The compact car segment is very popular in Canada, second only to CUV’s; because of its popularity, it’s also very competitive and there are a lot of excellent cars available to the consumers.

One of the top vehicles in this segment is the Mazda3, I see these cars everywhere in Vancouver. The Mazda3 competes with the likes of Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, and a few others. What sets the Mazda3 apart from the competition is the car’s fun to drive nature and styling. When the 3rd generation Mazda3 was introduced as a 2014 model, it won numerous awards around the world for it’s driving dynamics and styling.

The Mazda3 does have some fierce competition from the recently launched Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra; these cars aren’t as boring as they used to be and should give the 3 a good run for its money. Although both of the aforementioned cars have grown in size, putting them in the mid-size segment in Canada now, graduating from compact.

I reviewed the then new 2014 Mazda3 Sport GT a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed my time with the car. Two years later, I’m reviewing a 2016 Mazda3 GT, but this time it’s the sedan version of the car. Most of the car is unchanged for the 2016 model year, however, the 2017 car does get minor updates and the “G Vectoring Control” system.

Pricing

2016 Mazda3 is offered in four trims on the sedan, that’s one additional trim compared to the 2014 car, and three trims on the hatchback. The base Mazda3 G starts at $15,550 and is offered with a manual transmission only, and the top of the line GT tops out at $29,950. These prices do not include $1,695 freight and PDI. Below is a list of prices for all trims.

Our review car for the week was the 2016 Mazda3 GT with the Technology Package, with a sticker price of $29,950.

Engines

The same two engines offered on the 2014 Mazda3 are offered on the 2016 car, a 2.0 liter direct injection 4-cylinder SKYACTIV on the G, GX, and GS trims, and a 2.5 liter direct injection 4-cylinder SKYACTIV on the GT trim. The smaller engine produces 155 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 150 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. The bigger engine produces 184 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and 185 pound-feet of torque at 3,250 rpm. Both engines are offered with either a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmissions; steering wheel mounted paddle shifters are only available on the automatic transmission equipped GT models.

According to Mazda, the Mazda3 GT with the automatic transmission should consume 8.4 liters/100 km in the city and 6.1 liters/100 km on the highway. Our week-long review netted us 8.6 liters/100 km in 70/30 city/highway driving.

The 2.5 liter engine produces a good amount of power, making the drive enjoyable in the city and highway. The engine is responsive and the 6-speed automatic is smooth, shifting gears with the paddle shifters on the GT trim makes the drive more enjoyable if you’re into changing your own gears. There’s also a sport button, which gives you more revs and the transmission holds gears a little longer.
Unlike some of the competitors, the Mazda3 has a firmer suspension, giving the car a more sporty feel. I really liked the firmer suspension in my review from two years ago, I still like it and enjoyed driving the Mazda3 on curvy roads.

Styling

Styling on the Mazda3 hasn’t changed, at least that I could see, but the design is fairly new, so there isn’t a need for changes yet. I was a fan of the design of the hatchback from my last review, however I seem to like the sedan more now, my wife prefers the hatchback.

Design preference is a personal choice, so you may or may not agree with me. I think the Hyundai Elantra has a more elegant look, but the Mazda3 slots right behind the Elantra and is better looking than the other vehicles in this segment.

Interior

The interior also hasn’t changed in the last couple of years, however, there are minor changes for the 2017 car.

The dashboard is covered with soft-touch plastic and there is soft leather-like material on the door panels, providing a soft resting place for your elbow. The overall look and fit and finish is top notch. The layout of the interior is also very simple, elegant, and easy to understand, the layout is shared with other Mazda vehicles and I personally like the simplicity of it.

Like other Mazda vehicles, the Mazda3 comes with a knob on the center console that controls the pointer on the 7” touchscreen, I really like this system and it’s easy to get used to, which means you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to change radio stations, toggle between different menus, and there’s even a volume knob for those of us that prefer that type of a thing.

The gauges are easy to read and have the same layout as the CX-3, with a large tachometer in the middle and a small window for a digital speedometer, speed is also displayed on a HUD, which is a great safety feature as you don’t have to take your eyes (even for a split second) off the road to check your speed.

The interior is fairly well insulated from road noise, the engine does sound noisy on cold start ups (which is typical of direct injection engines) but that noise quickly goes away as the engine warms up. The interior is pretty comfortable and looks great with the leather seats with red stitching, the same stitching is also found on the steering wheel and the hand brake cover.

Technology

The Mazda3 comes with quite a few of the tech features we’ve come to expect even on compact cars. One of the features I really like is the hands free locking of the doors, when you park your car and leave with the key fob in your pocket, the car automatically locks all door.

Below is a list of some of the safety, convenience, and tech features our 2016 Mazda3 GT Technology Package came with:

Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBFD)
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
Traction Control System (TCS)
Whiplash reducing front seat headrests
Smart City Brake Support (SCBS)
Blind Spot Monitoring system (BSM)
Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA)
Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS)
High Beam Control system (HBC)
Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS) with automatic leveling
Bi-Xenon (HID) headlights with LED signature headlight
LED taillights
Fog lights
Auto on/off headlights
Heated exterior mirrors with integrated turn signal indicators
Rain sensing intermittent windshield wipers
Air conditioning with dual-zone automatic climate controls
Bluetooth
Steering wheel mounted audio and Bluetooth controls
Bose premium audio system with 9 speakers
SiriusXM satellite radio
USB (2) and auxiliary audio input
7″ color touchscreen display with Mazda Connect
Rearview camera
Voice Activated Navigation system
Active Driving Display (ADD)
Automatic dimming rear view mirror
Leather trimmed upholstery
Heated front seats
Power 6-way adjustable driver seat
Driver’s manual lumbar support
Manual 4-way adjustable passenger seat
Leather-like side door trim
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
Leather-wrapped shift knob
Leather-wrapped parking brake handle

Overall Impressions

I enjoyed my time in the Mazda3 two years ago, the same sporty feel of the car has been carried forward to the 2016 model and I had fun driving the Mazda3. The competition is trying to catch up with sportier cars, but I think the Mazda3 is still at the top of the compact segment when it comes to driving dynamics. It may not be the biggest car in the segment, but not everyone needs a bigger car.