Mazda, as a sports car brand from Japan, is different from the familiar Toyota, Honda and Nissan, which are the first-tier Japanese family brands, and it understands its own precise positioning very well. The naturally-aspirated engine and the handling are the brand's most obvious labels, and the degree of its obsession is similar to that of Subaru's obsession with four-wheel drive.
In the past, Mazda has publicly stated that its brand does not seek to win the approval of all consumers, but rather, the two percent of consumers who are Mazda fans are the core target group, and future models will be launched around this core group.
When I first heard this statement, I had to admire Mazda's "maverick", and even a little arrogant feeling.However, after tasting it seriously, I realized Mazda's great wisdom about the market, how to survive in the strong automobile market is the prerequisite for development, and this group of core users is exactly where the foundation of the Mazda brand lies.
In the past two years, for the world's major brands, the performance of the traditional fuel car market is really not very friendly. Global electrified vehicles in the policy support to occupy a large market share, fuel car consumer groups face many models taste is also increasingly tricky, from the two years of sales decline in the car companies can be seen, after all, the cake is only so big, but eat more and more people.Whether you are adhering to the sporty sports brand, or only take the low-end of the volume of cheap brands, if the short board is obvious, then the sales will not only decline so simple, but directly eliminated.
The same is true for Mazda.Although it has a large number of fans, and does not expect to be recognized by everyone, but in the face of the raging fuel car market growth rate decline, but also have to calculate the salary to live, change is imminent.Start introducing younger, sportier and more aggressive models.
Upon reading this, many readers may ask, does the change mentioned here mean compromise? Is it like the European car companies to enter China, in order to cater to the tastes of the public to lengthen the wheelbase, maximize the space, and lose the sports characteristics? Of course not, change is by no means equal to compromise, but on the basis of the original to make up for the short board so as to become higher. As the saying goes, there is no proof, today I through the Mazda3 Sedan to find out for you.
Exterior Design
Among the family design of many automobile brands, I believe that in the conceptual design to the production of the closest non-Mazda, and its family soul design is also one of the most highlights of the selling point of Mazda models.According to the official statement, the soul design is free from the constraints of the car's inherent shape, the pursuit of the ultimate dynamic full of emotion, and the integration of art into the design.
In my opinion, the ability to incorporate art into the design in pursuit of the ultimate beauty is mostly found in supercars or high-end models, and only Mazda can be so "stubborn and persistent" among family car brands.This kind of craftsmanship has also captured a large number of loyal fans who love Mazda's "face value", at least I have a lot of such friends.
In the Mazda 3 Sedan, the KODO Soul Design has evolved into the 2.0 era, and is largely based on the concept car VISION COUPE.While the general trend is to add new elements to a vehicle, the new Mazda 3 Sedan has gone the other way, adopting a "simplistic" design approach.Its designers believe that the most expressive design should be expressed in the simplest form.
Despite being positioned as a compact sedan, the Mazda3 Sedan still has a long front end that rivals that of a midsize sedan.Looking at the Mazda3 Sedan from a side angle, you can see that it has an almost perfect side profile, with just the right amount of stretch and a waistline that extends all the way up to the headlights, creating a sporty look.
Mazda has never been stingy with wheel sizes, and Toyota is like two extremes.Dominant comfort Toyota prefers to help the car with small-sized wheels and high flat ratio (such as bad translation, can be turned into a thicker tire) tires, the pursuit of comfort while also taking into account the profit.Mazda, on the other hand, pursues sporty handling and aesthetics, while pursuing low-profile (thinner tires) wheels and large wheels. 2.0L Mazda3s are equipped with 18-inch multi-spoke wheels as standard, maintaining sportiness while also taking into account a certain degree of comfort.
Mazda3's eagle-eye headlights remain the same style as in the past, but the front face design has been fine-tuned, and the overall atmosphere is more avant-garde and cool, which enhances the sense of high class under the foundation of maintaining the old design.Overall, the second generation of soulful design is still stunning, car owners and friends basically presented a unanimous praise, very rare and valuable.
Length, width and height reached 4662/1797/1445 millimeters, wheelbase reached 2726 millimeters.From the data point of view, Mazda3 Sedan compared to the mainstream Corolla, Cicic and other models in the same class is not lagging behind, but in the body length and wheelbase are the best performance in the class.But Mazda is not good at "stealing space", so despite the leading figures, the actual experience is not much different.
Interior and Comfort
Interior design and layout may not have always been Mazda's forte, but the clean, well-organized layout and design atmosphere gives Mazda drivers more energy to return to the vehicle itself.The MAZDA3 features a lot of flat lines in the interior, with almost all design elements in a left-right-through design style, and cascading design that can be seen at a glance. In addition to the floating center screen that towers slightly in the center, even the air vents are "hidden" in the straight lines.
