Kirsten Dow-Pearce with the 2019 Mazda3 Sport GT AWD.Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia Kirsten Dow-Pearce looks at vehicles with a critical eye. Anything the architectural and interior designer would consider driving has to meet certain criteria, including having all-wheel drive capability, a degree of utility and, importantly, they cant look all bubbly I prefer something with a meaner style and some angles, the Calgarian says.So, with those considerations in mind, how did the 2019 Mazda3 Sport GT AWD stack up in her opinion?I liked that the hood was long, the Reader Reviewer says of her first impression, and adds, while the back was rounded it didnt look too mom-ish. It wasnt all round and cute, and I did like the look of the front end. Heres what Mazda has to say about the design of one of their best-selling automobiles; The hatchback is meant to be sportier and more emotional, featuring aggressive body sides and C-pillars that do away with traditional body lines and adopt constantly shifting reflections. The hatchback design is topped with a roofline that suggests speed and helps express a powerful presence.Mazdas 3-series has been on the market in sedan and hatch variants since 2004, and the redesigned 2019 model year cars are available in a number of trim levels including GX, GS and GT. These are well-equipped vehicles, and power in the base GX is a 2.0-litre engine coupled with a six-speed manual transmission.In the GS and GT a larger 2.5L engine lurks under the hood, coupled to either a six-speed standard or six-speed automatic gearbox. Dow-Pearces $33,345 GT had all-wheel drive, and the only transmission available when so equipped is the six-speed automatic.Dow-Pearce learned to drive in Calgary and her first car was a 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit with a standard transmission that was already well-used when she inherited the vehicle. Regardless, she kept it and drove the Rabbit for many years.Her next car was a Honda Prelude, followed by a 2004 Audi A4. She currently drives a 2016 Volvo V60, a wagon thats ideally suited for her design practice as she routinely hauls carpet and tile samples and many other items around to various sites.Dow-Pearces sister drives an older Mazda3, so shes familiar with the vehicle.I guess, somewhat snobbishly, that Id gravitate toward a higher-end luxury brand, but the look of the Mazda has certainly turned my head, she explains. Her test car was finished in Mazdas optional $450 Soul Red metallic paint, and she says the colour suited the hatchback. She also liked the low-profile tires, and says they added to the overall sporty stance of the car.Inside, Dow-Pearce was impressed by the perforated black leather covers on the seats.Inside the holes, you could see a red colour and that was really neat, she says.She says the dash, however, was a bit amorphous, and not rectilinear. Behind the steering wheel, there was quite an arch to it but it wasnt busy or complicated, and that was a good thing.Getting comfortable in the 10-way power adjustable drivers seat was easy for the 5-foot 9-inch tall Dow-Pearce. Likewise, adjusting the mirrors to her benefit was an easy proposition. While the steering wheel will telescope, theres no tilt and Dow-Pearce would have liked to fine-tune the position.The interior is not plasticky, and its really well put together, she says. The gearshift is in the centre console, and theres a little toggle to the left of it to select the drive mode.Dow-Pearce drove the 3 in Normal mode for a few days so she could appreciate the difference when she finally switched into Sport mode.The car never felt like it was underpowered in either mode, she says, and adds, but Sport was just so much more fun and I did use the shifter to change my own gears I enjoyed using that and could see it being used when driving for the sport of driving.When left to shift for itself, Dow-Pearce says the six-speed automatic shifted smoothly and she appreciated the shift points that it selected.Most of her time was spent commuting around Calgary, but she did get the car onto Highway 1 for a trip west to Canmore.There was no vibration or buzzing noises, although sometimes the road noise was a bit loud, she says. Handling was good, and I liked the size of the car and I always knew where the corners of the car were when navigating a parking lot. It had a good turning radius, and parking it was easy.