All New 2014 Mazda3 It's A Game Changer
2014 Mazda3 Drive and Review
By Larry Nutson
Senior Editor – New York Bureau
The Auto Channel
Mid-September brings baseball playoffs and Team Mazda has had a good season. Home run standouts for Mazda this year are the CX-5 compact SUV and the all-new Mazda6 mid-size sedan. In short, on the playing field of Mazda retail stores these two vehicles are sold very quickly. Dealerships could sell more if they had more.
And now it looks like there will be another home run for Team Mazda with the all-new 2014 Mazda3 compact four-door. Available as a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback, this new Mazda3 is at dealerships now.
The Mazda3 has been Mazda’s biggest selling model. Since its debut in 2003 more than 3.5 million have been sold around the world. The U.S. is the first market to get the all-new version.
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Mazda3 is offered in four trim levels – SV (sedan only), Sport, Touring and Grand Touring.
In a recent day of test driving the 2014 Mazda3 I experienced the 5-door with the 184HP, Skyactiv-G 2.5L engine and 6-speed automatic and also the 4-door sedan with the 155HP, Skyactiv-G 2.0L engine and 6-speed automatic. The 2.0L engine also can be had with a 6-speed manual if you prefer working with three pedals. It will save you about $1050 too. Mazda says the 6-speed manual will be coming at a later date mated to the 2.5L engine.
The Mazda3 has a very high fun-to-drive quotient while delivering the all-too-important good real world fuel economy that drivers want today. EPA test fuel economy for i sedans is estimated at 29 city/41 highway/33 combined mpg (6MT) and 30 city/41 highway34 combined mpg (6AT). All five-door i models are rated at 29 city/40 highway/33 combined mpg with a manual transmission and 30 city/40 highway/33 combined mpg when equipped with an automatic. The more powerful SKYACTIV-G 2.5-liter gasoline engine is reserved for s models, which are available only as Touring and Grand Touring trim levels. EPA test estimated fuel economy for the s-designated sedan is 28 city/39 highway/32 combined mpg or 28 city/39 highway/32 combined mpg when equipped with i-ELOOP. Five-doors are estimated to achieve 27 city/37 highway/31 combined mpg or 28 city/38 highway/32 combined mpg with i-ELOOP.
i-ELOOP is a capacitor-based regenerative engine braking system that reduces real world fuel consumption. Active grille shutters are also used to reduce aerodynamic drag and thus help reduce fuel consumption.
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As I said, the Mazda3 is an engaging car to drive and the driver-oriented cockpit has each control and function from the arrangement of switches and knobs to the physical location of driving controls, such as the shifter, specifically placed with intuitive utility in mind. The less time spent focusing on adjusting switches and tapping on-screen touch-display commands, the more time a driver is engaged in the act of driving.
All new for Mazda vehicles and being launched with the 2014 Mazda3 is a new HMI (Human Machine Interface) approach and MAZDA CONNECT, a next-generation infotainment system. Based on the head-up cockpit concept, the new HMI system aims to help drivers maintain proper posture, concentrate on the road and drive more safely, even while handling larger amounts of data.
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I mentioned that the all-new Mazda3 has a number of segment-first features. One is Smart City Brake Support (SCBS) that helps prevent or soften impact with the vehicles ahead when traveling at speeds under 19mph by reducing brake pedal travel and then applying the brakes. Also, Mazda Radar Cruise Control (MRCC) determines the difference in speed and distance separating a Mazda3 from the vehicle ahead and automatically adjusts vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance.
Mazda didn’t follow the industry norm of benchmarking competitors but instead benchmarked premium segment vehicles.
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2014 Mazda3: the new compact MVP.
© Larry Nutson