OTHER: Mazda 3 Test drive

Recently i went on a business trip and got the “new” Mazda 3 as a rental car for a 6 hour drive through the forestlands and german highways.
Since i was interested in this car due to it’s sexy looks, i took the opportunity to test it a bit. I guess this one was a bit of a “company car configuration” which you can not usually buy as an private person (Mazda switzerland usually makes special packages for fleet cars, which you can usually not order at your local dealership).

First: The look. I really love the sleek outside, the minimalistic japanese design and the slightly grey-ish white paint.  However, like the current miata / MX-5, i somehow think some proportions are strange and a bit of fine-tuning would make the car look much more appealing. especially on the front end. I also think the roof spoiler in body colour would make it look much sportier.
The automatic high-beams are terrible. in the dark on the highway they would sometimes turn on and off a few times within a second. Annoynig. But maybe it’s something you can turn off in the settings.

Otherwise it’s a good Mazda build-quality. In typical mazda fashion the sound insoluation against the outside noises is not the best, especially at high-speeds on higgways.
Personlly i think mazda really messed up their navigation system. In my Mazda 6 GJ it’s much better, especially the handling of traffic jams, the automated zooming, the possibility to find adresses in a different country, etc. I really wonder how mazda managed to mess this one up. a real step backwards!

The car i got was an automatic transmission car with all the bells and whistles. While the Lane-control is great. I usually hate the automated distance-control as it will break or slow down quite abruptly. The automatic transmission is also changing gears quite often and i didn’t really like it. in sport mode it fealt better, but yeah. Also i have to admit that my much bigger and heavier mazda 6 with the optional Eibach springs has a much better handling than this one.  Also the nons-stop “ding” sounds as soon as you’re 1 km/h above the limit, or whenever it thinks you don’t have your hands on the steering wheel (which i had!) is pretty much annoying. but i guess that’s the new EU-law and will come in every car here (anywhere) soon.
Anyway, it’s not as bad as it sounds. I guess with the right motor, a manual shift gearbox and maybe some optional sport springs. And maybe some light modofications to the exteriour it would make a great and fun car. Also my wive has the previous generation Mazda 3 and i have to say they really improved the exhaust sound. It’s nothing special but the sound of my wifes car makes you cringe immediately. Overall a good looking “alfa-romeo-esque” design car which is unique. But all those bells and whistles didn’t really make it a super enjoyable ride.