Expensive cars tend to get the bulk of media coverage, so it’s refreshing to take a break and look at something that most everyone can afford. That’s certainly the case with Mazda’s entry-level product, the Mazda 3, which is coming off a full restyling for 2019 with the latest iteration of the automaker’s Kodo body architecture. For 2020, the edgy little subcompact is being treated to a complement of interior accoutrements that give it a premium presence.
Key among those changes is the adoption of an 8.8-inch in-dash screen with touch-sensitive Mazda Connect interactivity, which can now be operated through voice command. A seven-inch digital dashboard presents virtual gauges of analog appearance. There’s a whole range of features for 2020 that you’d expect to find on more expensive cars than this, including Radar Cruise Control with a stop-and-go capability, Driver Attention Alert, power folding side mirrors and one-touch power windows. Speaking of power, the Mazda 3 gets motivated by the Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter inline-four with cylinder deactivation – sizable displacement for this size automobile – which is rated at 186hp of output, and a 12-speaker Bose premium audio system is offered for those who like to feel their eardrums throb.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 