Grouped together under the name i-ActivSense, they include adaptive cruise control, a blind-spot monitoring system, lane-departure warning alert, and headlights that switch automatically between low and high beams. There also are several systems that use a combination of camera and radar-based sensing to assist and alert the driver in potentially hazardous situations. Al models are fitted with six airbags: front and side bags for each front-seat passenger, and side-curtain bags stretching the full length of the cabin. The latest Mazda 3, which was named an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ model for 2015, adds a number of electronic safety systems to the company's compact car line. We find the suspension and dynamics to be excellent in tight hairpins, although the steering doesn't feel as stable on-center in highway driving, and a lot of ride harshness (and noise) still makes its way into the cabin compared to other cars in this class. Precise electric power steering replaces the former electrohydraulic system it could use some more feedback, but it is very well weighted. Most aspects of the driving experience are very satisfying-the 3 is far more athletic than your typical compact car. It says the Mazda 3's stopping distances are among the best of all compact cars (all models get four-wheel discs). The 3 gets retuned springs, shocks, and anti-roll bars to improve straight-line stability, and the automaker claims to have improved both cornering capability and ride comfort. Overall, the Mazda3 is now at the head of the class with respect to powertrain performance. Each is available with a six-speed manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic transmission. A 2.0-liter version is rated at 155 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque, and a more powerful 2.5-liter version puts out 184 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque. The 2015 Mazda 3 offers two different variants of the engine, both of them smooth and responsive. This highly efficient four-cylinder engine uses high compression, carefully tuned exhaust systems, and other refinements to provide power while extracting maximum efficiency from every drop of fuel without the added complication of hybrid systems. The entire structure of the new Mazda 3 has been designed around the SkyActiv four-cylinder engine, which Mazda began launching in 2012 models. One feature that's unusual in a new car is the bottom-hinged "organ-style" accelerator pedal, which Mazda says is more comfortable for drivers. The rear seatbacks are almost 2 inches higher, to improve comfort for back-seat passengers, which unfortunately pushes the heads of taller riders up against the cardboard-like contoured headliner in models with the moonroof. In back, Mazda claims more knee room and shoulder room, but it feels tighter, in a fore-aft sense, than most other compact entries. The front-seat area is spacious, and seats are supportive they have a new contour and afford more back and lateral support. At its worst, the Mazda 3 looks a little long-hooded-as if the hood of the Mazda 6 sedan had been grafted to the front of the smaller car. A sweeping shoulder line slows gracefully along the body side, and a more slanted, fastback roofline on the hatchback ends in what we see as a somewhat softer, less distinctive rear-end treatment.Īt its best, this combination of the aggressive front grille, crisp edges, gentle curves, and hunkered-back cabin altogether makes the car look taut and sports-car influenced. Adopting the automaker's Kodo "soul of motion" design language, first seen on the CX-5 crossover and Mazda6 mid-size sedan launched over the past two years, the Mazda 3 loses the creepy smile of the previous-generation car (or was that a smirk? We never quite knew) and takes on the brand's new blunt nose and five-point grille leading into thin, slanted, swept-back headlamps. The 2015 Mazda 3 is a standout in terms of styling and design, and its long hood and ‘cab-back’ design really cast it in a different light compared to most other compact cars.
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