“It lends itself to someone who enjoys driving without forgoing utility,” Dow-Pearce saysThe ride was smooth and comfortable and the brakes, she says, were well-suited to the car.Dow-Pearce initially thought the cargo area would be small, but she managed to carry a full load of groceries back there, and on the Canmore drive the familys hiking gear was stowed without a problem.My 10-year old couldnt see out the rear passenger door window, theyre not very deep, Dow-Pearce points out.She thinks the 3 Sport would best suit someone who does plenty of city driving and might be looking
Origin: Reader Review: 2019 Mazda3 Sport GT AWD
Mazda3
Car Comparison: 2019 Mazda3 Sport vs. 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N Line
Welcome to Dude Said, Punk Said — a special series devoted to skewering the automotive ramblings of young punk Nick Tragianis with the infinite wisdom of old dude Brian Harper. This week, the duo see how Hyundai’s ‘warm hatch’ — the Elantra GT N Line — stacks up against the freshly redesigned Mazda3 Sport.Nick Tragianis: Its tough to be a regular car these days, what with consumers flocking to pretty much anything with some body cladding, extra ground clearance, and a higher seating position at the expense of driving dynamics, all because they want something a bit more practical than a car. But what if I told you, most of the time, a hatchback is more than enough?The Hyundai Elantra GT and Mazda3 Sport prove you can have your cake and eat it, too. These two arent quite balls-to-the-wall hot hatchbacks, but they both provide a decent dose of cargo space certainly plenty for day-to-day use in an overall package that wont put you to sleep. Brian Harper: Snore! Wheres the passion, kid, the excitement? Youve pretty much described a couple of appliances. No, neither of the two is a hot hatch, though the new N Line version of the Elantra GT replacing the GT Sport for 2019 is certainly warm. The brand-new Mazda3 Sport, meanwhile, is simply one of the best all-around hatchbacks ever produced.These are two great, affordable cars, highly usable with plenty of zip for getting around city congestion, with plenty of comfort and cargo room on longer drives. The Elantra and Mazda3 are direct competitors in size, intent and pricing structure. Its their trim levels that differentiate them. So, make your case do you prefer the added power and boy racer-ish nature of the N Line or the surprising sophistication of the 3 Sport GT?NT: Lets start with the Elantra, shall we? First things first: Its not a North American-spec i30 N. No, that delicious hot hatch is forbidden fruit for us, and will remain so for the next little while. Still, the Elantra GT N Line ($27,199 as tested) is on the right track its 1.6-litre turbo-four is good for 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, and thats sent to the front wheels via a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. It also gets sport-tuned suspension bits and bigger brakes, as well as some visual tweaks to set itself apart from the regular Elantra hatch. Its a nifty little package; the Elantra definitely feels zippier than the Mazda thanks to the extra horses and torques, and it handles quite well. Its a pretty good manual, too the clutch is easy to modulate and the shifter is crisp. But it just doesnt feel like its the complete package, unlike the Mazda3 GT ($28,600 as tested). Its bones are familiar the normally aspirated 2.5L SkyActiv four-cylinder puts out 186 horsepower and torque, and its hooked up to either a six-speed manual or automatic. On paper, its down compared to the Elantra, but Mazda makes up for that with displacement the 2.5 is much smoother, and actually fun to wring out with the manual. And although Mazda now uses a torsion-beam rear suspension setup, much to the chagrin of armchair enthusiasts, the new 3 handles no worse than it ever did. Hell, it rides a lot better wind and road noise are barely noticeable, and it soaks up bumps and rough