Eric's Autos: 2025 Mazda3

Mazda is one of the few brands still selling a sedan, and it's one of the even fewer sedans that's also available as a hatchback sedan -- and with a manual transmission -- and that's something as rare to find in anything new today as cigarette lighters.

What It Is

The Mazda3 is a compact sedan/hatchback (five doors) and the competes with the ever-dwindling number of small sedans and hatchbacks offered by other vehicle manufacturers, including the Kia K4 and the Honda Civic as well as the Toyota Corolla.

Prices for the 3 sedan start at $23,950 for the base 2.5 S trim, which comes standard with a 2.5-liter engine, a six-speed automatic and front-wheel drive. The hatchback (five-door) version of the same thing stickers for $24,950.

Both the sedan and the hatchback are also available with a turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter engine that touts the highest horsepower (250) in the class, paired with all-wheel drive. The sedan version lists for $32,100 to start; the hatchback version lists for $33,250 and both are similarly equipped in terms of their standard amenities, which include a larger (10.25-inch) LCD touch screen, upgraded synthetic leather upholstery and trim, an 18-inch wheel/tire package and an upgraded 12-speaker Bose stereo and a heads-up display.

The hatch is also available with something else: a six-speed manual transmission -- in the 2.5 S Select Sport trim, which stickers for $25,990.

Rivals such as the new Kia K4 (2025 is the first year for this model) are automatic only. The Corolla is also automatic only, if you don't count the manual-only high-performance Corolla GR -- but that one stickers for $38,860. The Honda Civic Si comes with a manual, but it also comes with a much higher price tag ($29,950) than the Mazda's, and (interestingly) the Si with the manual is a sedan-only deal.

Unfortunately, you can't get the sedan version of the Mazda3 with a manual.

A top-of-the-line 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus sedan stickers for $35,80; the same basic thing in hatchback form lists for $36,950.

What's New for 2025

Alexa is now available optionally -- along with an upgraded GPS navigation system that is capable of receiving over-the-air updates. The hatchback is also available in the more affordable 2.5 S trim.

What's Good

-- Sedan or hatchback body styles.

-- Available manual transmission.

-- "Driver assistance" technology can be mostly turned off.

What's Not So Good

-- Manual only offered with the hatchback.

-- Sedan has a small trunk.

-- Powerful turbo engine is restricted to $32,000-plus trims.

Under the Hood

The 3 is available with two versions of the same 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, one without a turbo and the other with a turbo. The version without the turbo touts 191 horsepower, almost as much power as the Honda Civic Si's optional turbocharged 1.5-liter four, which only makes 201 horsepower -- even with the help of a turbo.

You can also choose a six-speed manual transmission to go with the 2.5-liter engine -- but unfortunately, this option is restricted to the hatchback version of the 3. AWD is available -- or not -- as you prefer, with the 2.5-liter engine.

Carbon Turbo and Carbon Turbo Premium Plus trims come standard with the turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter engine. It makes 250 horsepower and 320 foot-pounds of torque, output comparable to that touted by 5.7-liter V8s in late-1980s Corvettes.

There is one catch. The touted 250 horsepower is only delivered if you pump the tank full of high-octane premium unleaded. You can use regular (and mid-grade), but if you do, the knock sensors will dial back the boost -- and the horsepower -- to 227.

But that's still more power than you can get in the K4 -- and more power than you can get for the same money in a Civic or a Corolla.

On the Road

Of the handful of small sedans and hatches you can still buy, the 3 is arguably the sportiest of the bunch and not just because it's designed to look and drive the part. It is also priced the part.

The base-engine versions of rivals such as the Honda Civic, Kia K4 and Toyota Corolla are under-engined, and none of them are available with a manual transmission with their lower-powered engines -- which would make up for the absence of power by giving the driver power over the drivetrain that is lost when the engine is paired with an automatic.

It's just too bad the manual is limited to the hatchback -- and just the one trim.

This car still has gauges too -- rather than an LCD display. Analog-style speedometer and tach, with dial and needles. It helps focus on the drive -- rather than the display. Another driving plus is that most of the "driver assistance technology" can be fully turned off without having to dig deep into "menus" to find the off switch.

Turbo-equipped models are quick -- zero to 60 mph takes just over five seconds -- but base-engine models aren't slow (zero to 60 mph in about seven seconds). For reference, a Kia K4 with its optional turbocharged engine isn't much quicker than the base-engine 3, and the base-engine K4 is much slower than the base-engine 3. Same goes versus the base-engine Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla too.

At the Curb

Though Mazda markets the 3 as one model, it is arguably two -- in that the sedan and the hatchback are significantly different, and not merely in terms of how they look.

The sedan is much longer -- 183.5 inches versus 175.6 inches for the hatchback -- but has much less room in its trunk (13.2 cubic feet) than the hatchback has in its ... hatchback (20.1 cubic feet). Both iterations have the same front and rear-seat legroom -- 42.3 inches and 35.1 inches, respectively. And -- interestingly -- nearly identical front and rear-seat headroom, which you might think the hatch would have less of in view of its sporty-looking roofline.

The hatch looks sportiest -- but looks can be deceiving. In fact, the hatch is arguably the more practical of the two due to its much more family-friendly cargo capacity.

But there's more to this little Mazda than sportiness practicality. It has been said the 3 punches above its weight -- and that's certainly (because objectively) true. But it also luxes above its price. Meaning that even though this car is considered "entry level," it is objectively higher-end-feeling than other cars in its price range, especially versus the Civic and Corolla. Those are both nice cars -- but the 3 comes off as something nicer. It could plausibly be an entry-level Lexus or Audi. In some ways, it is nicer -- in that Mazda doesn't rely on gaudy oversized LCD flatscreens, which look cheap now that everyone has one -- but rather on the elegant-looking, neatly stitched and tightly fitting-together dash and door panels, what appear to be real chrome accents and just an overall higher-end feel.

It is the kind of car you buy because it appeals more so than because it's the one you can afford.

The Rest

One of the few things not to like about this car is that you can't get the manual with AWD -- in addition to it not being available at all with the sedan. That's too bad because if Mazda offered the 2.5 S hatchback with the manual and AWD, it'd be a strong cross-shop versus the Subaru WRX (which of course touts its standard AWD system). The Soobie would still have the power advantage, but a putative AWD-equipped, six-speed Mazda3 hatchback would have a huge price advantage, given the WRX's $35,750 base price.

The Bottom Line

If there were more sedans -- and hatchbacks -- like the Mazda3, there'd probably be fewer crossovers.

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Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.