Mazda3 review - Interior & comfort

Mazda has improved the quality of materials used in the Mazda3, giving its interior an upmarket look and feel without resorting to gimmicks. The design is simplicity at its best, with horizontal lines and quick-to-operate rotary dials for the climate control. We even think the Mazda 3 pips the Volkswagen Golf for quality – no mean feat.

It's quiet too, largely thanks to the fact the Mazda3 sits on all new underpinnings, which benefit from the latest noise suppressing know-how. Noise levels are better than before, and the lack of tyre drone and wind roar makes the hatch feel more luxurious.

Mazda3 dashboard

If you hate cars with endless settings and buttons that you have to press to set up the infotainment system, or even adjust how the car feels on the road, then the Mazda3 should be rather pleasing. Mazda's philosophy is that everything feels right all the time, so there are no endless modes to adjust the weight of the steering or how the engine feels. Instead, you just get in and go.

Once you're moving, you can only control the infotainment system via a rotary controller by the gear lever to avoid trying to prod at the screen while driving and having to take your eyes off the road.

17

Equipment

Following a trim restructure in 2023, the Mazda3 ditched the SE, SE-L, SE-L Lux, Sport Lux, GT Sport and GT Sport Tech trims for Prime-Line, Centre-Line, Homura, Exclusive-Line and Takumi. All Mazda3s are well equipped, however, and the update also brought a 10.25-inch infotainment screen as standard across the range, replacing the old seven-inch unit.

Prime-Line gets rear parking sensors, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch touchscreen, 16-inch alloy wheels, auto high-beam assistance, cruise control, rear parking sensors and a reverse parking camera.

Centre-Line would be our pick, as it adds keyless entry, front and rear parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers, heated front seats, dual-zone air conditioning and wireless smartphone charging for not much more than the entry-level trim. If you want added sporty styling, then Homura adds this with 18-inch alloys, plus heated power-folding door mirrors, classy piano black window surrounds and privacy glass.

Exclusive-Line brings extra luxuries such as adaptive LED headlights, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and a Bose sound system. For everything the Mazda3 has to offer, there’s the fully-loaded Takumi trim which adds leather seats, a wing-mirror tilt-down function when parking, front wiper de-icer and 360-degree camera.

The exterior styling didn’t change with the update, but a new Ceramic Metallic body colour is now offered, and Homura cars get black alloy wheels and door mirrors.

Options

Most of Mazda’s equipment is bundled into each of the five trim levels, but you can order options such as a roof rack, tow hook or child seats when ordering your car. Once you've chosen your engine and trim level, your only other choice is the paint colour, ranging from £570 to £810 at the time of writing.