2010 Mazda3: Zoom Zooming to Controversy

When you manufacture one of the top three small cars in North America, it takes some serious cajones to revamp the design as completely as Mazda has. Any revision at all bears serious consequences, but to take a universally accepted design and remanufacture it entirely is downright gutsy.

But that’s what it seems to take to succeed these days. Gone are the days of milquetoast design and inoffensive styling; now is the era of the snub-nosed Honda Civic and ultra-unique Nissan Cube. Even BMW’s much maligned flame-surface styling has grown into such adjectives as “graceful” and “attractive.”

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So, when Mazda’s ultra-successful Mazda3 was due for an update, it’s no surprise that Mazda infused their entry level automobile with a substantial amount of the Nagare styling language. The conservative bodysides and pleasant fascias are replaced by long, sweeping, dramatic lines that strain under the sheetmetal, creating creases and angles where curves used to reside. Out front, the entire face has been caricaturized, with the former smiley face have grown into a full blown grin. The surrounding grille openings have also been opened up to massive proportions, giving the entire front end some serious voids. That, paired with the newfound bulges that carry the lines of a faux front splitter around and over the wheelwells give the entire front end a very cohesive look. Add in the detailed ornamentation of the headlight assemblies, and it’s easy to say that this new Mazda3 is sort of like the previous model, cranked up the 11. I love it, but that's definitely not a sentiment shared by everyone.

Of course, just because that’s easy to say doesn’t necessarily make it true. Inside the old model was a tried and true layout that won over buyers with controls that were easy to use, attractively laid out, and well assembled. Stepping inside the new model, there’s almost none of the drama of the exterior. Sure, there’s broad, sweeping curves in the dashboard that house a new (and too small) navigation screen, but the gauge binnacle and switchgear are all woefully bland. Massive buttons bearing tiny script spread out across acres of plastic console space give the impression that there’s not much to the car. The single large rotary knob takes a page out of various luxury manufacturer’s books, but somehow does it without the same class. Perhaps it’s the placement, as Infiniti chooses to mount their controls on a more horizontal plane while Audi and BMW choose to mount their control devices on the center console. Perhaps it’s the plastic, which although fitting incredibly well together, isn’t quite as attractive to the eye or appealing to the fingertip. In either case, I almost preferred the glossy finish of the previous model’s center console to this new flat black treatment. Overall, the new curvaceous dashboard seems a little too Civic-like, albeit rendered in slightly less appealing materials and in a slightly less dramatic design. However, that said, the new model offers even more features than nearly any other entry level sedan on the market. But, in their zeal to add feature after feature to their hottest selling model, Mazda seems to have confused a luxurious automobile for an automobile with a lot of features.

Down the road, the new Mazda3 is undeniably impressive, but in a substantially weird way. Much has been made of the new 2.5 litre four cylinder’s ability, but conducting itself down the road with about as much personality as a Canadian politician, it’s a far cry from the old one’s pleasing 2.3L four pot. Sure, it’s better in every way and hustles the car down the road with the expected amount of alacrity, but it’s definitely not the enthusiast’s engine, which is a pity given the only other option is a 2.0L inline four that’s substantially slower. Anyway, sliding the 2.5L powerplant beneath the hood of a Mazda3 Sport actually produces the least entertaining Mazda3 derivative, as the additional weight of the Sport’s wagon profile increases the amount of grip provided by the rear wheels. You’d think that such a rearward weight bias would lend the car an oversteering attitude, but somehow it doesn’t, and the entire car rounds corners exactly how you’d expect this new, more mature Mazda3 to: in the most efficient way possible. Responding well to inputs, it’s quick and clean, turning in neatly, and maintaining a stable, neutral attitude throughout, as long as the driver keeps the same neutral disposition. Get a little more aggressive with the steering inputs or attempt a mid-corner correction, and the comfort-optimized suspension gets the best of the tires’ contact patches as the body roll reduces the cars ability to respond. But, step into the sedan, and you’re in for a treat. With either engine, the sedan’s chassis is much more lively, and although the tires may be the same width throughout the model range (all Mazda3s being equipped with 205-section rubber) the sedan sports a much more entertaining tail-out attitude. Sure, there’s the same body roll, and you still have to choose between the relatively slow 2.0L or the impersonal 2.5L, but the way the sedan carries itself through corners is entirely different. With less weight on the back end, its free to throw more of its body weight from corner to corner, and it does so in the most charming way. Pile into a corner and let the front tires take a set, and you’ll feel the rear end rotate and begin to slide outward. It’s never a surprise, and it’s definitely not mature, but it’s easily the most fun. Even as tested, with a 2.0L paired to the standard five speed automatic, the new Mazda3 sedan easily won me over as the most entertaining as the bunch, even when thrown back-to-back against a Mazda3 Sport GT!

And therein lies the new Mazda3’s real strength: versatility. Although the exterior is perhaps the most polarizing of the Mazda lineup, and the interior is an acquired taste, the Mazda3 lineup encompasses a broader spectrum of attributes and attitudes than any other entry level sedan. And with a very competitive pricing scheme, you can expect this new Mazda3’s broad appeal to land a few more Mazda3s in Canadian driveways.