An MX-5 for the family? 2000 miles in a manual Mazda 3

For a car maker whose line-up sits largely in the mainstream, Mazda has always ploughed a pleasingly unconventional furrow. It long resisted the push for electrification, instead developing its unusual compression-ignition technology to maximise the fuel economy of its Skyactiv petrol and diesel engines.

When other firms were downsizing in capacity to boost efficiency, Mazda pursued the same goal by making its engines bigger. Its first EV, the MX-30, featured rear-hinged rear doors and cork trim (and a hopelessly small range); even Mazda's commitment to the MX-5 two-seater reflects a pushback against industry trends.

Legislative requirements such as the UK's zero-emission vehicle mandate leave little room for nonconformity, of course, so Mazda has had no choice but to add more EVs to its line-up – but even then you could say its deal to rework machines made by Chinese brand Changan is unconventional. But its ICE models retain a pleasing dash of individuality – and that's why we have added the latest version of the 3 hatchback to our fleet.

While rivals such as the Peugeot 308 and Volkswagen Golf are offered with a range of powertrains including full and plug-in hybrids, the only electrified Mazda 3 comes in mild-hybrid form with a tiny battery and generator to aid economy – and in this case that small e-motor is bolted to a 2.5-litre e-Skyactiv G petrol engine. Yes, a 2.5-litre engine. In a family hatch.

To complete the slightly old-school feel we've opted for the six-speed manual, because these days we have depressingly few chances to enjoy a stick-shift gearbox on our long-term test fleet. It should also allow us to explore the responsiveness of the inline four-cylinder engine, which offers peaks of 138bhp and 175lb ft.

Magazine editor Rachel Burgess loves a practical yet fun driver-friendly hatch with petrol power, so she will be running this Mazda. Thing is, it's been a while since I had the chance to drive a manual, and I couldn't wait to try the 3.

So when logistical issues meant it was easier for me to take delivery of the car, I magnanimously loaned the BMW iX I was running to Rachel. She can deal with the judgement of driving round a £130k Beemer for a bit; I'll take the six-speed manual. Winner.

The 3 comes with a decent level of kit, including a 10.25in touchscreen, 7in digital driver display, reversing camera, active cruise control and a range of driver assistance features.

Entry models start at £25,300, but we have opted for Exclusive-Line, which costs £3080 extra and adds 18in alloy wheels, adaptive LED lights, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, a wireless charger and a 12-speaker Bose audio system. The only optional extra is the paint.

It's worth noting that white is the only no-cost option you'll get for that £28,380 entry price, while other colours start from £650. We have gone for the most expensive option, the £950 Soul Red Crystal, which looks particularly sharp.

'Particularly sharp' also describes the Mazda 3's styling; this is a hatchback that is ageing really quite gracefully. It sits lower than many of its rivals and has rounded and smooth styling that gives it a classy look and feel. This generation of 3 hasn't changed much since Mazda first launched it in 2019, but that doesn't matter because there is really no need to.

The interior aesthetic is a little less dynamic: it's fine, but there's a lot of black and it's all a bit plain. But the materials mostly feel classy for a sub-£30k hatchback, and it's all well laid out.

The touchscreen is relatively small and sticks up flush from the dash, just above a row of pleasingly tactile buttons and switches for the climate control. Who knew it could be so easy to turn up the temperature in a car simply by turning a dial?

It also features Mazda's traditional rotary controller for the touchscreen. The iX I have been running also retains a similar dial, although from the design of the operating system you sense BMW would rather you jabbed your finger at the screen.

Mazda takes a different tack: it actually continues to disable certain touchscreen functions at speed, requiring you to use the rotary dial instead of the screen. A car manufacturer actively forcing you to use a physical control over a touchscreen? See, told you Mazda remained a bit different.

For all that nonconformist edge when it comes to engine capacity and physical controllers, first impressions are that the Mazda 3 is pleasingly conventional to drive, and it offers everything good that you would hope and expect of a manual hatchback.

Weighing just 1463kg, it feels light and responsive, and the steering is sharp. The gearbox is well matched to the engine, although you'll need to make sure you're in the right gear to enjoy the best response.

That's something we'll explore more in the coming months, as we spend more time with the 3. But it's time we're looking forward to, particularly because a manual-geared petrol hatch – the type of car that dominated the UK car market for decades – feels delightfully unconventional. Just as Mazda would like it, you suspect.

Update 2: How practical is it really?

As I mentioned, magazine editor Burgess is due to run this Mazda 3, but I've grabbed the keys for a bit while she tries to squeeze my BMW iX onto her drive.

So, armed with a slightly sporty, compact, petrol-powered manual hatch for a few weeks, where should I head? A winding country B-road, surely? Sadly, no. Off to the recycling centre it is. Not planned this very well, have I?

