For the three years that the Mazda3 has been around, the entry-level segment has seen numerous changes. Among the more notable actions, Honda performed CPR on the Civic, Dodge said goodbye to the Neon and hello to the Caliber, and Volkswagen corollorized the Jetta. These developments and others narrowed the gap between the class-leading Mazda3 and other front-runners, but they failed to redefine the segment standards like the Mazda3 did in 2003.

For 2007, Mazda decided to step up the game again, making some of the most sweeping changes to the Mazda3 to date, including the largest 1-year overall price increase. The exterior, interior, and safety all saw some reworking, though the performance was essentially untouched. That said, the juiced-up MazdaSpeed3 was unleashed, causing some performance-geared people to froth at the mouth.

A few months back when I purchased my 2006 Mazda3, I was aware of most of the upcoming changes, but none of them piqued my interest. Nevertheless, on a recent trip to the dealership, I took a 2007 Sport GT out for a brief drive. Do I regret not waiting?


Exterior
Yet again, Mazda decided to change around the exterior colours. When I first saw these new colours on Mazda Canada’s website, I was horrified. Hoping it was just a sloppy graphic artist, I hopped on over to the Mazda USA website to get a better representation of the actual colours. Good thing I did, because it completely changed my opinion – especially regarding the new “Phantom Purple” colour.

Colours aside, the exterior is seeing some new bumpers. I’m indifferent about the new front bumper, and I personally think the rear bumper is now worse. I find the past year’s solid colour looks more elegant and expensive than the new half charcoal-coloured rear bumper. Between the two bumpers, the wheels are the other notable change. As with the other exterior changes, the new rims don’t click with me. Rims are a very personal matter, but I much prefer the simplicity of the pre-2007 rims. Only the MazdaSpeed3 has rims I’d be happy to have.

Looking at the exterior of the 2007 Mazda3, I’m quite happy I didn’t wait for it. Even so, I’d still rank it as the best looking car in this price range, with sporty angles that have and will age well. Sedan or hatchback, it looks good. It just isn’t as good looking as the previous years.


Performance
As stated, the performance of the Mazda3 on the road is unchanged. Sure, a few minor tweaks have been made, but none of these translate into something you or I would notice on the road. For a more comprehensive look at the Mazda3’s performance, see the link to my 2006 Mazda3 review at the end of this review.

Engine
As always, the sedan comes equipped with a 2.0L or 2.3L engine, while the hatchback is purely reliant on the 2.3L engine. Horsepower and Torque ratings are slightly lower this year at 148/156 hp and 135/150 lb.-ft. (2.0L/2.3L, respectively), but this is simply because they are now based on the new SAE standards, so they’re only different on paper. Both engines provide a good bit of juice whenever you want it, with most of the power available at higher RPMs. Only if you are completely loaded down will you begin to find the power to be a little lacking. Neither engine provides neck-snapping acceleration, but you can get that with the turbo 2.3L 263 hp & 280 lb.-ft engine coupled with the 6-speed manual transmission in the MazdaSpeed3, provided you’ve got a few extra dollars kicking around.

Fuel Efficiency
The tradeoff for the larger than average engines is some not-so-wonderful fuel efficiency. At realistic EPA ratings of 28/35 and 26/33 mpg (city/highway) for the manual 2.0L and 2.3L engines, you’re on par with some V6 engines. My aggressive, mixed city/highway driving has netted an average of 28-29 mpg with the 2.3L engine in the hatchback. By no means are these numbers all that bad, but they aren’t class-leading.

Handling, Brakes & Transmission
The Mazda3 is a fun car to drive, mainly owing to its nimble character and lovely manual transmission. The tight steering and somewhat stiff suspension let you throw this thing into corners well above the recommended speed limits, all while easily remaining in control. When you find yourself going a bit faster than you care to be, the disc brakes with ABS do a splendid job of slowing and stopping you in a short distance.

The 4-speed and 5-speed automatic transmissions inhibit the sporty-ness of the Mazda3, and you often hear automatic owners regretting their decision. The short-throw 5-speed manual transmission is incredibly smooth and very easy to get a feel for, so I highly recommend it.

Ride, Noise & Visibility
Because the Mazda3 is one of the sportiest vehicles in the segment, it has one of the harshest rides. By no means is it uncomfortable, and Mazda has struck a nice balance between a sporty and comfortable ride. Just don’t expect passengers to remark on a cloud-like ride.

The connection with the pavement is made more evident by the noise levels, as road noise is a bit intrusive on older road surfaces. Engine noise and wind noise are well within their limits, but a bit more sound insulation on the underside of the car would be appreciated.

Visibility is quite good in all directions in both the sedan and hatchback forms. You can get a very good feel for where you’re sitting on the road, and with the adjustable seats and tilt/telescoping steering wheel you can find a position that works for you.


Safety & Quality
Passive safety ranks near the bottom of my list of concerns. I’m more interested in having a car that can avoid accidents altogether, and that’s where the Mazda3 is excellent. However, many publications don’t share my views, and have previously prevented giving the Mazda3 top marks because other cars were safer in collisions. The main area of needed improvement was with side impacts, with other cars doing considerably better because they had side curtain air bags. For 2007, Mazda has made side curtain airbags a standard feature, so you should see the Mazda3 becoming more favourable to groups like Consumer Reports, although it may not knock the Honda Civic out of the top spot.