pavement like a champ.BH: Yes, the 3, especially in topline GT trim, has turned out to be quite the package, hasnt it? Big-time kudos to Mazda for not only sticking with the hatchback segment, but building something that people want to own, rather than having to own. (At the risk of unkind comments by yourself regarding my slide into Seniorsville, most of the hatchbacks I was exposed to in my 20s emphasized economy of operation over amenities and comfort my eventual purchase of a VW Scirocco being an exception.) And speaking of the Scirocco, I think the design of the 3 boasts one of the sexiest shapes for a hatchback since Giorgetto Giugiaro penned the VW coupe more than 45 years ago. The two downsides of fashion over function is that the Mazda3s rear hatch window is the size of a mail slot, hindering visibility and thus making the backup camera a necessity; and its thick C-pillars create a somewhat claustrophobic environment for rear-seat passengers. If either is am primary concern, the Elantra GT is the better bet.NT: The Elantra definitely has the advantage in terms of visibility at least, out the back and cargo space, with 705 litres seats up and 1,560 L seats down, versus 569 and 1,334 L seats up and down, respectively, for the Mazda3. Unfortunately, thats about it for the Elantra GTs interior sure, the layout is logical, with everything placed where it needs to be. Sure, the infotainment is easy to use, and physical knobs and buttons control all the vital functions. Sure, the N Line packaging adds nifty red trim bits on the dash and seats. But the overall look and feel is lacking; where the Elantra GT was near the top of the class when it first launched in
Origin: Car Comparison: 2019 Mazda3 Sport vs. 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N Line
New Skyactiv-X engine hits Mazda3 order sheets in Europe
2019 Mazda3 Mazda’s new ground-breaking compression-spark-ignition gasoline engine has officially gone on sale in Europe, being recently made available in the compact Mazda3, where it achieves excellent fuel economy while offering some oomph for sporty car drivers, too. The gasoline-powered Skyactiv-X engine uses technology similar to a diesel’s, and can be switched from spark-ignition to compression-ignition to increase fuel economy. The engine has a compression ratio of 16.3:1. The revolutionary design is the first to be offered in the mass-market, and Mazda claims it helps the vehicle achieve a 4.3 L/100 km to 5.6 L/100 km rating in the European test cycle. Along with the huge gas savings, the engine also makes 178 horsepower and 165 lb.-ft. of torque, more than enough to have some fun. Yes, the current 2.5-litre four-cylinder makes more power – some 186 more horses, to be exact – but the combination of decent enough power with excellent fuel economy coupled with all-wheel-drive will make this a serious contender in many segments, and an excellent all-rounder. Mazda will also give something for the enthusiast to fawn over: a six-speed manual transmission that can be had with either front-wheel-drive or the more enticing all-wheel-drive option. For now though, only the hatchback will be available with AWD, not the sedan. Whether or not the manual transmission will make it to Canada remains to be seen; same goes for the mileage claims. But Mazda has been good to buyers in the past by offering most of the same options in North America that it does
Origin: New Skyactiv-X engine hits Mazda3 order sheets in Europe
Car Review: 2019 Mazda3 Sport GT
OVERVIEW Mazda puts the sexy back into the compact hatch segment PROSBest-looking hatchback in a long time, typical Mazda sportiness, well-contented CONSTight back seat for taller passengers, poor rearward visibility VALUE FOR MONEYVery good WHAT TO CHANGE?Manual shifter could be better HOW TO SPEC IT?Sport GS with Luxury package and i-Activ AWD ($28,900) “An aspiration for all drivers.” That is the very ambitious theme behind the development of Mazda’s latest and greatest Mazda3 compact sedan and hatchback. Yet, over the car’s 15-year history, the 3 has consistently punched above its weight, offering something inherently sportier and more enjoyable to drive than the average, budget-based compact