Used 2022 MAZDA MAZDA3

The 2022 Mazda3 compact car is a rarity on several counts. Being a compact car itself is increasingly rare as many buyers and manufacturers migrate toward crossover SUVs. Also, it’s a high point of the class.

Nothing else has this combination of Mazda-style, poise, quality, refinement, and driver engagement. Yes, the higher trims are pricey, but they provide credible competition to entry-level luxury cars like an Audi A3 or Acura ILX. The same cannot be said of the Toyota Corolla.

The range includes sedan and hatchback body styles, with all-wheel drive available in most variants.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in things like how the suspension manages to be completely composed, yet remain perpetually comfortable. Tight turns, open freeways and anything in between are all in a day’s work for the 2022 Mazda3.

There are more subtle forces at work, though, waiting for the driver to tune in. It’s the level of effort required — like steering, throttle and braking inputs — calculated so precisely to create a cohesive and fluid driving experience. To find anything more sophisticated would mean looking at a luxury marque with a driver’s edge, like BMW or Jaguar.

Yet the Mazda3 is also easy to drive in traffic and around town. The car’s other talents come to light when it’s pushed harder. Which is why we’re glad about the two 2.5-liter engines being offered. The chassis is a match for even the most powerful turbocharged version.

All versions have some form of G-Vectoring Control (GVC) — Mazda’s way of helping drivers go through corners with maximum stability. Turning into a bend reduces power a touch, bringing the car’s weight more onto the front wheels to optimize grip and traction. Tracing around the curve, slight braking force is applied to an inside wheel. It all feels quite natural. And fun.

The S Premium models have paddle shifters mounted beneath the steering wheel. Although a lot of cars have them, they’re worth mentioning here because it’s highly likely that a Mazda3 driver will want to be as involved as possible and actually use them.

Some manufacturers are squeezing seven or more gears into their automatic transmissions. Mazda is content to use six, defending the decision by saying that this is sufficient as long as the ratios are chosen well. We think it’s preferable to a car with a continuously variable transmission (CVT), which is common among the rivals. At least the 6-speed setup can respond quickly.

A quiet cabin isn’t just the result of copious sound insulation. The whole way the Mazda3’s body has been created and welded together was done with an emphasis on keeping noise, vibration and harshness to a minimum.

This generation of Mazda3 is the most refined yet. That’s saying something, because its predecessor was already good. The company has found optimum locations for the audio system’s speakers. A less obvious innovation is how the front seats have been designed to provide the best position for occupants’ spines.

Of the more perceptible attributes, the dashboard is clean yet classy. The materials used are invariably of high quality and they’ve all been assembled in an exemplary fashion.

Mazda prefers to employ a rotary control for the infotainment system, arguing that a touchscreen can be too distracting. Every other car maker seems to be fine with touchscreens, but it doesn’t take much to get acclimatized to this approach.

The sedan and hatchback have the same amount of occupant space, give or take a tenth of an inch in headroom. Rear legroom is adequate at 35.1 inches. The Honda Civic has a little more, the Toyota Corolla has a little less.

The hatchback has the bigger luggage area: 20.1 cubic feet, compared with a 13.2-cubic foot trunk with the sedan (still respectable for the class). Folding down the hatchback’s rear seats increases cargo volume to 47.1 cubic feet — but this car’s wide rear pillars compromise outward vision.

A lot of designs from Japanese manufacturers can be boring or weird. We’d argue that Mazda’s output is neither of those. It seems the company puts the kind of effort and creativity into its styling approach that’s more the norm for luxury marques than mainstream. That’s typical of the 2022 Mazda3, which punches above its weight in several areas.

At 14.6 feet long, the hatchback variant is close to 8 inches shorter than its sedan stablemate, yet has the more practical rear end. One gripe about the hatchback, as mentioned above, is that the design of the hatchback section hinders rear over-the-shoulder vision. But blind-spot monitoring is standard in all but the cheapest version of this body style anyway.

The new paint choice for this year is Platinum Quartz Metallic, available across the range except for the base model and the new Carbon Edition. The latter comes exclusively in Polymetal Gray. This is complemented by gloss black side mirror housings and black 18-inch alloy wheels.