The trip to the tip – a tradition for vehicles on our long-term test fleet – was required after a recent session of house clearing unearthed a big pile of dust-covered junk I no longer need. (VHS video player, anyone?) In a big SUV such as the iX, I could have loaded it all in without even folding the rear seats. But I'm a firm believer that hatchbacks remain a great choice for many, so this was a chance to prove they can still be practical.

Mazda makes it simple to lower the 3's rear seats and, even if they don't quite fold fully flat, doing so offers up plenty of space. The relatively low profile of the Mazda's roof and its sloping rear don't create the most practically shaped boot opening, so it took some wrangling to fit in a broken mini-fridge. But I was surprised that the 3 swallowed as much as it did. I could have thrown out even more.

It's a short trip from my house to the Richmond-upon-Thames recycling centre, but the route is filled with rutted surfaces and speed bumps – the sort of things that can be positively unpleasant in a loaded-up hatch. The 3's suspension is on the stiffer side for a hatch, which helps the handling but isn't so good when it's fully laden. But it actually retained its composure over the bumps.

My local recycling centre has tight parking spaces and brilliantly enforces a 'reverse in' policy for maximum efficiency. Despite my rearward view in the central mirror being blocked by rubbish, the small footprint of the 3 meant I'd started unloading before the Audi Q5 that arrived before me had even got itself lined up properly.

Better still, once my trash was disposed of, I detoured out of London on the way home to find myself a flowing B-road, to enjoy the 3 in its more natural habitat. And I very much enjoyed it.

Mileage 392

Update 3: One fuel guage is enough

The Mazda has old-school physical dials, but there are also some small customisable digital displays. Should you wish, one of those can show a virtual fuel gauge – despite the 3 having a physical one not far away. If you're a stickler for detail, you'll be annoyed that the two gauges often don't quite align. It's a very minor gripe, but still irritating.

Mileage 478

Update 4

MX-5 for the family? Manual Mazda 3 is an everyday driver's delight

Mileage 691

Update 5: Physical switchgear is a welcome sight

Behold this radical innovation, pictured above: a rotary dial and big, tactile buttons around it to control the key functions of the infotainment system. If I want to get back to Google Maps on Apple CarPlay, I press the top-right button, for example. It's easy and minimally distracting. More manufacturers should do them. Oh wait, they did…

Mileage 1220 

Update 6: Roomier than an SUV?

Having spent the past few months in sizeable cars such as the Volkswagen Tayron and BMW iX, I wondered how I'd adapt to the smaller Mazda 3, not least because I'm still settling into my new house and frequently have larger items to take to the house or the tip.

A case in point is a large parasol I needed to transport on a baking hot day. It's so large it almost outsizes my garden, yet I needn't have worried. It fitted into the 3 easily. I didn't even remove the parcel shelf or put the back seats down, such was my desire to get back to the air-con in the sweltering heat.

Even better, because the 3 is relatively compact in its dimensions, it's quite easy to manoeuvre even when it's full. On a few occasions, my view out of the rear window has been blocked but it hasn't been a huge problem because the car is short and the reversing camera is decent.

That said, the wing mirrors are smaller than I expected. I think that's because I'm now used to SUVs, which tend to have far bigger mirrors, but it has still been an adjustment and I've had to spend time making sure they're correctly set up in order to get full use of them.

I'm back in the 3, after a logistically necessary swap with the iX of colleague James Attwood, and thrilled to be driving what I regard as the heartland of the car world: a hatchback. These cars were at their high point when I was a young adult and I've always thought they were the perfect all-rounder and prettier than saloons, another style very popular then and less so now.

To be fair, there are still plenty of hatchbacks out there, but it's easy to forget them because there's a helluva lot more SUVs around.

That parasol expedition plus many charity shop runs and the ever-growing detritus of my five-year-old only proves how practical the 3 is – surprisingly so. It's always appeared to me to be a design-led model rather than one maxing out interior space, yet it feels well packaged in both the boot and main compartment.

Because it's low and also very dark inside, it can look quite small at first glance, but once inside it feels on a par with the Volkswagen Golf. Stats-wise, it has around 40 litres less boot space than a Golf and about 1cm less rear leg room.

One relief of switching to the 3 after some big SUVs is the ease of parking it outside my house. Like many in the UK, my new home has a very short drive, which means that even when I've reversed the Tayron and iX right up to my wall, they stick out into the pavement a bit.

The 3 doesn't, which not only means I spend a bit less time having to park it precisely but also makes it easier for pedestrians. I can see the appeal of having a bigger car, but it's nice to have something that actually fits properly in the UK, be it on my drive or in tight public parking spaces.

Plus I don't have to worry about mildly put-out glares from new neighbours...

Mileage 1526

Update 7: Channeling the spirit of the MX-5

What's the best Mazda? There's only one answer and it's the MX-5. This year's sole recipient of a five-star Autocar road test verdict, despite being 11 years old, and named our favourite model in our 50 best cars feature. Accolades don't come much higher than that.

