Comfort and sportiness collide

I have had a Mazda3 GT sedan (that's Mazda3 "S" in the USA, I think) for a few weeks now, and think I can comment on pretty much everything except snow handling and reliability.

The car handles better than I would expect a front-wheel drive car to, especially in this price range. I have rallied front and rear-wheel drive cars, and currently also own an AWD Subaru, so my primary response to a vehicle is its handling and how well it communicates the road to the driver. The Mazda3 can be driven very gently, quietly, and in a very passenger-friendly fashion. It is very smooth and quiet, and is quite comfortable and spacious inside. There is also a fair bit of zip in the engine when you get the engine up past 3500RPM, and the brakes are very good (it will take some getting used to, in fact). And it corners very tightly under power, up to the limit of the tires. The tires are perhaps the only area of disappointment, in that they are clearly optimized for comfort, and, I imagine, fuel consumption, but the Mazda3 GT is balanced for a slightly more, well, aggressive driving style, and you will hit the limits of the tires long before the limits of the car.

My only other peeve, and this will diminish but not disappear with time, is the lightness of the clutch. I like to feel the drivetrain through the clutch; I like a good thunk when the clutch is engaged, and anyone who has thrown a BMW or Subaru around knows what I mean by that.

The quietness of the car, combined with the apparent detachment of the engine from the clutch (and, to a lesser extent, the gas pedal) and the smoothness of the tires make the Mazda3 feel a bit vague for the spirited driver. For instance, it is too easy to spin the wheels when launching, because the tires don't communicate their grip until they squeal, the clutch is engaged by distance of pedal travel and not resistance from drivetrain, and finally, the engine is so very smoothly running that I can't really tell how hard it is working. The long wheelbase also means it's not twitchy or unstable, and the sway bars do a good job keeping the car on its line. In fact, the overall impression is one of driving a good-sized American-made family sedan, until you realize you have parked way too far from the curb. But come out of the apex of a corner with purpose, and the car slices beautifully. I just can't tell where its limits are.

Now, the upside of all this is that it is a comfortable car, which has the interesting effect of making me drive a bit more conservatively. Since this is my business car, and I have occasion to drive clients around, this is not necesarily a bad thing. But every so often I find myself frustrated that I can't seem to find a natural rhythm with the car, because it's so coy about what it's doing. I can tell by the way the back end has come a bit loose on me going around wet corners that there is some excellent handling to be had here, and the brakes and engine are excellent by themselves. My problem has been learning to connect them to develop that rhythm, that empathy with the car. My plan is to wait until a reasonabled break-in period has elapsed, and then go try some auto-crossing with it to see if I just haven't been pushing it enough. (But the tires will have to go first.)

Incidentally, I also test drove another Mazda3 at the same time, and that one had all the options--including the 17" wheels. Those wheels were so heavy I could feel them fighting me when I was doing some twitchy lane changes. I have no idea why people pay for performance-degrading things like that, although the extra rotational energy does make it seem a lot more stable on the freeway... In any event, the big wheels really do eat into the performance of the Mazda3, and unless you are more interested in looks than handling and effiency, I would point you away from the bigger wheels. Either way, the tires are, well, conservative.

I compared this car with equivalents from Honda, Toyota, and even Mini. The only car that handled better was the Mini, and that is about all I can say about the Mini. I think the Mazda3 GT represents the best value and greatest driving potential, and would also reccomend it to anyone looking into a Volkswagen Jetta or similar car.