2005 Mazda MAZDA3

The stylish interior goes beyond pure functionality to deliver a setup with attractive looks as well. For instance, the gauges are individually recessed and the center stack controls display a pleasing symmetry, with obvious attention to detail. The satellite steering wheel controls are surprising to see in a car with such moderate pricing (although we're a bit put off by the "Knight-Rider"-style LEDs that light up in correspondence with volume or station changes).


Additional items we liked included comfortably contoured seats, covered with high quality fabric. The defroster was surprisingly efficient, and there's a knob on the dash that lets the driver aim the headlights.


On the outside, the MAZDA3 five-door's styling makes the most of the inherent limitations of a hatchback configuration. The sheetmetal bulges with definition in the rear quarters, and flows nicely elsewhere, creating the look of a lean, spunky gymnast, in keeping with its zoomy persona. Yet the car still has some practicality, with 17 cubic feet of cargo space that could swallow king-sized loads (with the rear seats folded down, of course). There's still sufficient space for tall drivers in the front seats, and the rear ones are reasonably roomy for a car in this class.

The stylish interior goes beyond pure functionality to deliver a setup with attractive looks and attention to detail.

Mazda's compact comes in 4-door sedan and 5-door hatchback body styles. The sedan is available in a base i model, midlevel s, and uplevel sp23 trim. The hatchback is offered only as s and sp23 models.


The i model has 15-inch wheels or optional 16s. The s sedan comes with 16s; 17s are included in its Sport Package option. The sp23 sedan and hatchbacks have 17-inch wheels. Front side airbags, head-protecting curtain side airbags, and ABS are grouped in an option package for every MAZDA3. Leather upholstery is standard on sp23 models and available on the s. A navigation system, and a package that includes a tire-pressure monitor and Xenon headlights are available. Air conditioning is optional on the i model and standard on s versions.