2008 Mazda3 Review

The Mazda3 is a premium compact car, exciting to drive and look at, and equipped with unexpected luxury features, all at a reasonable price. Built on the same platform as the Volvo S40, the compact, front-wheel-drive Mazda3 displayed entirely different styling. For 2008, s Sport models have standard side-impact and side curtain airbags. The Mazda3 is a driver's car that's practical. The Mazda3 is useful, space-efficient, economical and pleasant across a broad range of driving situations. It also has the style, comfort, features, and personality to transform any driving experience into a sporting proposition. With the Mazda3, compared to its competitors, you get more car for your money, and that means personality as well as features. Simply put, the Mazda3 is a driver's car, meant for people who enjoy their time in an automobile.

Mazda3 Power and Drive

The easy-to-drive Mazda3 handles more adeptly than most rivals. The automatic transmission delivers quick, smooth responses. Performance with the larger engine falls short of some sporty compacts, but it will satisfy most drivers. That engine is generally quiet, but it emits a fair amount of blare when pushed. With an easy-shifting manual gearbox and a well-behaved clutch, even the Mazda3 i with the smaller engine feels more spirited than an upper-level model with the automatic. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the Mazda3 i has variable valve timing and develops 148 horsepower (144 hp in PZEV form). The Mazda3 s uses a 2.3-liter four-cylinder that pumps out 156 hp. A five-speed manual gearbox is standard, and a four-speed automatic transmission with a manual-shift provision is optional for the Mazda3 i. The 2.3-liter engine can mate with a five-speed automatic

Design of the '08 Mazda3

  Comparatively upright in profile, the Mazda3 is built with a wide track and a relatively long wheelbase for its size. A Sport Package that includes sport bumpers, side skirts, 17-inch alloy wheels and fog lamps is available on s sedans and standard on s hatchbacks. Steel wheels hold 15-inch tires on the Mazda3 i sedan; the Mazda3 s sedan gets 16-inch alloy wheels, while the Mazda3 s hatchback rolls on 17-inch rubber. The wagonlike hatchback has small triangular rear quarter windows. Sedans get a short but high rear deck. The Mazda3 has far more visual presence than you'd expect from a car with a Japanese nameplate. The designers worked hard to give this car the kind of character that will set it apart from other compact cars, and the result is a surprisingly bold look. The facelift for 2007 defined the style even more clearly, with a body-color grille surround and new front bumper with square fog lights for both the 3s models plus brighter and more substantial-looking 16- and 17-inch cast-aluminum wheels.

2008 Mazda3 Interior

The Mazda3 can hold five people. The steering column tilts and telescopes, and the instruments sit in a trio of round, recessed nacelles. A ratchet-type mechanism permits seat adjustment, allowing the cushion and seatback to move up and down together. Although the front seats are nicely shaped, their seatbacks are on the hard side. Rear legroom is limited, but foot space is good. Headroom is average in the rear but meager in the center position. Placing the rear-suspension coil springs beneath the floor increases the hatchback's rear storage space. The utility of the Mazda3's interior is enhanced by a standard folding 60/40 split back seat, which enables you to increase trunk room for large loads. The back of the rear seat doesn't quite fold flat, but it's close. Thanks to this design, the Mazda3 five-door will accommodate 43.8 cubic feet of cargo behind the front seats when the second seat is folded down. The Mazda3 affords plenty of practical storage space, notably a cavernous glovebox. Two cupholders are integrated into the center console, while a small but deep box separates the seats. Rear-seat armrests have integrated cupholders.

Mazda3 Trim Levels

  The base-level Mazda3i Sport comes with manual windows and door locks. It has a tachometer, variable-intermittent wipers, a 60/40 split fold-down rear seat, a tilt-and-telescope steering wheel with remote audio controls, and a four-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system with automatic level control and an iPod-friendly input jack. All-season 195/65HR15 tires mount on steel wheels.

Mazda3i Touring adds air conditioning, power windows and door locks, remote keyless entry, cruise control, power-adjustable outside mirrors, height-adjustable driver's seat, an upgraded six-speaker audio system, and 205/55HR16 tires on 16-inch alloy wheels.
Mazda3s Sport sedan upgrades to the larger engine and adds a leather-wrapped shift knob, electroluminescent gauges, fog lights, and more stylish bumpers. The 3s Sport hatchback is similarly equipped, but rolls on 205/50VR17 tires on 17-inch alloy rims. All hatchback models come with a rear wiper, rigid rear cargo area cover, and cargo management system.

Mazda3s Touring sedan and hatchback add the 205/50VR17 tires and alloy wheels, plus electronic stability control and traction control.

Mazda3s Grand Touring sedan and hatchback add leather seating, synthetic leather door inners, heated front seats, HID headlights with automatic on/off, rain-sensing windshield wipers, automatic climate control, a trip computer, clear-lens LED taillights, and a theft-deterrent system.

Conclusions

Side-impact and side curtain airbags are optional. All-disc antilock brakes with brake assist are standard on s models and optional on i models. Traction control and an electronic stability system are available on s models. Competitors include the Honda Civic and Volkswagen Jetta. For further research, read another 2008 Mazda3 review by the Car Connection. The Mazda3 is a true world car. It's space-efficient and exciting to drive like a European car. It's practical and economical like a Japanese car. And like an American car, it's available with a surprising list of comfort and luxury features. The Mazda 3, or Mazda3, was developed on three continents, by various international subsidiaries of the Ford Motor Company, which owns 33.4 percent of Mazda Motor Corporation. Volvo developed the Mazda3's body. Ford itself contributed the suspension design and sophisticated electronics. And Mazda engineered the four-cylinder engines and then tuned the complete car at its test track in Japan. The result is a car that could change the way people think about compact cars. This is a premium automobile, exciting to drive, styled adventurously, and fully equipped with luxury features. There's nothing austere, basic or cheap about it. The seats are supportive and comfortable, good for long drives. For the latest updates on this model, visit the official Mazda Mazda3 site.