Some cars are born and some evolve.
Review: Tom Mooney
The Mazda3 is a car that is brilliantly woven from the genetic pool of a manufacturer celebrated for its meticulous attention to the smallest of minutiae.
It is, putting it plainly, in a league of its own in what is a crowded sector, and you can understand why Mazda car dealers are rubbing their hands in glee with this beauty.
It ticks all the right boxes: good looks, economical, spacious and a phenomenal performer. If there is something not to like about it, I don’t know what it is, and I did search high, if not so low. It’s very safe –Euro NCAP gave it the maximum five stars, the equivalent of the brightest kid in the school.
To begin at the beginning, it looks every inch like the new-generation compact car that Mazda had been promising, perhaps smaller in the flesh if you haven’t seen one before, though this is a mirage.
It is commendably spacious inside, and if a car can comfortably accommodate my six foot two supple frame with inches to spare in the head department, it won’t be an issue for you.
For me, Mazda have always been a driver’s maker of cars, and by that I mean, like Honda, it is impossible to disconnect from the sensation their engines and styling deliver to the driver.
Some might argue that the zenith, the alpha, or the be all and the end all of the Madza epitome of flawless design was (and is) the mercurial and made-in-heaven MX 5.
I am not going to disagree: I have owned a couple and had one of the most memorable weeks of my life touring Switzerland in one last year on roads which spend an entire winter under snow and ice, and yet don’t fall apart at the first sight of rain.
But Mazda never stands still. Its raison d’etre is to keep improving.
The Mazda revolution is an on going love affair for those of us smitten by its assembly line over the years (RX-8 and CX-7), and are left wondering how Mazda with breathless ease segue the great engines with the great beauty. If marriage could replicate that partnership, there would be fewer divorces.
Most people wouldn’t know a compression ratio from a cabbage, but the Mazda3’s achievement is making the headlines, and rightfully, for the following reason.
The higher the ratio, the more compressed the air in the cylinder is. By increasing the compression ration from 8:1 to 9:1, for example, you can improve your fuel economy by about 5 to 6 percent. The 3 has an astonishing compression ratio 14.1, which explains why their engines are getting close to 55 (or more) mpg, ( or 4.2 l/100 km). Not to be sniffed at.
The improvements on the 3 you might have been familiar with are too many to dismiss in a sentence. It is longer, it is wider, it is faster and the bigger grille on the front alludes to these additions.
The favourable impression continues inside for both driver and passenger who, if napping in the rear seat, has more leg room because of the longer wheelbase.
If you ever wanted to consolidate the various Mazda philosophies over the decades (jinba ittai et al) into a moment of pure visceral pleasure, plant your back side in the driver’s seat. The Active Driving Display, in your cross-hairs, tells you everything you need to know about what the car is doing, including the speed projected onto an erect screen.
There is also the 7 inch colour head up touch screen, also operated by a rotary commander (whilst stationary), which is quite easy to negotiate, is elegant in its appearance and is functionally unobtrusive.
Mazda cars are famous for their control and their grip, and few reviewers ever bother to question them. On the road, this 3 is unbelievably good, but then this is the stable that produced the MX -5, the greatest road hugger of them all. The year has just commenced, but already the Mazda3 has been one of my favourite drives thus far.
