Morale Boost
Mazda enthusiasts around the world continue to mourn the loss of the Mazdaspeed name. A punchier version of a car that was already pretty fun to drive, without compromising on reliability, comfort or practicality is rarely a bad thing. While the marque is still in foreseeable limbo, there is still cause for cheer, because turbocharging the Mazda3 Sport has brought that winning formula back to the forefront – mostly.
The Mazda3 Turbo is a little bit of a sleeper – in the sense that visually, you might not expect it to pack the kind of punch it does. It looks virtually identical to a standard Mazda3. Save for a badge on the trunk lid, there’s no extra vents, bulging fenders or any superfluous details to hint at the added performance. Not that it really needs it per se, but compared to the prior Mazdaspeed 3, this is a far subtler approach. It is subjective, but we like it. Mazda’s current and prior generation of design have erred towards simple and elegant rather than overtly sporty and aggressive, and even cars like the last the CX-5 and CX-9, which embody the prior era of design language, still look sleek and modern on the road. The new Mazda3 carries on that tradition, and exemplifies it further. Like its predecessor, we think this car will still look fresh 10 years from now – inside and out.
The way this car is styled, it’d almost feel right at home with a more ‘upscale’ badge on it. There are a few hints to its more everyman origin, such as a few cheaper-feeling plastic surfaces, but they are few in number. Drivers will also be happy to know – it feels premium on the road. The turbo’s added punch paired with the All-Wheel-Drive keeps this hatchback feeling planted, secure and safe. Mazda has done well keeping road noise and other unpleasantries to a very acceptable minimum level. The 2.5L turbocharged unit is the same you find in certain trims of the CX-9, CX-5 and Mazda6. We loved that engine in those –and love it even more in this compact package. The smaller size means you really feel the benefit of that extra power – all 250 horses. That’s more than you get in a Golf GTI. For some purists though, the lack of an available 6-speed manual will be a letdown. It is a good transmission however, shifting smoothly and fairly responsively. There is a sport mode toggle that will let it behave a little more aggressively, but we found leaving it as it is, is just fine.
As a certain uncle once said, with great power comes great responsibility. You’ll be responsible for a bigger gas bill in the Turbo. The extra horses will eat up some more gas over the non-turbo variants. Over a week of mixed driving, we got around 9.0 L/100km. That’s not bad, but compared to some other hatchbacks on the market, it’s not as great either. Luckily the little turbo can run on both regular and premium fuel. But you will end up getting a performance drop down to 227 horsepower should you go that route.
Starting at just over $29,000, the Sport GT is some awesome bang for the buck. But our tester, with the turbo engine, All Wheel Drive, Premium Package (18-inch wheels, HUD, smart braking, etc) and even the paint, ended up pushing that cost to over $37,000. The Mazda3 is great value for the money, and we enjoyed our time with the Sport GT Turbo very much, but that price is a hard pill to swallow no matter how you look at it. This is a wonderful car – but that joy can still be had without every option checked off.
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