6-month test: Mazda3 2,0 Astina AT
Does the fresh-faced Mazda3 hatchback have the goods to succeed in a segment under threat from crossovers?
atchback or crossover? It’s a question hordes of South African car shoppers are faced with early in the search for a new set of wheels. The answer, though, is increasingly favouring the latter body style.
Given the sustained rise of the high-riding crossover, things aren’t easy for midsize hatchbacks the world over. But it’s particularly tough for such offerings here in South Africa, where the C-segment (which includes hatches and sedans) slowed to a mere 5% of SA’S total new-vehicle market in 2019.
Indeed, dwindling sales in this once-bustling segment even prompted a few mainstream manufacturers to throw in the towel. Ford, for instance, ditched plans to offer the fourth-generation Focus on local shores, while Peugeot withdrew the 308 earlier this year. The latest versions of the Kia Cerato hatch and Hyundai i30 (bar the N-badged performance variant of the latter) aren’t available here, while the likes of the Renault Mégane and Opel Astra have been reduced to bit-part players that each seldom pass the 30-unit-a-month mark.
That leaves the outgoing Volkswagen Golf 7 at the head of the sales pack (with a healthy portion of its local registrations coming courtesy of the popular GTI and R variants) and Toyota’s Auris-displacing Corolla Hatch in a distant second. Premium players such as Audi’s outgoing A3 Sportback, the new (now front-driven) BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-benz’s A-class soldier on, while production of the Volvo V40 has quietly ceased, with no direct replacement in sight.
The Mazda3 certainly hasn’t escaped unscathed, with its monthly sales tally dipping markedly with the introduction of this fourth generation. But part of that slowdown is due to the Hiroshima-based company’s bold decision (and the accompanying price hike) to nudge the sleekly styled hatchback into a more upmarket space. Mazda Southern Africa says it anticipated the subsequent drop in volume, while pointing out it expects the closely related, upcoming CX-30 (yes, yet another crossover) to pick up the slack.
Thankfully, the latest Three looks and feels as though it belongs in the premium arena. The uncluttered cabin, for instance, is characterised by exquisitely damped switchgear, soft-touch materials and a high level of perceived quality (although I did notice a mysterious faint buzz emanating from above the instrument cluster towards the end of the Soul Crystal Red model’s stay in our garage). This flagship Astina derivative furthermore boasts swathes of leather – some of it genuine and some in the form of the firm’s synthetic Maztex material – plus oodles more standard kit than offered by the German cars mentioned previously. The gloss trim surrounding the centre console and electric window controls, though, is prone to collecting dust, smudges and scratches.
Dialling in a near-perfect, pleasingly low-sited driving position is
Any time I caught a glimpse of the Mazda3 parked among a sea of crossovers. It’s a stunning thing in the metal – Ryan Bubear
a cinch thanks to the 10-way electrically adjustable pew, while the driver-centric cockpit is devoid of unnecessary distractions, eschewing the in-vogue touchscreen for a humbler 8,8-inch infotainment display operated via a large rotary controller on the centre console. The system’s interface is refreshingly simple, logically laid out and effortless to read on the move, and includes Apple Carplay and Android Auto functionality.
I found this set-up infinitely more intuitive – not to mention safer – to use than the segment-standard touchscreen arrangement. The infotainment system is clever, too, with one of the more appreciated elements being the 12-speaker Bose sound system’s ability to store separate volume settings for Bluetooth connections and radio. That way, toggling from a podcast (which typically requires a higher volume) to the radio doesn’t result in a moment of deafening panic. It’s a simple but surprisingly uncommon quality.
But it’s not all positive news.
As is the case with the modestly sized luggage compartment, space on the rear bench is by no means class-leading, with headroom proving particularly pinched. Access isn’t the easiest either, with the sloping roofline and chunky C-pillars forming fairly constricted rear door openings that make squeezing in a child seat more challenging than you might expect. While my five-year-old daughter had no complaints about space back there (and enjoyed the dedicated air vents), the odd older occupant grumbled about feeling a touch claustrophobic in the rear quarters, a sensation accentuated by the vehicle’s rising beltline.
