2017 Mazda Mazda3 | CarGurus Test Drive Review

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I’m nicole lakeland with cargurus and behind me is the 2017 mazda 3 whether it’s the o so beloved mx-5 miata or the full-size cx-9 suv mazda has a reputation for building cars that people love to drive their koto soul of motion design language delivers vehicles that are sleek and beautiful and their steering and chassis provide an engaging driving experience for

2017 the mazda 3 gets subtle design changes inside and out to keep it in sync with the rest of the mazda lineup and also the addition of g vectoring control in a competitive market mazda has distinguished itself by making cars that are fun to drive as the first technology in their new skyactiv vehicle design series g vectoring control is designed to make that drive

Even better does it actually do it let’s drive the car and find out there are no significant changes outside is this is only a refresh but a new front grille gives it a more aggressive face nicely accented by the led headlights available on higher trends mazda revised the rear bumper to match that new face and keep the cars low wide stance consistent from every

Angle the 18-inch aluminum wheels also get a new look while the 16 inch wheels carry over from last year mazda makes fabulous interiors that consistently look like they belong in more expensive cars and that’s exactly what you’ll get when you take a seat in the mazda 3 they didn’t need to throw out the old and start new because what was already here is pretty great

They did make a few changes including a new steering wheel which first debuted in the 2016 cx-9 it’s the same size that it was before but has a smaller center if you opt for the premium equipment package in the top-of-the-line grand touring trim that steering wheel is heated but it only hits the grippit three and nine positions yes that’s where you’re supposed

To be holding the wheel but it stays ice-cold everywhere else and you’ll know it as soon as you move your hands to go around a corner mazda swapped out the traditional parking brake for an electronic parking brake which frees up room on the center console and they’ve increased the door pocket volume making them longer to more easily accommodate larger objects rear

Seating although not as comfortable as what you’ll find up front is still nice headroom is good and two adults will find plenty of space unless the front seats are pushed all the way back putting a person in the middle seat makes things tight though so the three isn’t great for taking five people on longer trips if you stick with the sedan you have your choice of

Three trim levels the sport and the touring come with a 2-liter four-cylinder engine with 155 horsepower while the grand touring we’re driving today has a two and a half liter 4-cylinder with 184 horsepower opt for the more expensive hatchback and there’s the touring 2.5 this is essentially the same time as the touring but with the larger engine either way across

The lineup aside from the touring hatchback you can opt for either the 6-speed manual transmission or the 6-speed automatic the base sport with manual transmission starts at 17 thousand eight hundred and forty-five dollars while the touring comes in at twenty thousand four hundred and forty five the top-of-the-line grand touring starts at twenty-three thousand

One hundred and forty five which is still an incredibly affordable price point for how much car it gets you the grand touring has a nine speaker bose audio system and lots of safety features like blind spot monitoring rear cross-traffic alert smart city brake support hill launch assist and dynamic stability control additional safety features include new traffic

Sign recognition and enhanced smart brake support which warns of a collision and will even apply the brakes the mazda 3 is great to drive with plenty of power and a smooth transmission there is no hesitation even under hard acceleration and engine noise is nicely muted the ride is smooth and comfortable with handling that makes it loads of fun to take through

Sharp corners there’s also a sport button on the center console press this to adjust the throttle and transmission for an even more performance-oriented drive that smooth handling is due in part to g vectoring control which makes its debut in the mazda 3 this system adjusts the engines torque as you turn the steering wheel to shift the vehicles weight from front

To back the result is improved responsiveness and better grip especially in the corners this is something race car drivers do with a delicate foot on the pedals and years of experience g vectoring control gives you the same power without having to spend hours on the track honestly it’s not something that i can really feel all the time as i’m driving around but i

Know it’s there in the background to improve the handling and give the car smoother ride further enhancing the drive is what mazda calls their active driving display it’s essentially a small rectangle of plastic that pops up in your line of sight above the gauge cluster it provides key information like speed limits your current speed and navigation as a head-up

Display to keep your eyes and attention focused on the road it also reads signs so if for example a stop sign is coming you’ll see a little stop sign pop up on the display if there’s a weak spot in the mazda 3 it’s the infotainment system now mazda connect is fully featured it has a 7-inch full-color touchscreen hd radio sirius xm pandora but it’s just not easy

To use the whole thing is controlled by this master dial on the centre console and it requires too much spinning around to get to the menu that you want once you do find what you want save radio for example then there’s more spitting and tapping the left and right to navigate deeper into the menu and get your final selection it’s not clear and it’s outright

Confusing unless you already know how it works there are quick reference buttons around the dial for selections like home navigation and music but then you’re still stuck spinning that dial trying to get the right selection on the screen it feels clunky especially compared to what other automakers are offering this sedan has twelve point four cubic feet of cargo

Capacity that makes for a pretty good sized trunk but if it’s not enough room for you then you might want to consider the mazda 3 hatchback it has 20 point two cubic feet of cargo capacity which expands to forty seven point one when you fold down the 60/40 split rear seats now there is a price to pay for that extra space anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars

To over a thousand depending on the trim level that you go with mazda didn’t make any significant changes to the three because they won’t really need it updates to refresh it styling and tweaks to the engineering took what was already a great car and made it even better which enthusiasts are sure to love it might be a compact sedan but it is far from boring and it

Will have you seeking out the long way home thanks for watching let us know what you think of the mazda 3 and tell us if you can feel the difference with the new g vectoring control you can read my full review over at cargurus.com and go ahead and click the subscribe button to see more great videos you

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2017 Mazda Mazda3 | CarGurus Test Drive Review By CarGurus