current Mazda3 models. Not giving the game away entirely, Mazda Australia’s marketing boss Alastair Doak said the new model names would be ‘tweaked’ but no complete re-work is anticipated.
What you get with the all-new Mazda3 is hatchback and sedan models with the full suite of SKYACTIV driveline, body and suspension technologies (and there’s some game-changers right there), standout new exterior and interior design and lots of clever technology, including ‘MZD Connect’ connectivity system.
2014 Mazda3 Engine
The all-new Mazda3 will be launched with a choice of two new direct-injection SKYACTIV-G four-cylinder petrol engines. As we know, SKYACTIV turns conventional ideas upside down by adopting a high compression ratio and shortened combustion duration to achieve the combination of strong performance and optimized fuel consumption.
For the all-new 2.0-litre that means 114kW/200Nm and combined cycle fuel consumption of 5.7l/100kms. And the for the 2.5-litre you can chalk-up 138kW/250Nm (the latter around 15 per-cent up on the previous MZR 2.5) and combined cycle fuel consumption of 6.0l/100kms.
Drive is via new SKYACTIV six-speed automatic and manual transmissions (the latter with i-stop auto stop/start).
2014 Mazda3 The Interior
It’s here the all-new Mazda3 really flexes its muscles over the competition – an argument can be mounted this is now the benchmark small car interior design. Like all Mazdas, the all-new ‘3’ delivers a very driver- focused cockpit with the ‘operational’ stuff straight ahead and ‘comfort/entertainment’ stuff bundled together to the left – and we like that clear delineation.
Headlining the latter department, Mazda’s connectivity chief Yasuo Kagawa also flew from the company’s technical centre in Yokohama, Japan to Anglesea. Right off the bat he expressed an issue which has been on our minds and which underpinned development of Mazda3’s new HMI (Human-Machine Interface): as cars become more ‘connected’ the risk of driver distraction can increase.
So for example, Mazda has researched the best angles of vision for drivers to switch focus from the road to instruments, where to position the ‘command centre’ dials and screen for most intuitive use and even the best type-face and line spacing for easy reading of the screens (spacing is 1.2-times the height of the letters in case you’re wondering). So of course the all-new Mazda3 breaks new ground for small cars by offering a HUD (Head-Up Display).
And of course navigation of the stylish 7-inch centre screen is uncomplicated.
And of course the all-new Mazda3 includes text-to-voice technology and embedded apps for Stitcher Smart Radio and others (there’s 40,000 radio stations in the world according to Kagawa-San).
But we like the all-new instruments and steering wheel and we especially like the new seats. Driving the all-new model Mazda3 and the previous generation versions were enlightening in terms of the driving position (always a Mazda strong point). The all-new model feels much more sporty (like the MX-5 thanks to 15mm lower hip points and a better relationship between seat and steering wheel adjustment).
Overall there’s more interior space (legroom and shoulder room). With all seats in-place the Mazda3 hatchback provides 308-litre of cargo space while the sedan provides 408-litres.
Mazda3 Exterior & Styling
Wow! Mazda has certainly upped the ante in the styling department for the all-new Mazda3 – the third model to boast the full ‘KODO’ design language.
At the front there’s the new ‘wing-look’ Mazda corporate grille and cabins have shifted rearwards for a more athletic stance. The wheelbase of both sedan and hatchback is longer at 2700mm and both are also wider (1795mm), but overall length at 4460mm (hatchback) and 4580mm (sedan) is unchanged.
From the side that extra athleticism is enhanced with superbly flared fenders and prominent character lines and sills. And, unlike the previous generation, the all-new Mazda3 has no rear quarter windows.
At the rear, hatchback models feature a V-shaped rear window and large roof spoiler while the sedan runs a very sporty integrated bootlip spoiler. Ringed tail-lights look great.
Wheels (16-inch and 18-inch) are model-specific.