car — certainly enough to shame the likes of the Toyota Corolla, Nissan’s Sentra, Honda Civic (more often than not), departing Chevy Cruze and a number of others. So, maybe the new 2019 model’s aspirations are not such a stretch after all. Without question the Mazda3, available in sedan and hatchback (Sport) body styles, has truly upped its game. The company has quantitatively and qualitatively improved the car’s performance and handling dynamics while reducing cabin noise and increasing feature content. Still, for the first day or two, something felt a little off. More specifically, the configuration of the tester — a front-wheel-drive Mazda3 Sport GT with a six-speed manual transmission — seemed to befuddle my perceptions. Allow me to explain the initial confusion: The Sport hatch comes in three specific trim levels — GX, GS and topline GT. The GT tester, already generously equipped, was further upgraded with a $2,500 Premium package, adding a bunch of convenience features, including a head-up display, navigation and a lovely leather-lined cabin in a deep red hue. So it seemed strange that a manual transmission would be standard at this $28,600 price point — even though the figure is still below any sort of luxury price threshold. Furthermore, if you were blindfolded and placed inside, not knowing you were in a Mazda, the manual would be the only immediate indication you weren’t in something costing appreciably more. (By the way, kudos to the interior engineers whose efforts to quell noise, vibration and harshness were clearly successful.) So, among compact hatchbacks, the tester was clearly no budget-based economy car. But, could it be considered a hot hatch? Well, on one hand, look no further than the Sport’s delightful 2.5-litre four-cylinder, standard in the GS and GT trims. Its 186 horsepower and equivalent torque had to move a mere 1,390 kilograms of car, so acceleration was brisk enough, zero to 100 km/h in the low 7s. Equally, the engine was far quieter and much smoother than I remember in other Mazda models. And looking at the 3 Sport’s primary competition — Corolla Hatchback (168 hp), Civic Hatchback (180 hp), Subaru Impreza 5-door (152 hp) and Hyundai Elantra GT (161 hp) — the Mazda had just a bit extra in its back pocket when cutting through traffic. On the other hand, just throw out the VW GTI, Civic Si or the upcoming Elantra GT N Line for comparison — the 3 Sport has no answer to these, never mind the heavy hitters (Golf R, Civic Type R, Impreza WRX, et al). Unless Mazda relents and surprises the long-suffering faithful with a new Speed3 (unlikely), the best that can be said about the 3 Sport is that it’s sport-ish. And though I’m a dedicated three-pedal guy, I think I’d choose the six-speed automatic if a new Mazda3 was to take up permanent residence in my driveway. Admittedly I’m spoiled — my own NC Miata has one of the best manuals in the biz, with foolproof shifts and short, precise throws. The Mazda3’s manual box is good, but, naturally, it just didn’t have the same crispness. And maybe it was just the tester, but the shifter would sometimes get hung up in the gate when moving from neutral into first. Not all the time, but enough that I found it easier to move the lever into second and then straight up into first to assure it was in gear. A couple more days driving allowed me to prioritize my expectations and truly enjoy the car. In my mind, the 3 Sport GT is an all-’rounder, balancing good performance, typical Mazda sporty handling, some really nice comfort and convenience features, and an inspired shape that breathes new life into the somewhat staid compact hatch segment. It’s easily the best-looking hatch since the Giugiaro-designed VW Scirocco more than 40 years ago. Still, there is one fairly significant negative about the Sport’s sleek, rounded styling — thick C-pillars and a tapered roofline that severely compromise rear-view visibility. If it weren’t for the fact the GT comes with a standard backup camera as well as blind spot monitoring and cross-traffic alert, this could be a big problem in urban use. Also, depending on who’s occupying the front seats, rear-seat legroom for taller passengers can be on the skimpy side.