One of my fondest weekend memories is a glorious summer trip to North Norfolk in my friend's early fourth-generation MX-5. Life was good and the MX-5 experience was a major part of that. I know that another friend of mine, who visited me recently in her model (pictured), enjoys the same feelgood factor. So does my 3 share some of the good bits of that renowned roadster lineage? Happily, yes.

I'm embarrassed to say it, given my job, but having not been very well recently and having lived in the effortless comfort of a BMW iX, I wasn't exactly enamoured with the prospect of a manual gearbox. I just wanted something easy and convenient, all things considered.

What an idiot I was. This car is so thoroughly satisfying and enjoyable to drive. Honestly, I'm surprised. I didn't have any preconceptions of the car being bad per se, but I don't think I expected it to bring the pleasure it has.

The 3 isn't a hot hatch, but it isn't far off. The steering is accurate, direct and well weighted and the gearshifts are just so... good. I can't wax lyrical enough there. It doesn't feel fast fast, but still faster than its 9.5sec 0-62mph time suggests.

On a late-night run back from the airport recently, I found the M1 unexpectedly shut and was pretty annoyed to be circumventing it through a very long diversion. But the joy of this was that I could properly enjoy the 3 with plenty of corners and open roads.

It was then that I mused why I've always loved hatchbacks, particularly dynamic ones. The 3 is a perfect reminder of their charm.

Mileage 2224

Final report: Hatchback signs off - but did it win us over?

Had you forgotten about the Mazda 3? It would be understandable if you had, in today's world of all-new brands, all-new models and endless talk of electric vehicles.

But the 3 is still quietly making a significant impression on Mazda's own sales charts, having sat in the firm's top three for the past two years. That's even more remarkable when you consider most sales figures are skewed by car makers having to push electric vehicles to avoid hefty regulatory fines.

The 3 seems anachronistic, though, existing alongside the EVs that are flooding the forecourts. This is a 2.5-litre petrol-engined manual hatchback that costs under £30k. How many times have you read that in a new car test or report over the past couple of years?

What the 3 represents might not be the car du jour, then, but that is to undersell what a delight it has been to drive and to live with.

The Mazda brand is a left-field option, yet it quietly makes mostly decent cars (the MX-5 is exceptional while a couple of others are mediocre). I have enjoyed both the understated niche choice of a hatchback in a world of SUVs and that it's slightly rarier and less obvious than, say, a Volkswagen Golf or even a Toyota Corolla.

I have never been totally convinced by its rear end, but the vibrant colour, the Mazda classic of Soul Red Crystal paint (a £950 option), would be my pick time and time again.

I am now largely adapted to a world of quiet start-ups, so the 2.5-litre engine sounds loud when I fire up the car on my quiet street. But that observation is quickly forgotten, and I've not once noticed the engine being noisy or growly on a journey, which can only be a good sign.

Despite having 2488cc to its name, the 3 makes a conservative 138bhp, which translates to a sedate 0-62mph time of 9.5sec. Even so, it has never felt underpowered be it along local B-roads or on the motorway. Add in the accurate steering and highly enjoyable manual 'box hailed in previous reports, and this is an unexpectedly desirable car to drive. (It is available as an automatic, too, if I can't convince you a manual is worth it.)

It has also proved to be practical. That it fits neatly on my very short drive is a boon, yet it's well packaged inside. The all-black interior – not uncommon for Japanese brands – is claustrophobic at times, but on the upside it seems to help it maintain a neat, clean, fresh appearance more than some other options. The boot is, on paper, smaller than those of its rivals, but again it is well designed to maximise space and access.

The infotainment system and controls could look outdated compared with touchscreens twice the size – not surprising given the Mk4 3 was launched seven years ago – but it really did a fine job of making life easy. The screen was big enough and the various dials and buttons, including, most notably, the one in the centre console, made commands on the move straightforward and safer than in many contemporaries.

In many new cars it's often not intuitive to switch between Apple CarPlay and radio; here you just press the top-right button of the centre console square (pictured right) and it goes directly back to Google Maps on CarPlay. These are the small but important things that ensure minimal-distraction motoring.

In many ways the joy of the 3 is that so much of it is unremarkable. The handling deserves praise, aided by that steering and the manual 'box, but in all other respects it just quietly goes about its business.

There are no major innovations or quirks (although I did enjoy the tiny retro storage box to the right of the steering wheel), but instead you have a steady, solid car that does exactly what it's meant to – with not a software fault in sight. It should also be applauded for its ADAS integration, which is as present as it needs to be but so unobtrusive I didn't once seek to turn off any of the systems. There's a novelty.

I've enjoyed every journey in this car – even when I thought the manual would be a chore, such as when a 25-minute journey took 90 minutes instead (thanks, M25).

This type of car is unlikely to have a long future, but the 3 does a remarkable job of remaining authentic and old-school in all the right ways while incorporating the good and/or necessary parts of modernity. If you are still in the combustion-engined non-SUV camp, then the 3 should certainly be on your list. And all for less than £30,000.