Still, on-road comfort levels are impressive, with the Mazda3 delivering a largely supple ride despite the engineers (or, perhaps more likely, the accountants) opting for a torsion-beam rear arrangement over the more sophisticated multilink setup employed by the preceding model. Sound-deadening materials have clearly been liberally applied, resulting in a level of refinement The classy cabin is free of distractions, while the infotainment screen is sited deep in the facia to minimise eye refocus time. befitting a premium product.
That said, stomp on the throttle – an action sometimes required due to the 121 kw naturally aspirated 2,0-litre engine’s comparative lack of mid-range punch – and the four-cylinder powerplant becomes decidedly vocal as the revs rise. While turbocharged rivals typically deliver peak twisting force from low down, the Mazda’s maximum of 213 N.m arrives at a lofty 4 000 r/min, meaning a more measured driving style is often the order of the day.
Approach your commute with this sort of restraint and you’ll be rewarded with a comfortable, quiet experience as well as respectable fuel economy. Although the final figure of 7,64 L/100 km isn’t quite as impressive as the claimed 6,3, it’s still commendable considering the size of the engine (which has been carried over largely unchanged from the previous generation) and the mass of the vehicle.
While the six-speed automatic transmission goes about its business with very little fuss, it does sometimes exhibit a small degree of indecisiveness on the highway, flitting between the top two ratios. Other than that, the driving experience is exceedingly well resolved. The steering is smartly weighted, the centre of gravity is low, body control is tight and the front end is pointy. In short, the latest Three handles especially sharply for a “normal” passenger vehicle, suggesting the chassis is entirely capable of accommodating more oomph, even if Mazda insists it has no plans to revive the MPS badge.
Day-to-day foibles are few and far between but include a large over-the-shoulder blind spot (which, as mentioned in a previous update, is at least partially mitigated by the presence of a blind-spot-monitoring system as standard) created by the small rear screen and wide C-pillars as well as an intermittent fault with the keyless entry system that occasionally requires a manual override using the chunky key fob. Judging by the number of posts about the latter on an online international Mazda forum I stumbled upon, it’s a known problem with this model. Hopefully the brand comes up with a fix soon.
In addition, the Mazda3 flashed up a “service soon” warning towards the end of the test, despite being just short of halfway – in terms of overall mileage and time – to its first scheduled service. I rang the two nearest dealerships, both of which advised me to bring in the vehicle to have the seemingly erroneous message cleared (although I managed to do it myself via the relevant sub-menu while passing the time during heavy traffic one evening).
TEST SUMMARY
Six months behind the wheel of the crisp-handling Mazda3 simply emphasised just what a compelling option this svelte hatchback has become. An eye-catching exterior design (some onlookers suggested styling similarities with certain Alfa Romeo models), an exceptionally classy cabin (besting those of many a premium vehicle) and a lengthy list of standard features render it an attractive alternative should you happen to be shopping for a midsize hatchback.
Sure, the engine’s not the most polished example in the segment (unfortunately, Mazda’s gutsier Skyactiv-x compression ignition petrol unit doesn’t seem to be on the cards for South Africa) and pricing plainly reflects the range’s move upmarket. But not once did I long for the lofty ride height a similarly sized crossover would offer, while wishes for added utility were limited to the occasional weekend where a little more room would have been useful.
Still, there’s no escaping the reality of the modern automotive market. A dishearteningly large chunk of local buyers will snub the Japanese hatchback simply because it’s not shaped like a crossover. And that’s a great pity because while the Mazda3 certainly sacrifices a mite of practicality at the altar of style, it’s downright wonderful to drive. If you ask me, crossover-crazed consumers are missing out.