I see these cars all over the road and I rather like them. My eyes are drawn to these little guys every time one drives by. It’s not a luxury brand by any means, but I still wanted to satisfy my curiosity. Are they as fun as they look?

My test drive of the Mazda 3 hatchback went better than expected. Like Audi, they choose to call it a “sport-back”. Do hatchbacks have an econo-car stigma they want to shed? I don’t consider that a bad thing. Anyway, storage space was pretty ample in this little package. Even the mid-level trim offered just about all the amenities I wanted: MP3 jack, bluetooth, MP3 CD playback, and plentiful steering wheel controls.

The dashboard controls are fairly straightforward, except the display is unexpectedly disconnected from the controls. It sits above the air vents and is pretty small. The navigation screen is one of the smallest ones I’ve seen in a car. Storage inside the cabin is average, with small glove compartment, tiny in-dash compartment, and another compartment inside the armrest.

The drive was as zippy as I had hoped. From a standstill the car takes off without hesitation and shifts pretty quickly. Automatic downshifting when I take the foot off the gas was pretty good as well. Handling was fairly agile with very little leaning during cornering. Road noise was not as dampened as I would like (one of the things I like about most luxury brands). The ride was also a bit bumpy, but not horribly so. I felt like there was a lot of headroom, but not a lot of shoulder room. I forgot to take note of how comfortable the seats were, but I’m happy that leather is an option and not standard.

STYLE – I definitely like how the 5-door Mazda 3 looks. It’s sleek, kinda cute, and compact. However its stylishness is tempered a bit by the fact that I see these cars everywhere. It kinda reduces its uniqueness.

MILEAGE – 22/29 mpg – For being such a small car, I was expecting better mileage. It does do better city miles than my BMW, but the highway miles are disappointing.

COMPACT – No doubt about it, this is a compact car, and I like it.

UTILITY – This car is everything I love about compact hatchbacks – spacious versatility while still looking cute.

RELIABILITY – The Mazda 3, according to what I’ve read, is built in Japan, even though it has some Ford-designed parts. Japan knows how to build stuff right, so I trust its reliability.

PRICE – Starting at $20,290, this car is definitely at the lower end of my price range. The great thing about this is I can get everything fully loaded for significantly less than a base luxury model with no upgrades.

PROS:

• Versatile storage options
• Excellent price – I can get everything I want without worrying about it being too expensive
• I can choose which options to add to the car, without having to select an entire package (which tend to include options I don’t want or don’t care about)

CONS:

• Road noise is a little more than desired
• Kinda bumpy
• Mileage is disappointing

CONCLUSION
I wasn’t sure if I would seriously consider this car, since there’s nothing luxurious about it. However it does have nearly all the features I want for thousands less than any luxury model. I’m going to need to go back and sit in the car for awhile and see how comfortable the seats are. I don’t recall much, but I think they felt a little hard. I’ll also want to have a friend sit during a test drive to evaluate the bumpiness. I’m not a snob, but I don’t want to take too far a step back from my BMW. Comfort is important. It’s just a shame the mileage isn’t better.