Now in its fourth iteration since 2004, the Japanesebuilt Mazda 3 hatch and sedan series is nowadays a wholly more upmarket proposition, trespassing on the Volkswagen Golf’s turf.
However it’s a sign of the decline in small car sales — like every other class, they have been hammered by the rise and rise of SUVs — that as part of a mid-2023 range overhaul, Mazda deleted its high tech compression ignition 2.0-litre Skyactiv X engine from the range, as well as the mild hybrid variants. Manual transmission variants have also been deleted, and a six-speed automatic is standard across the range.
Starting prices also rose by over $3000, so Mazda is clearly now chasing margins rather than volume from the Three, which remains a very high quality machine, an excellent…
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Australian New Car Buyer (Digital) - 1 Issue, 63