The new 3 that made its way into this year's LA Auto Show could be seen as Mazda's rather obedient child with good intentions. Truth be told, the redesigned Mazda has hit the right notes in terms of geometry and proportion this time, if compared to the current one, which agreeably sports an oddly long front overhang.
Two kinds of opinions that one might have after glancing the new Mazda 3 is that it's either stunning or a compact hatch with too much boot. The new 3 has gone under Mazda's scalpel, yielding a better shape indeed with smooth creases and crisper lines.
The hatch variant of the car has improved internally as well as externally. However, we are sceptical about the rather wide C-pillar that could curse one with a massive blind spot. But again, we are not fixating on it till we get our hands on one. Nevertheless, the front end in the latest iteration is perfectly in sync with its rear.
Cabin And Interiors
The new 3 looks pretty pleasing inside the cabin with neat and well-finished interiors that is neither and overdo nor redundant. Typically, something that would ease a person with OCD. However, Mazda is popular for making a driver feel at home when stepping in for the first time.
The steering wheel looks thinker and much sportier than before, which we noticed resembles closely with its performance iteration Mx-5. The dashboard spells out utter simplicity with just two dials and an 8.9-inch infotainment screen positioned at the top. Below this, is the gear lever that has been reportedly moved further ahead for better comfort.
The seat, interestingly, according to Mazda, is designed to support the spine, pelvis, thighs and rib cage, allowing both the driver and the passenger to use the same natural, subconscious head-balancing movements while riding the car.
Engines
The upcoming Mazda will be globally sold with five engine options that would include the same 155-hp yielding 2.0-litre inline four engine as well as a 2.5-litre inline four engine, clocking maximum output at 184bhp. Both 6-speed automatic and 6-speed manual is set to be available in 2019.
One among the five options also includes Mazda's new SkyActiv-G four-cylinder engines with 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5-litre displacements.
Safety Tech
An interesting addition to safety assists in the new Mazda 3 includes a driver-attention monitoring system that uses infrared to watch the driver and to sound an alert in case of wandering eyes.
