Cars Guide

If were all headed for compact cars (um...Mr. President, a follow-up question?), then this is the way to go.

Early and/or thorough TireKicker readers will remember I gave the last-gen Mazda 3 a glowing review in one of the first TireKicker posts. Every word still applies, but the 2010 Mazda 3 is a game-changer.

I get the same feeling from the new 3 that I got when I got behind the wheel of my 1984 Honda Civic...and I wasnt alone then. Jean Lindamood of Car and Driver (now Jean Jennings of Automobile) ended her review thusly:

"Damn, shes a fine one. Our orders are in."

It inspired me to take a test drive that led to a 14-year ownership of said Civic.

Well, I sat right down in the drivers seat of the new Mazda 3 4-door Sport and felt the same way. While Hondas gone too techno for its own good, the 2010 Mazda 3 keeps it simple and direct...everything is where it should be, falls easily to hand, performs its function and never...never...distracts the driver from...well, driving.

And yes, theres driving to be done in the 3. It almost feels like the Mazda engineers passed on the Corolla, Civic and Sentra and rustled up an old BMW 2002 tii to benchmark for handling and sheer fun to drive.

The incredibly low price of $18,740 gets you a 2.5 liter DOHC 16-valve four, a six-speed manual, dynamic stability control, traction control and and independent front and rear suspension.

17-inch alloy wheels come standard with the sport, as do supportive and comfortable cloth seats, an AM/FM/CD/WMA/MP3 audio system, bluetooth, air, power locks and windows and a bunch more.

The tester had Sirius Satellite Radio and the Moonroof/Bose package...which ups the audio ante to a 242 watt Bose Centerpoint 10-speaker audio system and an in-dash 6-CD changer...and a moonroof.

Total price, including destination charges; $21,235.

EPA estimates: 21 city/29 highway.

I would absolutely buy one if I were in the market. If you are, you owe yourself at least a test drive.

Big changes rarely happen in year two of a new vehicle. But Mazda’s not known for coloring within the lines and, frankly, it can’t afford to hold good stuff back for the mid-cycle refresh three or four years down the road. It needs your attention now. And if the 2014 Mazda CX-5 doesn’t get that attention, it’ll be your loss as well as Mazda’s.
Even with the 2.0-liter, the CX-5 we drove last year was no slouch in terms of driving dynamics. Mazda’s fun-to-drive “Zoom-Zoom” philosophy was baked into the bones of this small SUV. It’s easily one of the most driver-oriented machines of its type, with constant feedback and instant response to your inputs of brake and steering. In the 2014 2.5-liter, the throttle joins the party. 0-60 times fall to 7.2 seconds from about 9 seconds for the smaller engine (both are Mazda’s figures). It’s a difference you don’t need a stopwatch for. You can feel it in the seat of your pants. Peak torque comes earlier, emphasizing the extra oomph. And the engine sounds much more like an eager participant than a stressed underachiever. To get the fun stuff, though, you have to skip the base model Sport ($21,995). That’s still strictly 2-liter land. Pony up for the $24,615 Touring model or the $27,620 Grand Touring (our tester) and the 2.5-liter powerplant comes as standard equipment. 

 
In fact, on the Grand Touring, there’s very little that doesn’t come standard. 19-inch alloy wheels, variable rain-sensing wipers, rear privacy glass, a power moonroof, automatic halogen headlights, fog lamps, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with controls for audio, cruise and Bluetooth, leather-trimmed heated (in front) sport seats (the driver’s is an 8-way power chair with power lumbar) a Bose 9-speaker audio system with HD Radio, and a rearview camera with 5.8-inch color touchscreen are all included. You can get options. Ours added a rear bumper guard ($100), a retractable cargo cover ($200) and the Grand Touring Tech Package ($1,625), which bundles in-dash TomTom navigation, adaptive auto-leveling HID headlamps and Smart City Brake Support, which reduces brake rotor travel to quicken braking if there’s risk of a low-speed (19 MPH or under) collision, and will automatically brake if the driver doesn’t. All that put the bottom line on our test vehicle to $30,340 with delivery fee. Not cheap, but not out of line with the competition, and Mazda has a distinct edge with the combination of performance and fuel economy the 2.5-liter SKYACTIV-G offers.