Newest Mazda3 aims downsizers with big car features

Mazda applies the pressure to local large cars and the Toyota Corolla by including satellite navigation and Bluetooth as standard on half of its Mazda3 models and making stability control standard across the range.

Mazda is aiming to tempt more buyers away from Commodores and Falcons by equipping its Mazda3 with features more commonly associated with big luxury cars.














Satellite navigation and Bluetooth mobile connectivity will be standard features on the Maxx Sport and SP25 variants, which will account for more than half the sales of the next-generation Mazda3 that goes on sale in April. Mazda has enhanced the trim levels of its new 3 to attract buyers who are considering opting for a smaller car but are concerned about missing luxury features they’ve become accustomed to.
“We’re seeing a strong trend with people downsizing for better fuel economy,” says Mazda Australia spokesman Glenn Butler.

“These buyers, however, are not prepared to give up luxury items such as sunroofs, leather seats and satellite navigation. So we see a potential market for that.”
Mazda hopes the 3’s standard luxury and safety features will also help close the gap to the market-leading Corolla.

“Those features [sat-nav and Bluetooth], along with stability control standard across the range, give us a big advantage over the biggest-selling car in the small-car segment,” says Butler.
The Corolla offers Bluetooth as standard on some models, though sat-nav is a dealer-fit option even on the range-topping Ultima, and stability control is not standard on every model.
Mazda Australia is still in negotiations with Japan HQ about pricing, which has been complicated by the collapse of the dollar against the yen.

Mazda3 prices were already increased in January – from between $500 and $1000 depending on model – and the company is hoping to avoid further increases for a car that sits in Australia’s most competitive vehicle segment.

The new Mazda3 line-up will be familiar, starting with the entry-level Neo followed by the Maxx and Maxx Sport. Each will be powered by a 108kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. A diesel model with a 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine will have similar specifications to the Maxx, and the SP23 makes way for an SP25 model – acknowledging an upgrade from a 115kW 2.3-litre to a 2.5-litre engine with 122kW.

A six-speed manual is the standard transmission, with a five-speed auto replacing a four-speeder as an option. The SP25 will be a short-lived range-topping model. The new Mazda3 MPS hot-hatch arrives in September. The Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla comprised more than a third of small-car sales in 2008, while the 3 accounts for 40 per cent of Mazda’s annual sales volume. The Mazda was Australia’s best-selling car in January, and the company has brought forward the new Mazda3’s onsale date by two months because it is running out of stock of the current model.