2014 Mazda3 On The Road
As mentioned, our laps of the Anglesea test track were undertaken in a mid-grade Mazda3 hatchback (114kW/200NM 2.0-litre, six-speed manual) and a high-grade sedan (138kW/250Nm 2.5-litre, six-speed automatic). Your Car Showroom correspondent logged many, many laps of the Anglesea complex in a previous life and the course chosen by Mazda for this exercise was excellent – a combination of the high-speed loop, twisting, climbing ride/handling circuit and brief dirt road section.
Not a complete Car Showroom road test by any stretch but far superior to the artificial ‘bubble-wrapped’ test track test drives sometimes served-up by vehicle manufacturers in Asia and Europe.
We also got to drive the all-new Mazda3 models back-to-back with a couple of current generation versions and therein a good starting point for comparisons. The SKYACTIV-G 2.0-litre petrol engine is obviously a new, more powerful differentiation over the current 2.0-litre, but so too is the gearing – much taller in the all-new model.
And the new SKYACTIV-G 2.5-litre petrol is a pearler. With 138kW/250Nm, the all-new Mazda3 2.5 offers significantly more power and torque than any naturally-aspirated rival (indeed more than most of the turbocharged rivals too).
Takeo Moriuchi is the general manager of the all-new Mazda3 and he came to Anglesea to oversee this media preview. Driving dynamics is his area of expertise and, in a nutshell, the target for the all-new Mazda3 was for it to be more neutral than the current model which he says in hindsight is a tad too ‘edgy’.
On the suspension front specifically, the all-new Mazda3 offers new trailing arms, new geometry, shorter steering ratio and a more rigid chassis (+31 per-cent for the hatchback and +28 per-cent for the sedan). Put bluntly, over the excellent ride/handling track at Anglesea, the all-new Mazda3 was quite simply miles ahead of the current model – and that’s an achievement because the current generation runs a close second in this area to the Ford Focus for the honour of ‘best-in-segment’.
2014 Mazda3 Challenges
Too early to tell and in any case these two cars were pre-production prototypes.
2014 Mazda3 Verdict
Australia’s number one, best-selling individual car model for the last two years running, the Mazda3 has captured the hearts and minds of Australia small car buyers like no previous Mazda. Mazda Australia now has a database of 360,000 ‘3’ owners and already some 70,000 people have provided their details to secure first ‘dibs’ on the all-new model.
We’ve seen and driven the all-new Mazda3 folks and we can tell you it is outstanding. Styling, driving dynamics, equipment, performance…you name the category and the answer is the same: the all-new Mazda3 is shaping to be the best vehicle in its segment.
2014 Mazda3 The Competition
Ford’s German-origin Ford Focus is a Car Showroom favourite and the mountain the all-new Mazda3 must climb to be ‘numero-uno’ in this league. We can only compare petrol engines at this stage and on that front, Mazda’s 2.0-litre engine still lags behind Ford’s 125kW/202Nm (Focus entry-model scores a 92kW/159Nm 1.6-litre). On the other hand, Mazda’s 138kW/250Nm 2.5-litre overshadows every rival. While the Focus has a slight edge over the current Mada3 for ride/handling, we can tell already the all-new ‘3’ is much improved and we suspect the ‘Blue Oval’ will be under pressure to hold the title.
Our other favourite (hatchback) is the Volkswagen Golf but there’s no doubt the ‘Wolfsburg Wonder’ is seriously out-punched by the Mazda3 (except Golf’s sporty GTI and R models) for performance. Obviously Golf has ‘German Quality’ stamped all over it, a reputation like no other and the latest seventh-gen is the best looker yet…but to our eyes the all-new Mazda3 actually has a more stylish interior.
We’ll leave comparisons with Toyota Corolla, Nissan Pulsar, Kia Cerato and Hyundai i30 until we’ve had more seat time.
2014 Mazda3 Likes:
2014 Mazda3 Dislikes:
