Mazda3 SP25 automatic 2009 review

Demand for the Mazda 3 which pushed the small car to the top seller list last month has now prompted the company to bring forward the launch of its replacement by three months.

The new Mazda3 hatch and sedan will now arrive in April, instead of June, and feature dynamic stability control (DSC) as standard across the line-up where it was previously optional and standard only in the SP23.

Bluetooth and satellite navigation will be standard in more than half the models sold.

Explore the 2009 Mazda 3 range

• Mazda3 sedan 2009 review
• Mazda3 SP25 automatic 2009 review
• Mazda3 SP25 2009 review
• Mazda3 SP25 Luxury manual sedan 2009 review
• Mazda3 MPS 2009 review: snapshot
• Mazda3 MPS 2009 review
• Mazda3 2009 review

The new Mazda3 does not share any panels with the current model and comes with a stronger chassis, a claimed better ride, reduced noise and five-speed automatic now available across the range.

Mazda Australia PR manager Glenn Butler said exchange rate fluctuations, plus the extra standard kit offered in the new car would force a price rise, which he said they hoped to keep within $1000.

Detailed specifications and pricing have not yet been decided, but it will have the same model line-up: Neo, Maxx, maxx Sport, SP25 and MPS in the third quarter.

Five years after it launch, Mazda3 is still so popular it was the top selling car in January, even surprising Mazda Australia marketing manager Alistair Doak.

"That's not something we targeted and I can't see it continuing because supply will now be a problem," he said.

"We've had our last shipload before the new model and there is no more.

"We've been way too successful.

"We might even run out of our run-out model, but that's better than having a lot of stock lying around in this unpredictable market."

The dwindling supply of current Mazda3s prompted the company to bring forward the launch of the new model.

This week Mazda allowed a select group of motoring journalists to drive the Mazda3 SP25 hatch they have brought in for homologation purposes and to display at the Melbourne Motor Show from March 4.

Because it is not yet registered for the road, it was driven at the Australian Automotive Research Centre track near Angelsea south-west of Melbourne in a back-to-back comparison with the current SP23.

The first difference you notice is the simplified front end with one big lower grille, bigger and pointier headlights, scalloped side panels, the blinker integrated into the side mirrors, colour-coded door handles and the pointy rear end with its fat-bottomed bumper.

It immediately makes the current model look dated.

The MP25 now gets twin tailpipes, one `MP25’ badge on the rear and a body-coloured rear diffuser.

Inside there is much more soft-touch plastic, a twin motorcycle-style instrument binnacle, the gear shift moved closer to driver with the handbrake moved further away, a centre stack that is less like a 1980s ghetto blaster and an aux-in in the centre armrest for MP3 players with an accompanying 12V socket and another socket at the bottom of the centre stack.

The overall cabin impression is neater, although the rear three-quarters view is still limited and the dashboard flares out toward the centre console reducing knee room, but slopes away to reduce that claustrophobic feeling.

On the safety side, there are two airbags in the entry level Neo with six in all other models.

Steve MacIver, who has been product analyst for the new Mazda3 for the past 11 months, says the fit and finish inside and out is better, but there were no build quality issues with the previous model, anyway.

"Mazda3 is an extremely important vehicle because it creates about 40 per cent of our volume," he said.

"Faced with a task of improving something which is class leading in a lot of ways is difficult.

"The engineers focussed on what is good and improved on it. Not just better specification, but a better driving experience."

He said one of the main achievements was decreasing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) by 11 per cent through a stiffer chassis, use of more damping materials and more solid, engine, suspension and steering anchorage.

Power remains the same in the two-litre engine, but the SP25 is stroked and bored to achieve peak power of 122kW, up 7kW, and peak torque of 227Nm, up 24Nm.

MacIver said he expected that, although the stiffer and stronger vehicle weighed 40kg more, fuel economy for the two-litre engine would be marginally better and about the same for the more powerful SP model.

The test vehicle was shod with Toyo tyres, rather than Bridgestone Potenzas. MacIver said he expected that is how they would arrive in showrooms.

Doak suggested they would target a younger audience to develop interest and "get sales moving".

He expected to sell 30-40 per cent Neo, 10 per cent Maxx, 30-40 per cent Maxx Sport and about 20-25 per cent SP25.

"We expect a very rich mix early on toward the top models," he said.

Mazda3 sales are traditionally 60 per cent female, with males more prevalent in hatch and top-model sales.

Doak said diesel only represented 2 per cent of sales because an automatic transmission was not available. He did not expect an auto in the diesel until 2011.

The diesel model will arrive about a month after the petrol models.

Driving

The Australian Automotive Research Centre provides a rigorous test for a vehicle with a replication of real Australian roads including highway, hairpins, coarse-chip surfaces, potholes, gravel and even some errant kangaroos for swerve-and-recovery tests.

In a back-to-back comparison, the SP25 engine is quieter and smoother, even at idle. At full noise, it feels more refined, but there is no hint of the extra power and torque, possibly because of the extra weight.

While tyre and road noise is reduced, there is the same amount of intrusive A pillar wind noise from 80km/h.

The biggest improvement is in the steering and corner handling.

It feels like it has more track even though it hasn't. That is probably due to the improved damping.

Steering fees a little lighter, but more precise with more feedback and a better change of direction.

A particularly nasty reducing-radius downhill corner presented no worries for the SP25 which neatly tightened its line with more steering input.

Understeer is reduced, as is lift-off oversteer.

Ride feels better on the big hits, but it bounces a little more over corrugations.

The five-speed automatic transmission is quick and responsive, especially in manual mode.

Overall, it's not a dramatic improvement. More an evolution and refinement of an already pleasant driving dynamic.

It is on sale in the US this month, here in April and May in Europe.

It comes in eight colours, including the new Celestial Blue of the SP25 test car.