[GasseousClay]

Mazda3 hatch is now available in turbo & awd configuration. It starts at around 30k usd and after options, gets to be around 33-35k.

Since Hyundai has decided to not sell the hatchback variant of the elantra in the US for the upcoming year, I am thinking of selling my 2018 gt sport and going back to mazda next year (had good experiences with an rx-7 and a millenia in my youth). Besides, I am starting to have a dislike for the extreme styling trends that Hyundai cars are doing these days...

Anyways, thoughts on the new mazda offering?

Payne review: Mazda3 Turbo is a performance hatchback in stealth mode

With 250 horsepower and all-wheel drive, it is an affordable, serious competitor to the VW Golf GTI

www.detroitnews.com

 

[0xMatt]

Not sure why you'd trade a car that looks good because the newer ones don't.

I loved my rx8 but blew my turbocharger on both my gen2 mazdasped 3s. There's only one left running in my town. The newest gen of the Mazda 3 hatchback is ugly as sin in my opinion, the sedan looks much better. They also removed the manual transmission for the turbo and I don't think they have a dct as good as Hyundai.

Anyway, it's not a mazdaspeed so I personally wouldn't be interested. I won't look in Mazdas direction until they offer some performance variant or trim on their vehicles.

 

[elantracityDave1$]

The Mazda 3 hatchback is butt ugly. It's also short on cargo area compared to the Elantra GT. I do like Mazdas though and 250 HP in a small package sounds good. I had a 2005 Mazda 6 sport Wagon V-6. 200 HP, but no bottom end torque, handled really well and looked very good. Best looking small wagon on the market at that time IMHO. My daughter still has it. I'd buy another in a heartbeat if Mazda brought them into the country.
The Mazda 6 Wagon Gets Refreshed; Now Bring It to America, Please

 

[OG4boost]

Everything is CUV and SUV now. Wagons don't seem to sell well these days. That is why I like the hatches.
I am surprised they limited the power of the Mazda 3 to just 250hp. A 2.5L is totally capable of 300 + hp. Sounds like they are just presenting a conservative spec car to see if it sells.Later they may release a Speed 3 model.

 

[elantracityDave1$]

If Hyundai would bring this wagon to the USA, I'd buy two. One for me and one for my daughter.

N Line

Take your Hyundai i30 Wagon experience to another level with the new N Line trim level: exclusive design features and a more dynamic ride inspired by the high-performance i30 N.

www.hyundai.com

 

[Kovy]

Mazda coming out with a new offering doesn't change my opinion about my N-Line. 🤷‍♂️

Also that Wagon is sexy.

 

[JP_N-Line]

The mazda 3 is more setup as a 'quick' daily driver compared to the elantra being more sporty. The mazda offers a more premium feel but the driving experience in the elantra far exceeds it. Having a MT option is nice to..

 

[OG4boost]

Yes it certainly has its own style and is another GDI boosted option. Price is close to a GTI but doesn't offer same performance. The 2.5 L makes good torque but seems down in power for the displacement. Having AWD would easily manage higher power levels for more fun. Currently it is not even close to a Golf R. 6-speed auto is a disappointment too. A 7-speed or 8-speed DCT offering would also have made it more fun. We shall see how Mazda carries this new line next year. Maybe it will offer a more performance oriented vehicle in the near future.

 

[elantracityDave1$]

I want a hot wagon that is NOT made by a European manufacturer, and that I can actually afford to buy and maintain. I'd love to see a hot Elantra wagon with the 2.0 turbo.

 

[Kovy]

Yes it certainly has its own style and is another GDI boosted option. Price is close to a GTI but doesn't offer same performance. The 2.5 L makes good torque but seems down in power for the displacement. Having AWD would easily manage higher power levels for more fun. Currently it is not even close to a Golf R. 6-speed auto is a disappointment too. A 7-speed or 8-speed DCT offering would also have made it more fun. We shall see how Mazda carries this new line next year. Maybe it will offer a more performance oriented vehicle in the near future.

At least it's not a CVT. 🤷‍♂️

 

[OG4boost]

At least it's not a CVT. 🤷‍♂️

HaHa...true...Not that many turbo CVT cars are on the market. Nissan Kicks 1.3 L Turbo. 0 - 100 kph in 10 secs. Screamin.....😆

 

[LoneWolf]

I've wanted to like the Mazda3. It's been highly rated over time.

However, I've found it a bit more cramped than a Civic or an Elantra GT, and I flat-out do not like the electronics controls, which largely consist of a jog-wheel on the center console that I've not found incredibly intuitive to operate while driving the car, and which also leads to additional actions to get to the options one wants. I'm sure it costs Mazda less to have less tactile buttons, but I tried the same thing on a CX-9 that I briefly test drove, and my late spouse (who it would have been intended for) didn't like it either. If you haven't tried it, I recommend you do; I think you'll either love it, or you'll hate it, without much middle ground.

Mazda has been transitioning the 3 from prioritizing sportiness to prioritizing luxury. While I have no issue with that, I got most of both for less with the Elantra GT N-Line, and with the money I save, can do a little bit of personalization myself.

If Mazda had brought back a new-and-improved Mazdaspeed 3, I'd have considered that, despite it being more horsepower than I need. I was also disappointed that Mazda never really took off with their exciting Direct Compression Ignition engine (SkyActiv-X), which seemed like it was going to come out and revolutionize fuel economy with similar performance...and then I stopped hearing about it.

