Without question, the Mazda3 Sport is the benchmark by which all compact cars will be measured against. With its elevated level of design, craftsmanship, safety, and driving enjoyment, it’s a feast for all the senses—even taste, if you dare lick the leather.
Taking inspiration from traditional Japanese aesthetic, or more specifically, its underlying simplicity, the KODO: Soul of Motion design moves to a phase where it trims back elements until the design achieved is powerful. It’s likened to Yohaku, or the beauty of empty space.
It’s a philosophy that ties to traditional Buddhist teachings that don’t see emptiness as a lack. Instead, it’s understood as an energetic field of infinite potentiality. It’s this potentiality what brings energy to the use of the empty space, contributing to the object’s structure, balance, and definition. In the Mazda3 Sport, this evolved KODO design is seen in its one-motion form, where an interplay of light and shade happens. Together with its evocative Soul Red Crystal which boasts of more than 20 percent greater color saturation and 50 percent more depth than regular red, it gives a high-quality finish unmatched by those in its class.
Inside, the Mazda3 delivers a sense of unity throughout the interior space. Devoid of visual noise, the cabin forms a perfect horizontal symmetry with the driver at the middle.
Meanwhile, the “less is more” ideal means moving certain functions like the climate
control and air vents to follow the line of the instrument panel. The obsession continues not just to areas that the driver touches like the leather steering wheel and seats, but to areas like the center console lid whose Karakuri mechanism is designed to be operated with less strain; new switchgear that uses a combination of rubber and metal parts for a smooth, yet crisp feeling; and interior illumination with better light distribution and reduced variance in color. These go hand-in-hand with its high specification with features such as a 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, and a moon roof as standard equipment.
Even the sound system hasn’t escaped attention. Designed even before the engine and chassis layout were finalized, the Mazda3’s 12-speaker Bose sound system takes into account how the human ear perceives sound. The result is a unique speaker layout where the low frequency speakers were moved from door to cowl and the mid-range speakers moved to the upper area of the doors from the dashboard. An 8-channel amplifier can also delay or advance sound delivery to each speaker individually to reproduce a direct sound.
Safety is also ingrained in the Mazda3’s design, and here, it’s found in an intuitive driver experience backed up by features such as 7 SRS airbags, windshield-projected Active Driving Display, front and rear parking sensors, and G-Vectoring Control Plus.
Of course, the Mazda3 is built for driving enjoyment. For 2022, it gets a 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G engine as standard. This powerplant generates 154 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 200 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. This is mated to a 6-speed automatic with Sport Mode and paddle shifters.
Beyond outright power, the Mazda3 is made to behave in line with human sensations and its innate sense of balance. Taking advantage of the human body’s natural ability to balance itself while walking, the seats promote a S-shaped spinal curve (the posture of walking) even when seated. This allows feedback from the road to move smoothly through the legs to the pelvis while also keeping the head at a stable position.
Seats aside, the Skyactiv-Vehicle Architecture used in the Mazda3 contains a variety of engineering solutions to further realize this. From the reduced vertical spring in the tires to better absorb vibrations; the addition of damping nodes in the body; the increased longitudinal rigidity for linear energy transmission, the tires, chassis, and seats are used to feed road information back to the driver making it feel like a natural extension of the human body.
Employing lessons learned over the years in realizing Jinba-Ittai—the state of oneness between car and driver, the Mazda3 is all about Human-centered Design. Leaving no stone unturned, it won’t just be fun speeding over mountain passes, but will feel perfectly in tune driving at a car park. It also manages to satisfy not just the visual, but the aural and tactile sense as well.
The Mazda3 2.0 Fastback Sport has a suggested retail price of P 1.495 million. Aside from Soul Red Crystal, it comes in Machine Gray, Snowflake White Pearl, Polymetal Gray, Deep Crystal Blue, Jet Black, and Platinum Quartz. It also comes with a free 5-year service plan that covers all the cost of preventive maintenance service (PMS) for up to five years or 100,000 kilometers (whichever comes first)