Other premium paint choices — from $395 to $595 — are Snowflake White Pearl, Machine Gray Metallic, and Soul Red Crystal Metallic.

ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
Not all compact cars offer all-wheel drive. Although ground clearance is no greater than the front-drive models, this is a boon in bad weather. It’s an intelligent system that can send power between the axles as and when it’s needed, but there’s always some drive going to the rear wheels to ensure quick reaction times.

2.5-LITER TURBOCHARGED ENGINE
Yes, we’re being predictable by highlighting the Mazda3’s most muscular engine. But when it’s paired with a chassis this good, the result is a truly wonderful drive. Anyone thinking of an Audi A3 or a Mercedes-Benz A-Class might want to put their badge snobbery to one side for a moment and consider all they’d be getting with one of these top Mazda3 models.

There’s an odd mix of equipment in the basic 2022 Mazda3 2.0. Some driver assistance and technology features are standard, while a few things that ought to be there are missing. For example, it has adaptive cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, Wi-Fi, and an 8.8-inch infotainment display. But no Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration.

Other features include 16-inch alloy wheels, LED exterior lighting, keyless entry/ignition, air conditioning, forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, two USB ports, Bluetooth, and eight speakers.

It’s not a great financial leap to S trim, where smartphone integration becomes standard, along with a bigger engine, and the availability of a hatchback body.

S Select trim brings blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, dual-zone automatic climate control, simulated leather seating surfaces, leather-wrapped steering wheel/shift knob, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

All-wheel drive becomes accessible at the S Preferred level, which also comes with heated front seats, 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory settings, and a powered moonroof.

The new-for-2022 Carbon Edition is front-drive only, but is available as a sedan or hatchback, while packing red leather upholstery and a 12-speaker Bose audio system.

This same Bose system comes in the S Premium model, along with satellite radio, navigation, head-up display, and adaptive front lights. This level even offers a manual transmission, if one was so inclined.

The two all-wheel-drive 2.5 Turbo variants are the most powerful 2022 Mazda3 models. The first version foregoes leather and navigation, but adds a heated steering wheel, self-dimming rearview mirror, and a windshield wiper de-icer.

Premium Plus reinstates the leather and navigation, then throws in a set of aerodynamic parts, rear automatic braking, 360-degree camera system, front/rear parking sensors, garage door opener, Traffic Jam Assist, and road sign recognition.

All versions of the 2022 Mazda3 are eligible for gloss black-finished 18-inch alloy wheels made by BBS (one of the top wheel manufacturers), wireless charging, and illuminated scuff plates. Lower trims can also be ordered with navigation.

The most basic 2022 Mazda3 has a naturally aspirated (no turbochargers or the like) 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine. It makes 155 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque, which goes solely to the front wheels (FWD). This base engine is only offered in the sedan variant.

Moving up from this base sedan and into the S trim, all-wheel drive (AWD) becomes an option. These mid-range versions (sedan and hatchback) are propelled by a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine developing 186 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque.

The 2.5 Turbo models have, predictably, a turbocharged 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine. This generates 250 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque using 93-octane gasoline. It can work fine on 87-octane gas, but output drops to 227 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel drive is standard with this engine.

All versions of the 2022 Mazda3 with two pedals have a 6-speed automatic transmission. There is one variant with a 6-speed manual transmission — a front-drive 2.5 S Premium Package hatchback.

The non-turbo engines use 87-octane gasoline.

2.0-liter inline-4
155 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm
150 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 28/36 mpg

2.5-liter inline-4
186 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
186 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 24/33 mpg (FWD hatch, manual), 26/35 mpg (FWD sedan, auto), 25/33 mpg (AWD sedan, auto), 26/34 mpg (FWD hatch, auto), 25/31 mpg (AWD hatch, auto)

2.5-liter turbocharged inline-4
227/250 horsepower @ 5,000 rpm (87 octane/93 octane)
310/320 lb-ft of torque @ 2,000/2,500 rpm (87 octane/93 octane)
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 23/32 mpg (sedan), 23/31 mpg (hatch)