The material materials are designed with a large number of leather wraps, adding a touch of sophistication to the predominantly sporty atmosphere.The color scheme is minimalist all-black, giving the Mazda a special "quietness" that allows the driver's attention to be focused more on the vehicle itself.
The three-spoke multifunction steering wheel has a nice sporty feel, and a lot of effort has been put into the texture of its buttons, with silver metal buttons adding a premium feel to the material.Although the new Mazda3 does not use the most popular full LCD instrument panel, but the central LCD area of the instrument panel still gives a lot of sense of technology, with a mechanical speedometer and tachometer, white backlighting highlights out of the simple "cold" style.
The physical buttons are mainly air conditioning buttons, and visually they continue to adhere to the minimalist "cold" style.Configuration, this generation of Mazda3 can be said to be blood, all standard with a key start, 8.8-inch center display, rear air vents, electronic handbrake, CarPlay and so on.
Engine
The MAZDA3 is powered by a 2.0L self-priming engine, which many people may think is not as explosive or fuel efficient as a small-displacement turbocharged engine, but in this era of pursuing the driving experience, a self-priming engine brings a smoothness that a turbo can't match.
The acceleration of this naturally-aspirated engine is very coherent from the start, and the sluggish and abrupt acceleration of the turbine completely disappears. Although it is not possible to pursue the sensation of violent speed, it is very comfortable to drive.
Aggressive throttle response, flexible power output, and a high degree of matching between engine speed and vehicle speed are all advantages of the self-absorbing engine. 0-100km/h acceleration may not be the Mazda3's strong point, but the comfort that comes with it is far greater than the experience of accelerating smoothly.
In the driving process, whether it is rapid acceleration or cornering, the car will produce a G value, when the G value on the body of the greater, people will feel more uncomfortable.Only when the vehicle's movements match the driver's expected movements can the negative impact of the G-value be offset to the greatest extent possible, and this is also known to most people as "human-vehicle unity".
Mazda has always emphasized the "harmony between man and horse" is exactly the same, in the Mazda3, smooth acceleration and flexible steering are very composite of the driver's expectations, in addition to the feedback speed of the agile, the rest of the action and the amount of slack is very small, coupled with thick seat padding, the passenger's swaying amplitude has been further reduced, many people complained that the Mazda3 has a very low G-value, and this is also known as "human-vehicle harmony".Reduced, many people complain about the Mazda3's space, but overlook the truest ride comfort.
The Mazda3 does not have a sport mode, and its D-gear is a combination of normal and sport modes, whose performance depends mainly on the depth of the gas pedal on the driver's right foot, which is where the Mazda's bottom line lies.The 2.0L engine gives a linear and powerful pushback when you step on the gas pedal and the rpm increases quickly, and the sound of the engine at high rpm is very pleasing to the ear, which I like very much, but I wouldn't say it's very fun to drive.
Features
Also in terms of safety, with 1300MPa hot-formed steel, the vehicle's impact resistance performs reasonably well, and there is also the Mazdai-Activsense intelligent safety assistance system, such as adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring, to further improve driving safety.
Price
According to the official website, the Mazda3 Sedan is priced from SAR 78,200, which may vary according to different configurations.
Summary
Mazda doesn't have much to do with handling, its driving philosophy has always been people, especially ordinary people.
Most ordinary people don't care that much about handling, and even fewer pursue extreme handling. Mazda thinks about whether it can make this part of the population feel the joy of driving, and use a similar feeling during daily commuting, as if teaching you how to drive by hand (Jinba-Ittai).
Mazda is like a boyfriend you just met, definitely not the kind you've been dating for a long time, taking you, who just got your license, with patience and gentleness.
An example is the driver's sense of vertigo, driving the process of the driver's head will do back and forth, reflecting the acceleration of the left and right front and back, Mazda will be tuned through a variety of directions to make the shaking smaller and more rounded, so that the tuning out of the car in the track will certainly sacrifice the results, but will get the fun. The fun is what Mazda is after, and the ultimate in handling is still to be found in those European machines.
Many drivers who have been enlightened by Mazda may later switch to Porsche, BMW, etc., but they will always hold goodwill towards Mazda in their hearts, because Mazda taught him to start driving; if they have a little bit of strength, many of them will choose to keep a Mazda in their garages.
A lot of cars that handle well only make you feel the thrill, not the pleasure, or that pleasure comes after a kind of thrilling shock, but the Mazda secretes pleasure throughout, and it's the best salesman for BMWs and Porsches.
Every family has a different point of need for a mobility tool, so if you're looking for a family car that works well, drives well, is comfortable, frugal and fun to drive, consider the Mazda3 Sedan.
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Senior Writer The quest for automotive knowledge began as soon as the earliest memories. Various sources information, even questionable ones, have been explored including video games, television, magazines, or even internet forums. Still stuck in that rabbit hole.
