A Tale of 3 Mazdas: Mazda3 S 5-Door Grand Touring, CX-3 AWD Grand Touring, Mazda6 – Review
2016 Mazda Mazda3 S 5-Door Grand Touring
Mazda’s Mazda3 is available both as a sedan and a four-door hatchback, and we had the latter. Our short-term visitor was the former. A 155-horsepower 2.0-liter four banger is standard; ours came equipped with the optional 184-horsepower 2.5-liter four.
What you get with the Grand Touring package is impressive considering that the sticker tops out at under $30,000 (not including delivery and handling). Inside, we found navigation, a 7” touchscreen display, Bose audio system, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, rearview camera, rear cross-traffic alert, and a blindspot monitor.
While the Mazda isn’t intended to be fast in a supercar-like manner, its 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) performance is in the very respectable 7.5 second range. It’s on winding country roads and parkways where the car comes into its own. The electric power steering is autocross-like responsive and provides significant road feel, something that has been missing from many performance-oriented cars with the recent move to electric power steering by automakers.
Fuel economy is good. The EPA rates the car at 29 mpg (9.7 l/100 km) in the city and 37 (6.35) on the highway. In one week with a combination of city and highway driving, albeit with a 1 to 2 ratio – and many call me the anti-hypermiler – we saw an average of 33 mpg (8.6 l/100 km).
The interior is solid, with excellent ergonomics. Between the HUD and the cockpit controller, it was easy to keep eyes on the road and make minor changes such as tuning to a new radio station when proceeding along. The front seats provided excellent lateral support, were quite comfortable, and the cabin was relatively quiet. The rear seats – as would be typical for this class of car – were cramped but suitable for short trips.
The overall package is good enough that we resolved to drive a few more Mazdas over the following two months. Next up was the CX-3.