Build quality of the Mazda3 is every bit as good as anything you’d expect from Toyota or Honda (maybe even better), with very few owners reporting any troubles. Everything fits together nicely and the quality of the materials used is second to none. Mechanically, mine’s been trouble free and purrs just like it did on day one. One area that isn’t too great is the paint quality, but by putting a 3M Clear Bra on mine I’ve been saved from a lot of rock chips – it’s a very worthwhile $150-300 addition to the Mazda3. In past years, weak air conditioning has been a slight issue, and there’s no indication that Mazda addressed this issue.


Interior
Moving inside, there are a few changes worth noting, one of which I had asked for since my first encounter with the Mazda3 in 2004. The interior did slightly improve over 2006 for some trim levels, although one or two changes make you question Mazda’s sanity. Again, see my 2006 review for a more detailed description.

Seats
The seats are still the comfortable, multi-adjustable and supportive seats that they’ve always been, but now heated seats are standard in some of the more expensive models. The front seats are spacious for any size of person, and the rear seats aren’t too bad for average-sized adults either. The rear seats are a 60/40 split, folding near-flat. What’s changed with the rear seats is that there’s now a central fold-down armrest with cup holders in the higher trim levels. Since the rear seats aren’t really practical for 3 grown people anyways, this is one thing I’d liked to have had in my 2006 Mazda3, but I can live without it.

Cargo
Both the sedan and hatchback provide a good amount of room, with the hatchback obviously providing more. The opening to the trunk on the sedan has been enlarged by a few millimeters, which has traditionally been the limiting factor. The hatch is unchanged, providing me with enough room to stow my bike and a week’s worth of camping equipment (with the rear seats folded down). If you do plan on carting around a bike regularly, it’s much better to get a hitch & hitch rack or a roof rack.

Compartments
There’s the right amount of small storage spots, with 6 or 8 cup/bottle holders. The glove compartment is absolutely massive and the center console also has room for a dozen CDs and a nice spot for glasses.

Audio & Climate Systems
The audio system remains nearly identical, but now has an aux input so that you can easily connect mp3 players. Other than that, it retains the good sound quality and simplistic layout. Automatic climate control is now available in some models, but I’ve never found it to be a feature that works as intended in any vehicle. As I mentioned earlier, the Mazda3’s AC doesn’t have the best reputation, but I can assure you that the heater works quickly and effectively.

Layout, Style and Quality
The layout of the Mazda3’s interior is excellent, with all controls easily visible and reachable. There’s the surprisingly nice feature of rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlights, with the former being a lovely change from always manually adjusting wiper speed. The gauges in some models now have an ugly white background instead of the black background, which doesn’t fit in with anything else in the interior. Regardless of the background colour, they’re clear to read under any light conditions. The other change was the addition of a few aluminum-looking trim pieces that make the interior feel a little sportier. However, in the cheaper models, Mazda had the crazy idea of putting in a piece of fake wood trim, which is completely out of place in the Mazda3 (unless you get one of the few exterior colours that come with the beige interior). Ultimately, Mazda made the cheaper models look worse and the more expensive models look better. Either way, the quality of the interior materials is phenomenal for a car this price.


Price (Canada)
One of the other reasons I didn’t bother waiting for the 2007 models to arrive was because I knew a hefty price increase was coming. Knowing that side curtain airbags, heated seats, and automatic climate control were going to becoming standard in the equivalent model, I figured there’d be a jump of between C$1000 and C$2000 in the MSRP. Indeed, the MSRP on the GT Sport bumped up C$1700. Here are the MSRPs for the various models (Sport = Hatchback):

GX - C$16 800 (up $300)
The side air curtains explain the increase, with the wood trim, white gauges, and new rims explaining why it wasn’t a big increase.
GS - C$20 000 (up $2100 – yeesh!)
Now here’s a price increase that doesn’t make sense. It is much more luxurious than the bare-bones GX, but it’s hard to see $2100 worth of improvements over 2006’s GS.
GT - C$22 950 (up $1600)
Yet another sizeable increase in price with not much to warrant it. Hopefully Mazda will ease off with the price increases and keep the Mazda3 in the entry level market.

Sport GS - C$21 000 (up $600)
Now here’s an acceptable price increase, with an interior that’s bigger and better looking than the sedan GS and comparably equipped. This model gets my choice for the best value.
Sport GT - C$23 400 (up $1700)
You can’t justify this increase to me. For that price, it should include the moonroof.

MazdaSpeed3 - C$31 000
A decent price, and something I would have felt satisfied waiting for if there were any hope of me ever being able to afford it. The interior and exterior are slightly different, but the performance is where the major difference lies.


Closing Thoughts
The Mazda3 is definitely losing the bang-for-the-buck that it had when it was first introduced in 2003. In fact, this is the first time I’m not giving it a 5/5 rating. I still believe it is the best car for under $30 000, but I feel Mazda needs to rethink what it did for 2007, especially regarding the prices. Right now it’s almost following the path of the VW Jetta.

I am glad that side airbags are now standard, and I do like that a rear armrest was added, but that’s about where it ends. The altered exterior doesn’t work for me, and the white gauges and wood trim need to go. Furthermore, Mazda needs to remember that the Mazda3 became so popular because of its tremendous value, and price increases like this year’s are not going to attract people.

If you’re looking for a car, my recommendation is to search around for any 2006 Mazda3’s that may still be sitting around in some dark corner of a dealership. They’re cheaper to begin with, and you’ve got the negotiating advantage of dealers trying to clear them out. If you’re too late, the 2007 Mazda 3 is still the best car for now, but more than before, I recommend you check out the competition before signing any papers.


Related Reviews:
2006 Mazda3