In the tough compact car market packed with Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas, the 2021 Mazda3 is thought to be the best by a lot of enthusiasts. Mazda developed a compact vehicle that’s fun to drive, with a luxurious and warm feeling, at an affordable price.
Automakers cut corners wherever they can to save money and build a vehicle that’s going to be profitable for them and affordable to their customers. Somehow, the 2021 Mazda3 looks unique, stylish, and sharp. The engineers spent time and effort designing every single detail, which is noticeable from the outside by the Mazda3’s body lines.
What Is The 2021 MAZDA3?
The 2021 Mazda3 is a compact car with seven trims offered, either sedan or hatchback, ranging from $20,650 to $32,600. If you pop the hood, you’ll notice that most of the trims are powered by naturally-aspirated 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engines that make 186 horsepower and 186 pounds-feet of torque. The fuel economy is better than excellent, with 26 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway.
You have a wide variety of choices, Mazda3 comes with a front-wheel-drive or an all-wheel-drive drivetrain, and you can even opt for the new, 2021, 2.5-liter turbocharged engine for better performance. The 2.5 Turbo and the 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus trims come with 250 horsepower and an all-wheel-drive drivetrain; if you’re a performance enthusiast looking for a compact car, these Mazda3 trims are an excellent choice.
What’s Under The 2021 MAZDA3’s Hood?
Mazda3 powered by the 2.0 liter DOHC 4-cylinder naturally aspirated engine makes 155 horsepower and 150 pounds-feet of torque. Because it’s the entry option, it doesn’t have much to offer in terms of tech, but it will get you extraordinary fuel economy; 28 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway. Each cylinder has 4 valves (16 total), and it’s equipped with variable valve timing (VVT), which helps with fuel economy.
The 2.5-liter DOHC 4-cylinder naturally aspirated engines are under the hood of most other trims (excluding the turbocharged ones), and as mentioned, they make 186 hp and 186 lb-ft with a top speed of 130 mph. Similar to the 2.0-liter engine, the 2.5-liter engine has 4 valves per cylinder and a variable valve timing.
The turbocharged 2.5-liter engines are very similar to the previous two engines offered, but they’re more suited for performance with 250 horsepower and 320 pounds-feet of torque.
The engines are made out of aluminum alloy, both, the engine block and the cylinder head, which might raise a few concerns in terms of reliability, especially regarding the turbocharged 2.5-liter engine. However, the 2021 Mazda3 isn’t a performance vehicle that produces incredible power, it’s a compact car. When it comes to reliability, only time will tell.
Mazda offers you a six-speed automatic transmission, however, they also offer a six-speed manual transmission if you so choose. Both transmissions shift between gears extraordinarily smoothly, almost as if you were driving a luxury vehicle.
How’s The 2021 MAZDA3’s Interior?
The interior is where Mazda3 shines. Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, not a single compact car holds the candle to Mazda3’s interior.
Everything is made out of soft-touch leather that’s beautifully stitched. Silver accents, alongside the leather, make the Mazda3 feel like a premium, luxury vehicle. The interior is where you’ll really notice just how much time and effort Mazda’s designers put into their compact car; The design lines flow smoothly towards the driver.
The center console looks clean, however, Mazda decided to put the cup holders in between the console and the shifter for the 2021 model, and this could become a bit annoying. Behind the shifter is an armrest that you can slide back or lift up for storage space.
In terms of comfort, Mazda hit the nail on the head. The seats are a perfect blend of comfort and support, which will prove very valuable on long road trips, or if you’re driving your car for hours every day.
Visibility out the front is quite great thanks to the pillars positioned far away from one another. The same can be said for the sides, and to help out, you have two large side-view mirrors. However, visibility out the back could be better.
The 2021 Mazda3 back seat is the same as the vehicle, compact. You will definitely have trouble with rear seating people, whether you choose a sedan or a hatchback. The same can be said for trunk cargo space, which leaves to be desired.
How’s The 2021 MAZDA3’s Tech?
When it comes to safety, the 2021 Mazda3 comes equipped with every feature a modern vehicle should have, from multiple airbags to lane-keep assist to blind-spot monitoring. Mazda did not cut corners when it comes to safety features, which is good.
The bad is that although the interior feels luxurious, the tech leaves to be desired. The infotainment screen isn’t touch-screen, it’s button controlled. The monitor is 8”, with a bit of blank space left around it; Mazda could have utilized that space and put a 10” monitor into the Mazda3.
The Android Auto and Apple Carplay integration is quite nice, and whether you prefer Android or Apple, Mazda leaves the choice to you.
Mazda3 comes with Mazda Radar cruise control with stop and go, and more importantly, it comes with a blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert.
The back-up camera could definitely be upgraded. It does its job, but it doesn’t have nearly the features of a modern back-up camera.
Mazda3 comes with technology that a modern car should have, however, a few features feel outdated.
Our Take On The 2021 MAZDA3
Mazda3 is considered by many the best compact car. That kind of praise in a market with the Toyota Corolla or the Honda Civic isn’t to be taken lightly.
Whichever trim you choose, you’ll own a car that’s fun to drive, that’s very comfortable to drive, and a car that feels like it runs on air instead of gas. And to top it all of, you won’t have to break the bank in order to afford the Mazda3