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Mazda3 Sport GT
Reader Review: 2019 Mazda3 GT
Jeff Griffiths test drove the 2019 Mazda 3 and found it to be a great small car.Gavin Young/Postmedia When searching for a reader to drive the 2019 Mazda3 GT a number of people turned down the opportunity. For the most part, they simply felt the car was beneath them. But Jeff Griffiths says they don’t know what they were missing. “To me, Mazda has always seemed to be more car than you pay for,” the Calgarian says, and adds, “I was really looking forward to a chance to drive the Mazda3. “I thought it would be a fun and interesting car that might be a bit quirky – because Mazda’s always been a bit of a quirky car company—and I’m going back to the RX3s and the rotary engines. I’ve always liked Mazdas from afar, but I’ve never owned one.” Currently one of Mazda’s best-selling models, the compact Mazda3 replaced the outgoing Protégé in 2004. Mazda fully revamped the 3-model in 2014 for its third generation using the automaker’s Kodo design language and the full suite of SkyActiv technologies. Four years later, in November 2018, Mazda launched the all-new fourth-generation 3-series as a 2019 model-year vehicle. “The Mazda3 sedan delivers true sedan nature by skillfully applying Mazda’s further-evolved Kodo design language to the hood, cabin and trunk presented as three distinct elements, and to the overall form, which adopts a horizontally oriented flow that produces a calm look,” the automaker writes in a model brief. “The design concept is ‘sleek and elegant’.” In Canada, the Mazda3 is the four-door sedan, while the Mazda3 Sport is the five-door hatch. Both models are available in GX, GS and GT trims, and all are well-equipped. Power in the front-wheel drive GX and GS is a 2.0-litre engine coupled with a six-speed manual transmission. A larger 2.5-litre engine is optional in the GS and standard in the GT. All-wheel drive can be had in the GS and GT, too, but only with Mazda’s six-speed automatic transmission. And, the only gearbox available in the top-of-the line GT is the automatic. Griffiths’ Mazda 3 GT was supplied with the optional Premium Package, which added leather seats with a 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat with power lumbar support, front wiper de-icer and rear parking sensors. His car was finished with an optional $300 Machine Grey metallic paint job. As tested, Griffiths’ Mazda3 GT, including destination charge but before taxes, rang in at $30,695. Griffiths learned to drive in Ontario and the first car he bought was a 1975 Honda Civic. The Civic cost him $35, and only needed a battery and the alternator belt adjusted before he drove it for several years while attending college. Currently, Griffiths drives a 2012 Volkswagen Golf wagon, a vehicle he uses to commute and haul the family’s two dogs, and jokingly calls it his ‘two lab cab.’ His wife, Lucie, maintains a 2011 Audi A3. If the pair take a road trip, they’ll travel in the Audi. Griffiths much prefers to tour long distances on his motorcycle, however, and has close to 200,000 kilometres on his 2006 Yamaha FJR1300. Here’s what Griffiths had to say about the Mazda3 after first laying eyes on the test vehicle. “It was a lot bigger car than I thought it would be – it was wider, chunkier,” he says, and adds, “The shapes and curves in the sheet metal look good and I liked the high trunk line.” While walking around the vehicle, Griffiths says he was surprised to see a decent and ‘not inexpensive’ set of Pirelli tires on the 18-inch alloy rims. After sliding behind the steering wheel, Griffiths continued to be impressed. “It felt higher-end than I expected it would,” he explains. “It feels like it was put together by people who cared about the product – down to details as intricate as the stitching.” Griffiths enjoyed sitting in the 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat, and his wife Lucie preferred the passenger seat in the Mazda3 to the one in the Audi A3. “Those seats were just nice places to be,” he says. Overall ergonomics were rated as great. All the controls were well laid out and everything was where Griffiths expected it to be. The only problem he had was working his way through the infotainment system, but even then, he still found the Mazda3 an easy car to like. “It’s got lots of snap from the 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine,” Griffiths says of the driving performance. “When you put the boot to it, it’s got plenty of get up and go and doesn’t ever seem to be working too hard.” Of the ride, Griffiths found the Mazda3 was firmly suspended but never offered up any harshness. There was no body lean when going through corners at a spirited clip. Although the trunk was a generous size, Griffiths found it wouldn’t swallow all objects, such as a new laser printer. The opening was too narrow to allow the carton to fit. Handing back the key, Griffiths thinks the Mazda3 would best suit a small family, or, someone like himself – someone who commutes every day, and is looking for a fuel-efficient, fun and roomy car. “Like I
Origin: Reader Review: 2019 Mazda3 GT
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