2017 Mazda3 Touring Hatch Review | A Down-Sizer’s Dream: Premium But Not Pricey
The Mazda3 range is already known and loved by plenty of Australian new car buyers, and it’s not hard to see why when you take into account its accessible infotainment and safety technology and premium looking and feeling interior.
Not only that, but the Mazda3 range offers one of the broadest variant ranges of any mainstream small car range in Australia with six distinct variants, two available engines, and (somewhat unusually, a choice of manual or automatic transmission in all variants - something few other small cars can claim.
But is Mazda’s story of success simply a case of giving buyers what they want, or is there genuinely more to it? We spent a week behind the wheel of the mid-grade Touring model to find out.
Vehicle Style: Small hatch
Price: $27,290 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 114kW/200Nm 2.5 litre 4cyl petrol | 6sp automatic
Fuel Economy Claimed: 5.8 l/100km | Tested: 7.2 l/100km
OVERVIEW
Imagine if you will, the Mazda3 range split into two tiers, starting with three variants of the 2.0 litre range, and three variants of the 2.5 litre SP25 range. At the top of the 2.0 litre range the Touring model takes the Mazda3 a little way upmarket, borrowing some of the more premium features from the SP25 GT, but with a smaller engine and lower price catering to buyers that still want a well-equipped motor car, but can do without the SP25’s partying touches.
Of course other mainstream manufacturers offer near-premium features in their small cars, though often linked to hard-riding large wheel packages, or sportier specifications - so once again its the power of choice that gives Mazda the edge.