South Africans should buy the new Mazda3 in droves, but we probably won’t. It’s an improvement on a rather impressive predecessor — another car we should have bought in droves, only we didn’t. Why is that?
The outgoing Mazda3 claimed 6.9% of the C-segment market. That’s not a lot, especially given our collective hunger for hatchbacked and booted cars of this sort. Indeed, South Africans (when we had money) hoovered up Golfs and Corolla/RunXs by the truckload, while the likes of the Mazda3 parked in the sidestreets, missing all the action. That’s got to be pretty disheartening for the Japanese firm. After all, they produced a bloody good car in the first-generation 3. And with this new one they’ve upped the ante, thanks to some significant improvements.
The interior, for example, is a wonder. All scalloped and shaped by a multitude of bisecting curves, it’s a nice alternative to the form-und-funktion approach of its rivals. It features what Mazda call their “hoodless” wraparound housing that puts everything within easy and intuitive reach, and the “multi-information display” provides all the info you need to get from A to B. Build quality is decent too — the rubbery plastic that covers most of the dash wouldn’t be out of place in Wolfsburg, nor would the fit and finish.
Interior space is pretty decent as well — plenty up front and it’s comfy enough for two adults sitting in the back. And you’ll enjoy the drive. Like its predecessor, the new 3 is sporty of character with a fully independent suspension and a stiffer chassis thanks to stronger steel used in strategic areas of the body. The result is on-road manners best described as tight and responsive without erring on the side of choppy.
At the launch, I spent most of the time in the 2.5 Individual hatch powered by a slightly detuned version of the Mazda6’s engine. In this smaller sibling, the engine is good for 122kW, 227Nm and a fair amount of fun. The six-speed manual was particularly impressive, encouraging some roguish adventures up and down ratios.
Then there’s the pricing. Given the goodies it comes with — depending on the trim level — the Mazda3 represents a very competitive choice against its rivals. Mazda has even culled the model line-up from 14 to eight to emphasise the cost effectiveness of the range.
So, all this, and odds are it still won’t sell much more than the last one. Here’s why —
It’s the way it looks. And that’s not to say it looks bad. One can appreciate the origami-esque hints of Mazda’s nagare (flow) design language. As design languages go, it certainly ticks all the boxes. The wide, grinning grill, cheeky dimples and squinty eyes break new ground somewhere between anime comics and kabuki theatre. It’s cohesive, it’s distinctive and it definitely stands out from the herd. And that, I suspect, is the problem.
When it comes to automotive design, South African tastes, on the whole, lean to the conservative, especially when it comes to C-segment volume sellers. We tend to go for the middle-of-the-road school of design, not the slightly quirky Japanese collective. Toyota, for example, understands this well, and although it has several quirky models on its books, none of them see the light of day here.
The fact of the matter is that no one here buys a Mazda as a mark of his or her individuality.
You’re going to buy one because it’s a decent, solid car that represents good value for money. Sure, it’s going to deliver on its brand promise and enthusiastically Zoom-Zoom you all over the show — it’s just that you’d probably prefer to do it without the capital letters.
It’s a pity. The new Mazda3 is affordable, fun to drive and fundamentally a damn good little car. It has certainly raised the bar, but unfortunately the odds are that, once again, most are likely ignore this jump all together.
The Mazda3 ranges in price from R193 250 for the 1.6-litre hatch to R266 900 for the 2,5-litre hatch.