Kelsey Mays
Staff Writer
Latigo Canyon Road begins as a sudden detour off Pacific Coast Highway, an asphalt streak that disappears into the mountains. Snaking its way around sun-bleached fields and patches of California Oak, the road ascends high above the Pacific toward jagged rock faces and scenic vistas. Its meander quickens as wide loops turn into sharp hairpins and steep inclines. This road was not meant for your grandfather’s Buick.
Enter the 3.
Mazda’s newest offering to the compact sedan category replaces the Protegé, a car that always sang to a tune three shades sportier than the segment’s headlining duo, Civic and Corolla.
The 3 comes in either sedan or hatchback form. Both models offer as an option the larger 6 sedan’s base engine: a 2.3-liter DOHC inline-4 with variable valve timing, making 160 hp and 150 lb-ft of torque. The 3 sedan also features a base model with a smaller engine, priced around $14,000. Our test car was a titanium gray ‘s’ sedan with various power amenities, alloy wheels, and a four-speed automatic transmission with a manumatic shift mode. The final sticker was $19,165. I couldn’t wait to drive it — on to Latigo.
The 3 darts from one curve to the next, carving corners with exceptional precision. Its steering feels like it was transplanted from a $27,000 RX-8 — the leather wheel willingly dials back and forth with instantaneous response. The engine provides eager company for this game, given appropriate discipline: keep it in second gear most of the time, via the manumatic shifter, for the best power going up hills in the twisties. Tap the lever down for third after accelerating through a straightaway, and knock it back up to second for the next corner.
Downshifts are crisp – faster than the typical one-one-thousand lag typical for many manumatic shifters.
Coming down the back side of Latigo, the car’s forward-heavy weight distribution begins to send the front tires hunting for traction around tight corners. Our tester’s 16-inch wheels squealed in protest long before the frame feels the limits of lateral adhesion, but thanks to a tightly-sprung suspension and efficient optional ABS-assisted disc brakes, recovery is quick.
Along straightaways, the engine could use more low-end torque. The car takes its sweet time getting up to 4,000 rpm — but after that, the 2.3 liter picks up speed all the way to its 6,500-rpm redline, emitting a deliciously European-sounding, mechanical tune. The manumatic shifter offers almost instantaneous access to this 4-to-6 happy hour via quick downshifts and no premature override: we hit redline several times without the system kicking us up a gear.
In stop-and-go traffic, the 3 is decidedly more sedate. The transmission upshifts smoothly. Freeway speeds induce moderate wind noise, but the engine goes about its work in hushed silence. The six-speaker CD stereo plays Sinatra with adequate clarity. In the everyday sense, this car is reassuringly normal.
Aesthetically, the 3 continues Mazda’s design evolution from the 6 sedan and RX-8 coupe: aggressive flared headlights, clear-lens tail lamps and a gaping front air dam. Its compact dimensions make for a narrow, stubby look that’s refreshingly modern and tidy, if not beautiful. It’s unmistakably Japanese, but certainly racier than Honda or Toyota stylists have managed.
The interior also executes this theme accordingly. Behind a thick, three-spoke steering wheel perch three instrument portals with electroluminescent red dials sweeping across blue outlines. An illuminated information display sits atop the audio/temperature controls, flanked by a faux carbon-fiber strip running across the cabin.
Our test car’s seats were upholstered in a textured black-red cloth combination, and they offered adequate lateral support. A few minor quibbles — several interior pieces have a very cheap feel to them that is inconsistent with the rest of the interior — but for a sub-$20,000 car, it really isn’t that bad.
It’s the actual, purposeful driving that sets the 3 apart from its class. The engine certainly doesn’t pretend to be a V6 — with the automatic transmission, it won’t dip below eight seconds to 60 mph — but it’s a willing partner with the star-quality steering for any tight acrobatics. Quality doesn’t scream Lexus, but it’s on par with this class. And styling, though hardly earth-shaking, is tastefully aggressive.
As it has done with the 6 and RX-8, Mazda injects some presence onto a tired stage for the third time. Time for Honda, Toyota and the others to rewrite their scripts.
Note: Both Kelsey Mays and James Riswick test drove the 3. This review reflects their combined driving perspectives.
02-17-2005
