TEST DRIVE

2010 Mazda 3 i Touring Sports Looks, Quiet ride

This week, we’re driving the 2010 Mazda 3 “i” Touring 4-door sedan, featuring a new, aerodynamic exterior based on its new concept car called Nagare (pronounced “na-ga-reh”) that debuted at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

The new design features a slippery front-end, noticeable rake and a grille area that has a “smile to it” in a pleasing manner. The “tuner” generation, too, loves Mazda, and with the looks of the concept cars and current offerings, will continue to for a long time to come.

Now in its seventh year of success, front drive Mazda 3 delivers in every manner for those looking for sporty looks and impressive fuel economy. As for daily driving, Mazda 3 is nimble in highway manners and easy to park. Available in Sport, Touring, and Grand Touring versions, all come with a 4-cylinder engine, with “i” prefix models offering a 148-hp 2.0-liter powerplant while “s” versions come with a 167-hp, 2.5 liter design. The exterior improvement emphasizes Mazda 3’s great compact car heritage, and answers well to its in-house marketing call of “style and sensibility.”

Still an inexpensive way to appreciate Mazda’s “always the soul of a sports car” experience, the 3 i Touring starts at just $17,500 and comes with a bevy of standard features that usually cost extra on competing compacts. For those working on a limited budget, an entry model dubbed “i SV” starts at just $15,375 and comes with the identical 4-cylinder engine that delivers 25 city and 33 highway fuel mileage numbers with a manual transmission.

Available in both four-door sedan or five-door hatchback designs, and as I pointed out in 2008 when I last drove a “3,” do not confuse Mazda 3 models with the turbocharged MazdaSpeed 3, which starts at $24,055 and is a performance-based vehicle.

Additionally, our tester’s 2.0 engine develops enough torque at 135 to please those who need a bit of Mazda’s “zoom zoom” genealogy. I feel the acceleration is adequate thanks to the car’s lightweight and its standard 5-speed manual transmission, although automatic versions are available for non-shifters. Underneath, an independent front and rear suspension with stabilizer bars mate with beautiful 16-inch alloy wheels and tires, making for good handling.

Inside, Mazda 3’s new interior features standard items like air, digital clock, tire monitor system, cruise control, cloth seating, 6-speaker stereo AM/FM/CD/MP3 system, all the powers, tilt and telescopic collapsible steering wheel, carpeted floor mats, collapsible pedals, 60-40 split fold-down rear seats, rear window defogger, leather-wrapped steering wheel and electro-luminescent gauges with colorful illumination. Seating is comfortable front and rear, although the middle seat is tight for a full size adult.

Safety features include standard four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, advanced dual front airbags, side-impact airbags and curtains, triple-H construction, anti-theft engine immobilizer and remote keyless entry with panic mode. Added since 2008 as standard fare are two important safety features, namely traction control and dynamic stability control.

Sirius Satellite radio was the only option our tester featured at a cost of $430, while the remaining $670 for destination pushed the final tally to a very affordable $18,500 retail.

Important numbers include a 14.5-gallon fuel tank that offers a 406-mile cruising range, 2,868-pound curb weight, 12 cu. ft. trunk space, and 103.9-inch wheelbase. As for government crash tests, 5-star and 4-star ratings make this car even more attractive to a consumer.

In this day and age of not really knowing what’s around the corner economically, consumers can take solace knowing Mazda 3 is not only a great car to drive and own, it is economically feasible and offers better resale value than cheaper models from Hyundai and Kia.

Likes: Great MPG numbers, lots of standard features, looks, quiet ride.

Dislikes: Back seat somewhat cramped, a little noisy when pushed.

Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist