What kind of car is the 2022 Mazda 3? What does it compare to?
The Mazda 3 sedan and hatchback are compact entry-level cars with lovely interiors and lots of safety equipment. They’re competition for cars like the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Hyundai Elantra.
Is the 2022 Mazda 3 a good car?
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It handles well and scores well in crash tests. Its TCC Rating of 6.2 out of 10 suffers due to a tetchy infotainment system and middling gas mileage. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What’s new for the 2022 Mazda 3?
The new $27,515 2.5 S Carbon Edition sports a 186-hp engine, red leather upholstery, satellite radio, 18-inch wheels, and 12-speaker Bose audio.
Given the choice between a sleek sedan and an ungainly hatchback, we’ll take the Mazda 3 sedan. Its lovely curves and forward-canted grille cut through the visual clutter induced by other compact sedan and crossovers. We can’t say the same for the thick and squat hatchback; choices were made. Both cars have an attractive interior with a high grade of fit and finish, well above their pay grade.
Skip the base Mazda 3 sedan and its 155-hp inline-4; it doesn’t have CarPlay or Android Auto, anyway. Move directly into the 186-hp 2.5-liter inline-4 in mid-range models for good acceleration, if somewhat coarse noise and vibration. A new 227-hp turbo-4 factors into the most costly Mazda 3 cars, and it’s notably quicker though the impression of speed gets muted behind the car’s more mature attitude. Most come with a slick-shifting 6-speed automatic, but a rare handful can be found sporting a 6-speed manual transmission. In both cases, they’re behind on gear count, but up on driving satisfaction. Handling is the 3’s prime virtue; it’s not as eager to corner as it has been in the past and its torsion-beam rear suspension isn’t as capable as former independent setups, but it’s still damped well, with crisp steering that pays attention to small inputs.
Both the sedan and hatchback adopt supportive front seats with a good range of adjustment; heating, cooling, synthetic and real leather upgrades come along with price upticks. The back seat’s narrow and shy on head room, though leg room fares better. The sedan’s trunk pulls up shy to class standards; the hatchback’s better, with 20.1 cubic feet of room.
Both the NHTSA and the IIHS give the Mazda 3 their top ratings, and all models come with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and automatic high beams.
How much does the 2022 Mazda 3 cost?
It’s $21,185 for the base Mazda 3 2.0, which has cloth upholstery, 16-inch wheels, and an 8.8-inch knob-controlled infotainment display, but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. We like the $25,295 Mazda 3 2.5 S Preferred for its heated front seats, power sunroof, power driver seat, and optional all-wheel drive. The $34,115 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus has the turbo-4 and all-wheel drive, as well as leather upholstery, a head-up display, and 12-speaker Bose audio.
Where is the 2022 Mazda 3 made?
It’s assembled in Japan.