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Mazda

10 February 2012

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2.0 Sport 4 door

Performance in the Mazda 3 Sport offers a combination of control and power.The ride is quite firm, although not uncomfortably so, this is to be expected in the ‘Sport’ model however. If you looked around for equivalent cars to the 2.0 Sport in terms of performance and equipment you would find the Mazda competitively priced.

Performance in the Mazda 3 Sport offers a combination of control and power. The 2.0 litre engine is set up to run in line with a 6-Speed gearbox which feels crisp and concise. You have the option of idling along at 30 mph around town in fifth gear, keeping the revs at 1500 and the car is a good family hatchback/saloon returning around 35 MPG. Put your foot down, let the revs go into the upper half of the rev band and the car comes alive all the way up to its limit of 8,000 rpm. The engine note is a beautiful thing and acceleration is swift and exhilarating. We loved this almost schizophrenic quality to the car.

The ride is quite firm, although not uncomfortably so, this is to be expected in the ‘Sport’ model however. The best thing about the ride is the sports seats; they are very supportive and cosset the body against roll through the sharpest of turns. They need to be supportive when you put your foot down and the car comes into its own! The steering in the Mazda 3 Sport is fairly light, although due to the low profile tyres and alloy wheels there is always a good level of communication between the road surface and steering wheel.

Reliability is the Hallmark of the Mazda brand and the reason why many customers bough Japanese cars 10-20 years ago. There was a time when owning a Mazda was seen as a compromise between great reliability and a poor standard of interior aesthetics and materials. The interior of this car however is in a different league to the Mazda range of 10 years ago, with soft touch materials, aluminium surrounds and a sporty but subtle ambience meaning it more than matches its European counterparts for desirability and quality.

Although the Mazda 3 scored enough points overall to qualify for five-stars, its performance in frontal impact did not meet Euro NCAP's criterion for that rating. Structures in the dashboard presented a potential risk of injury to the femurs of the driver and passenger. However, driver, passenger and side airbags come as standard, while curtain bags are to be found on all but the base S trim level. ABS with electronic brake force distribution is also standard on all models.

Four adults would easily fit in the Mazda 3, although for purposes of practicality you may want to look at the hatchback rather than the saloon for boot space. Is the car practical? Well Mazda seem to have got it right with the engine, it can be an everyday family car, or a bit of a scoundrel when pushed, which we feel just about sums up the combination of what every keen driver wants, when they have everyday needs and responsibilities.

Some tempting leasing deals are to be had throughout the Mazda 3 range, with the 1.6 Takara models being seen advertised from £149 per month! If you looked around for equivalent cars to the 2.0 Sport in terms of performance and equipment you would find the Mazda competitively priced.

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