The ‘3 will also offer a wide range of connectivity features so that your car will be best friends with your smartphone. The car can then play your music playlists or the Aha radio app, possibly on the optional Bose audio system. It will also read emails and messages for certain devices, and even read out latest tweets and Facebook updates. Because we need Facebook updates while we’re driving.
For decorative effect, there is also a slash of satin-finish silver plastic between the soft-touch black plastic of the upper dash and hard plastic of the lower dash and surrounding areas, a bit of piano-black gloss plastic around the shifter gate and the odd carbon-fibre-patterned plastic thrown in for good measure. The switchgear is all as sturdy and well finished as that of the Mazda6, so it is well ahead of the curve for this segment. The steering wheel on the pre-production sample we saw was leather and stitched for a sporty effect. The gauges, too were modern, with a central tach and two wings with ancillary information.
   2014 Mazda3. Click image to enlarge |
However, there’s also a new screen behind the steering wheel – for the head-up display! Oh wait, it’s called Active (not Activ?) Driving Display that projects vehicle speed, navigation info and other important driving information on a clear panel vertically mounted behind the instrument cluster hood.
Let’s talk size. Dimensionally, both the sedan and hatch have grown in wheelbase and width while shrinking in length and height, but with the intent to preserve passenger space through better packaging efficiency. For example, the front seat backs have been hollowed out for better knee room, and the seats lowered to preserve headroom. Still, it’s no Lincoln Town Car back there, and rear legroom (down 10 mm to 909 mm) now trails the Civic and Corolla even if, on paper, it is better than the Elantra GT that I found very accommodating in the rear seat. Sitting in the back seat, I found it tight, even for this segment (but still slightly better than the Focus, which at 843 mm of legroom can feel downright claustrophobic.).
  2014 Mazda3. Click image to enlarge |
Globally, the Mazda3 will be available with everything from a 1.5L four-cylinder gas engine to a 2.2L diesel, all of them Skyactiv. However, Canadians will see only the 2.0L and 2.5L Skyactiv-G four-cylinder gasoline power plants, but that is a great start. I’m sure Mazda will be keeping an eye on Cruze diesel sales to see if it is worth it to enter that market.
And file this in your crazy speculation files: Mazdaspeed3 with the diesel 2.2L Skyactiv-D powerplant. Crazy, right? But wait, in the Mazda6 it is expected to produce 173 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque (who wouldn’t want to have 300+ lb-ft of torque in a sport compact?), and Mazda has begun racing the Mazda6 Skyactiv-D to almost instant success, winning its class at Rolex Grand-Am GX race at Road Atlanta. It won’t even be the first diesel hot hatch destined for North America as Volkswagen is set to bring their diesel-powered sporty GTD in 2015. But enough about diesel-powered sport compacts, let’s talk about the models coming this fall.
The 155-hp, 148 lb-ft 2.0L should already be familiar to Canadians as it is the powertrain currently on offer in the Mazda3 GS-Sky trim. What was once an upgrade is now the base engine, and the 2.5L top-spec gains almost 20 hp and lb-ft in addition to expected fuel consumption savings. Not only that, the new Skyactiv 2.5 torque output at low- to mid-range speeds is increased by up to 15 percent over the MZR 2.5 engine, and the weight is reduced by 10 percent. At 184 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque, it is ample power for a car that should weigh no more than its 1,387 kg predecessor (in GT manual trim). It sure seems fine in the larger, heavier CX-5 and Mazda6, so this might be quite the little warm hatch for modest driving enthusiasts.
