  2014 Mazda3. Click image to enlarge |
Preview by Jonathan Yarkony, photos by Jonathan Yarkony and courtesy Mazda
New York, NY – Mazda is so excited about its new compact 2014 Mazda3, they had their own New York Auto Show for it. With no convenient auto show available before its fall 2013 launch (with North America first!), Mazda planned a dedicated reveal to introduce the new Kodo sheet metal, Skyactiv engineering and refined interior of the 2014 Mazda3. Mazda is quick to acknowledge that this is their most important model, available globally and accounting for over 30 percent of US sales. It is particularly strong in the Canadian market, where it is the source of 50 percent of Mazda sales here, and has dabbled in past years with the bestselling Civic as a sales leader in the compact segment. So why not give it a show where it can be the uncontested centre of attention?
Design-wise, it is cutting edge, taking the sharp creases and katana–inspired chrome highlights we first saw on the Shinari and Takeri concepts, then the production CX-5 and Mazda6. On the Mazda3, the detailing remains exciting and intricate, especially those headlights and character lines, but personally I find that the narrower and taller body don’t quite play out as well as the wide, low Mazda6. Nonetheless, this look is sophisticated and aggressive enough (almost angry, even) to suit current trends. Feel free to judge for yourselves from these pictures and chime in with your own thoughts on its styling in our forum.
   2014 Mazda3. Click image to enlarge |
Inside, the Mazda3 takes its own path, differing from the CX-5 and ‘6 with a dash-top infotainment screen a la Mercedes CLA/B-Class. Between the knob and the screen, the centre stack features a modern, high-tech design with climate controls that can be automated on upper trims.
In full dress, the Mazda3 features an iDrive-like knob-scroll-wheel controller for the infotainment system, which offers navigation, full audio compatibility through USB/auxiliary input. Mazda is calling this infotainment system their Human Machine Interface (HMI), and I expect you’ll be seeing a lot of marketing material to such effect. Basically, Mazda divides the information up into multiple screens, including the gauges, the screen on the dash as well as a head-up display.