 

[mikl613]

Smaller heavier and uglier. Still only has open diff and requires premium fuel for full power. No thanks.

 

[OG4boost]

I've wanted to like the Mazda3. It's been highly rated over time.

However, I've found it a bit more cramped than a Civic or an Elantra GT, and I flat-out do not like the electronics controls, which largely consist of a jog-wheel on the center console that I've not found incredibly intuitive to operate while driving the car, and which also leads to additional actions to get to the options one wants. I'm sure it costs Mazda less to have less tactile buttons, but I tried the same thing on a CX-9 that I briefly test drove, and my late spouse (who it would have been intended for) didn't like it either. If you haven't tried it, I recommend you do; I think you'll either love it, or you'll hate it, without much middle ground.

Mazda has been transitioning the 3 from prioritizing sportiness to prioritizing luxury. While I have no issue with that, I got most of both for less with the Elantra GT N-Line, and with the money I save, can do a little bit of personalization myself.

If Mazda had brought back a new-and-improved Mazdaspeed 3, I'd have considered that, despite it being more horsepower than I need. I was also disappointed that Mazda never really took off with their exciting Direct Compression Ignition engine (SkyActiv-X), which seemed like it was going to come out and revolutionize fuel economy with similar performance...and then I stopped hearing about it.

While EU markets have the SkyActiv-X vehicles in the Mazda 3 they were not released to the US yet. EU far more appreciates better gas mileage compact vehicles then US. Seems Mazda management postponed the release to US consumers until they can figure how to make it more attractive to more what US consumers demand. I figure they will employ it in a larger displacement engine that will provide better power output and still give great mileage. Right now a comparable 2 liter small turbo engine provides 200 plus HP but the SkyActiv-X produces around 188 HP. Although mileage is attractive at 44+ mpg US consumers like their power and will take it at the price of a fuel consumption penalty.

 

[Sence]

No Manual? No thanks!

 

[jetrep]

Sounds like you'd be spending a lot of money for little gain. I also wouldn't assume it has much improved fun factor over the EGT. Look up the savagegeese review on youtube. He's one of the few reviewers out there who actually knows how to drive a car. If I needed to have more power I'd buy a GTI. If I had to have AWD I'd get a Golf R. I'm actually considering a Golf R but one of my hesitations is that it would mean getting rid of a very good car with a lot of warranty left (EGT Sport).

 

[OG4boost]

Sounds like you'd be spending a lot of money for little gain. I also wouldn't assume it has much improved fun factor over the EGT. Look up the savagegeese review on youtube. He's one of the few reviewers out there who actually knows how to drive a car. If I needed to have more power I'd buy a GTI. If I had to have AWD I'd get a Golf R. I'm actually considering a Golf R but one of my hesitations is that it would mean getting rid of a very good car with a lot of warranty left (EGT Sport).

Golf R is 40K + new. Used in the 30's. My friend had one and had several problems with it. He said it didn't handle all that great either. Of course he was coming from an Evo : )

 

[jetrep]

Have you driven the new mazda3 turbo? To me it seems like an overpriced dud. You seem to be sold on it. The Golf R I drove the other day handled remarkably well...better than I expected. It has different drive modes that actually tune the suspension. The car was used and had engine mods so it's possible it had suspension mods but I believe the shocks were stock. I suspect there is zero chance the mazda3 turbo will handle as well as the Golf R. I'm not suggesting you buy a golf R and I don't care what you buy but i think you're making this mazda3 turbo out to be much more than it is. If it was truly a fun, sporty car it would be called mazdaspeed3.

 

[stateofstatic]

Tested it, and can say a couple things:

Interior is very good, like audi/bmw good. Cabin noise is very low, also luxury level. Terrible blind spot visibility, but that's why they give you blind spot warning. Power delivery is smooth and linear, kind of boring but you are up on the speedo without trying, feels like you're going slower than you are. 6 speed auto is bad compared to the 7 speed hyundai DCT, gearing is tall, and shifting is slow. Cornering, lots of understeer. They didn't replace the torsion-beam rear or the brakes and it shows.

In summary, its a nice looking/feeling hatch but boring to drive. I imagine there's a good market for folks that want a near-luxury hatch that goes a little faster and has the safety of AWD, but im not one of them.

 

[jetrep]

Tested it, and can say a couple things:

Interior is very good, like audi/bmw good. Cabin noise is very low, also luxury level. Terrible blind spot visibility, but that's why they give you blind spot warning. Power delivery is smooth and linear, kind of boring but you are up on the speedo without trying, feels like you're going slower than you are. 6 speed auto is bad compared to the 7 speed hyundai DCT, gearing is tall, and shifting is slow. Cornering, lots of understeer. They didn't replace the torsion-beam rear or the brakes and it shows.

In summary, its a nice looking/feeling hatch but boring to drive. I imagine there's a good market for folks that want a near-luxury hatch that goes a little faster and has the safety of AWD, but im not one of them.

Thanks for sharing. You touched on one my dislikes of the EGT...the cabin noise. I do a lot of 70+mph driving so it'd be nice to have a quieter cabin. It seems like in the case of the mazda they're trying to be all things to all people but on a budget. In this case the fun factor is sacrificed.