Mazda’s athletic and stylish entry to the compact car segment, the Mazda3, offers a peppy alternative to the daily commute. Rivals include the Honda Civic, the Volkswagen Jetta, and the Kia Forte.

What’s New for the 2024 Mazda3

The Mazda3 is a compact car offered in sedan and hatchback versions. It’s recognized for being one of the more athletic options in the segment, with even base versions that stand out thanks to fantastic handling and great steering feedback. It was updated just last year, with more power and better tech features, and has seen incremental updates in the years since 2019, when it was last fully redesigned. For 2024, the Mazda3 gets a new Carbon Turbo trim with exclusive exterior styling, and a new 10.25-inch infotainment display is available with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

Design

The profile of the Mazda3 has grown a lot more mature over the years, but it’s still one of the best-looking cars in the segment, in either body style. That said, the hatchback definitely stands out a bit more from the crowd. The nose is a touch aggressive, thanks to the bold grille, but the sides of both versions flow into a graceful and elegant profile, with sophisticated alloy wheels that wouldn’t be out of place on a luxury car. The Mazda3 comes standard with 16-inch wheels, and moving up to the Select trim upgrades to 18-inch wheels. The new Carbon Turbo model adds some exclusive styling elements.

Powertrain

Both 2024 Mazda3 models are offered with two engines. The base is a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four rated for 191 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive (FWD) as the standard configuration. A manual transmission is available with FWD models, and the automatic transmission can be paired with all-wheel drive (AWD). There is also a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine available, rated for 227 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque with regular fuel or 250 hp and 320 lb-ft with premium fuel. This engine comes exclusively with the automatic transmission and AWD. In any case, the Mazda3 shines with great steering feedback and a suspension setup that keeps you planted to the road, even better with Sport mode engaged. The base configuration is EPA-rated for 28 mpg city, 37 mpg highway, and 31 mpg combined, while the turbo model gets as low as 23 city, 31 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined in the heavier hatchback.

Interior

Both Mazda3 body styles fit five passengers, though in both cases, rear occupants might be somewhat resentful thanks to scant legroom and headroom. That’s generally accepted across the segment, though the Mazda3 is arguably worse than some rivals because both body styles have a significant slope to the rear roofline. The cabin has a clean and simple design that starts out classy and looks upscale when executed in the higher trim levels’ nicer materials. You’ll have to move up to the Select trim for synthetic leather upholstery and to the Premium for genuine leather. Push-button start and keyless entry come standard, and other options include a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, and a moonroof. The sedan can hold 13.1 cubic feet of cargo in the trunk, and the hatchback offers up 20.1 cubic feet.

Technology

Though the Mazda3 comes standard with an 8.8-inch infotainment display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a new 10.25-inch infotainment display is available with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, infotainment is a weak point. Mazda remains one of the few automakers insisting that touchscreens are less safe than cumbersome dial-controlled interfaces. The system is distracting to use and feels painfully outdated.

Safety

The 2023 Mazda3 earned a Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t given a full rating to the 2023 or 2024 Mazda3 as of this writing, but both earned the full five stars in frontal crash and rollover evaluations.

Standard features are plentiful. Highlights include automatic cruise control, forward automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-departure warning, adaptive headlights, and rain-sensing windshield wipers. Available features include blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic-sign recognition, traffic-jam assist, and a 360-degree parking camera system.

Pricing

As of this writing, the 2024 Mazda3 starts at an MSRP of $24,170 for the base sedan and $25,690 for the base hatchback, before destination and handling charges. It will be available at Mazda dealerships starting in the summer of 2023. Hatchback models will be available first, and sedan models will follow in the fall of 2023.