Thank you to Modern Mazda for allowing me to take this 2021 Mazda3 Premium Hatchback out for a drive!
The Mazda3 holds a special place in my heart, as a 2012 i Touring SKYACTIV was my first manual car. I learned manual on the streets of Boston, as I outline in my blog post, and I was not kind to that car. In return, it treated me very well, never left me stranded, and I sold it at 100k miles with the stock clutch still going strong.
Nowadays, if you want a new Mazda with a manual transmission and back seats - this car, in this trim, is your only option. So, let's dive in.
Walking up to the car, the rounded edges, beautiful (and very shiny) polymetal gray metallic color, simple, but sophisticated-looking front grill, and premium black rims certainly all align well with Mazda's push toward modern, sleek, and luxurious.
Hopping into the back seat, there's plenty of space for me. This car is definitely bigger than my second-generation sedan. I can fit comfortably in the back, with the front seat set to my 5'7" driving position. And I would have absolutely zero issues sitting back here for long stretches of time.
Jumping into the driver's seat, the theme of modern luxury is continued, and done very well. The gauge cluster has three large circles, that appear to be digitally-simulated analog gauges. Tachometer, speedometer, and gas gauge and oil temperature. The center dash is black-on-black, with simple knobs and buttons for temperature control and heated seats. The infotainment screen has the look of a tablet, sitting nicely on a shelf, just below eye-level. The shift-knob is simple, but solid looking. Behind the shifter are a handful of large buttons, an electronic brake button, and a knob for controlling the infotainment system. And the fully-adjustable driver's seat, with side bolsters and power lumbar support, is very comfortable.
This one has all the bells and whistles you could ever want, and then some. It's got adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, navigation, Bluetooth, a backup camera, and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, and the upgraded Bose sound system.
The infotainment system is not your standard touch-screen. It uses that knob behind the gear-shift to navigate through the different menus. While I do appreciate the fact that I don't have to worry about finger-prints all over the screen, the knob is definitely more cumbersome.
Navigating through the menus in the infotainment system, there is a lot here. A lot. Like, a whole lot. Beyond the standard fare, there are vehicle monitoring systems, sound settings, safety settings, system settings, and my personal favorite - an owner's manual. Among many other things, this car will tell you where the spare tire is located, and how to change it. I've never seen this before, and I believe that an easily accessible, digital version of your owner's manual should be a feature on every new car.
Foot on the clutch, foot on the brake, push button to start. The clutch is very light and smooth. I prefer a heavier clutch, but this looks to be where pretty much all of the newer cars are headed. Shifter into first, gearbox is smooth as well and the shift-knob is very solid, and has a good feel to it. Visibility looks to be good, outside of the C-pillar, which does make for a pretty rough blind-spot.
Driving around town, I find the car very pleasant and enjoyable. It handles like my old Mazda3 (in a very good way), but the ride is definitely smoother and quieter. I've come to terms with the light clutch, and I'm enjoying rowing through the gears. I notice that this Mazda also seems to know the speed limit, as indicated on the gauge cluster, which is a very nice feature.
Putting my foot into it, it responds well. It doesn't give me quite the same get-up-and-go as my hot hatch, but with the 186-hp, 186 ft-lb, 2.5L 4-cylinder engine, it still has plenty of that Zoom-Zoom in it. And for something that looks and feels more like luxury, it can certainly get out of it's own way well enough. The handling feels great in general, though hard corners are also not quite this car's specialty, as you will definitely feel the body roll. But it handles them plenty well enough for a fun daily driver. Again, the hard corners are not really what this car was made for, but I had to give it a try.
On the other end of things, it handles frequent stops and very slow speeds especially well. In second gear, pulling up to a stop sign - noted by both myself and by the car, as indicated on the gauge cluster - at a very low speed, I'm convinced that this car is impossible to stall. Many people look at a manual as a hinderance in traffic, but the new Mazda3 handles stop-and-go with ease.
This Mazda3 Premium is a very different car two generations later - and a couple of trim levels higher - than my 2012 sedan. The luxury feel is certainly not something I'm used to, but I could see myself settling in to this one pretty easily. Mazda has moved their cars upscale, without sacrificing that little bit of extra sportiness and fun you get over its competitors. If you're looking for a daily driver, with a focus on comfort and tech, that's still plenty of fun to drive, and without the price tag (and repair bills) of a luxury brand - look no further.
My one frustration with this one is that there's no longer an entry-level manual option. If you're looking at entry-level sedans and hatchbacks with a manual, the fact that this one is only available in the Premium trim pushes it out of reach when compared to the pricing of the Civic Sport and the Corolla SE. I may never have discovered Mazda if it weren't for that $17k base-model manual, that I purchased back in February of 2013.
