On a bright, warm Saturday, I was working hard on a Habitat for Humanity house, when my cell phone started ringing. It was my fiancé telling me he’s in the process of buying a new car, a Mazda 3 Hatch. Strange, I thought, he had just started researching this car and he was already buying one!?! For a long time now, he’s been looking for the perfect, sporty yet roomy replacement for his aging Saturn SC2. At the time, I did not know much about the 3 and wasn’t sure what to expect, 6 weeks and a lot of driving later, I’m impressed with it.

Performance, Power and Handling
We have the 5 speed Hatch with the 2.3 liter 160-HP engine. You can only get the hatchback in the S model with the 2.3 engine, the 2.0 liter 148-HP engine comes standard in the I sedan and the 2.3 comes in the optional S package for the sedan. I have not driven the 2.0 sedan, this review is on the 5-speed Hatch only. Currently gas mileage is averaging about 26 MPG which seems to match what other owners are saying on Mazda3Forums.com. The 3 has a 14.5 gallon gas tank.

I’ve driven a lot of stick shift cars and I’ve determined that they’re all different. They have a different feel to the clutch, different throw and definitely different driving positions. I think the Mazda 3 was the easiest to get used to, shifting smoothly took little effort, I was able to get in and take off without having to drive around and get used to the clutch. With a short stick, there is very little throw between the gears, making performance shifting easy. At first, I found myself wondering it if was actually in gear because there was such little space between the gears, but I quickly got used to this. Also, the stick is a little stiff, not moving back and forth easily when in neutral and some may find it requires more effort to put in gear. The engine does feel refined and is quieter than I expected.

After driving it for a few days in a row, I got very spoiled by its quick take off in first gear. Many other sticks I’ve driven have a slight lag when starting off in first gear, not the 3, making taking off from lights fun. Acceleration is excellent, it’s dangerously easy to get over the speed limit without even noticing it. I’m not quite sure what its 0-60 time is, but I’d estimate about 7.5 seconds, maybe less.

The Hatch handles very nicely with little body roll, it takes a stiff jerk on the steering wheel to send items flying. The suspension feels a little stiff, rough pavement makes the cabin vibrate. Cabin noise seems to be a little bit of an issue, I notice you can clearly hear every little pebble kicked up in the tire wells and a lot of thumping when going over bumps, you can hear bumps a lot more than feeling them. But, wind noise is hardly noticeable, making for a quieter ride at high speeds. Braking response is very well with 4 wheel disc brakes, panic stops seem less jerky, or less like the back end is being lifted.

The parking brake is a little stiff as well, seems you have to use some decent force to yank it up enough. If you only pull it up partially, it makes a lot of creaking noises underneath and, at one point, the car actually rolled with the brake pulled up simply because it was not up enough (even though it seemed like it should have been). But, when it is pulled up tight, it’s not easy to disengage it. So, my fiancé has got back into the habit of leaving it in gear as well, something I’ve never had to do with my past stick cars (good ol’ flat Florida).

Interior Looks and Features
The I package includes cruise control, power mirrors, power windows and keyless entry. The interior looks on the 3 are a big plus with its stylized, red-lit gauges accented with blue light. All the controls and display light up red in the center dash. Thing about the gauges though is each of the three primary gauges are tucked into their own circular cubby with a kind of wall between them. So, you have to be looking straight at them, or straight down the tunnels, to see them. They’re too dark to see against the bright sunlight, requiring gauge lights to be on even during the day. Also, the idiot lights are located in rings around the circular gauges, making for a slick stylized affect, but may take a little bit to get used to.

There is a lot of leather-like plastic on the dash that seems a little flat and lacks shine and seems to be a dust magnet. But, the textures seem to be high quality and that they should be durable for years to come. The seats are comfortable, offering plenty of support, but may be a little too firm for some on long trips. The interior on his is mostly black with hints of blue in the seat fabric to match the exterior color. Overall, the interior materials feel like they should be in a more expensive car.

The stereo system is so blended into the stylized center console that it’s hardly noticeable. Problem is, currently there’s no way to change it out with an after market head unit. So, if you want an MP3 player, you have to get an over priced ($400 I think), dealer installed option. The stereo controls on the steering wheel are convenient, easy to use.

The rearview mirror is awkwardly small, smaller than the one in my eco Toyota, not giving the driver a lot to view. Currently, my fiancé is looking into adding an after market curved rearview mirror. There are two cup holders in the center console behind the stick shift. You have to be careful about putting large drinks in them because that’ll make shifting around them difficult. I can see at least one drink getting knocked into the back seat by his elbow in the future. There are also cup holders built into the lower door cubbies, but, they’ll really only fit canned drinks and getting them in and out is tricky because one side is against the door.

I’m a tab bit disappointed in the lack of space in the backs seats, though my fiancé says, “Who cares, I’m not the one sitting back there.” But, it’s considerably less than, say, a Toyota Echo. After moving the driver’s seat to a comfortable position for me at 6’ tall, I had to cram myself into the seat behind the driver’s seat, my knees were rammed into the back. Plus, there’s not a lot of space on the floor behind the front seats to put items, like purses, potted plants, etc.

Another strange thing I noticed is there is a magazine storage pocket on the back of the driver’s seat, but not the passenger’s seat. Something I miss because I always use the one on the passenger’s side in my car to store the sun visor, it’s not easy contorting around to stuff it into the pocket behind the driver’s seat. Also, no cup holders in the back seats.

Interior cargo volume for the hatch is 31.2 cu. ft. Not bad, with the back seats folded down flat, there’s a mini truck bed back there. The back seats do fold down in a 40/60 split for more cargo versatility. There is a decent amount of space behind the backs seats, you can fit plenty of groceries there. But, there’s a hard plastic cover for the cargo area that can get in the way when loading and would probably be easier to just have it removed all the time.

Exterior Looks and Features
The 3 has very distinctive looks with a stylized, curvy front and rear. His hatch came with sporty 17” 5 spoke rims that are very attractive. His has the xenon headlight package with positional beams, the headlights are bright with a blue-ish white tone, but not bright enough to annoy other drivers like some of the aftermarket headlights. The xenon package includes tire-pressure monitor. The Mazda emblems are quite large both on the front and rear. The looks may not be to everyone likings, but they’re certainly not off-the-wall strange.

The length of the Hatch is 176.6”, slightly shorter than the sedan. Wheelbase is 103.9”, width is 69.1” and height it 57.7”. So far, the paint seems durable, have not noticed any paint chips yet.

Safety
NHTSA gave the 3 a 4 star driver’s and passenger’s side frontal impact rating. It got 3 star ratings from the front and rear side impact. Driver’s and passenger’s front airbags are standard. The ABS package includes antilock brakes and front and curtain side airbags.

Parting Shots
Reliability is still a question with the 3 since it’s a new model. We’ve had to take this one back to the dealer twice to get an issue with the driver’s side power window resolved and I’ve read about some other issues owners were having on Mazda3Forums.com. Its primary weaknesses is the lack of room in the back and some interior features. Overall, I’m very impressed with the 3 Hatch and think if you’re looking for a sporty answer to a sedan or wagon, you should give the 3 a look. If you’re considering a Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Ford Focus or maybe even the Mazda 6, check out the 3 as well.
Amount Paid (US$): 19,500
Condition: New
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: S Hatchback