The compact car segment is one of the most popular and hotly contested in America, so it never stays the same for long. This year, it is in a special state of flux. There’s an all-new Honda Civic in town, and Hyundai has just introduced an all-new Elantra that is getting rave reviews. The market has also seen the domestic manufacturers get into the game with more credible (and creditable) vehicles than they’ve ever had in the new Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze. But in the face of all these introductions, we still remain fans of the Mazda3. It got a major makeover in 2010, but rather than standing pat this year, the improvements have kept coming. Changes for 2011 include the addition of rain-sensing front wipers and automatic on/off headlights that use Bi-Xenon technology with auto leveling.
So why do we like the Mazda3 so much? In a segment that is populated with nice but essentially plain-vanilla cars, the Mazda3 delivers a little more in every area. Its styling is expressive (some would say polarizing). The interior is a cut above the bulk of the segment in sophistication. And most important, The Mazda3 spices up its practicality with an added helping of sportiness. It delivers all the versatility of a small five-passenger sedan or hatchback, while the chassis and suspension offer a well-controlled ride plus sharp handling.
Our Mazda3 test vehicle was equipped with a 2.5-liter dual overhead cam four-cylinder engine that wrings out 167 horsepower, and it was backed with a six-speed manual transmission. In these days of shift-it-yourself transmissions, the old-school manual somehow made us appreciate the Mazda3 all the more. We also liked the upgraded interior trim that gives the hatchback the look of a small luxury car, though we would have appreciated a larger navigation/information screen. Top-of-the-line versions of the Mazda3 feature dual-zone automatic climate control and adaptive front headlights, giving you some of the amenities of a luxury model with a price in the low $20,000 range. It’s a model that can stand tall in the midst of daunting competition.
