Used 2021 Mazda 3 Hatchback Consumer Reviews
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You Don’t Want to Stop Driving It
Clayton R, 06/09/2021
2021 Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
73 of 73 people found this review helpful
There’s one huge problem with this car— it is so fun that you don’t want to stop driving it! The 2.5 turbo is superb. It has plenty of power and torque but is also efficient. For the first few days, you’ll want to drive it like you stole it because it seriously takes corners like no other car I’ve driven and has acceleration and passing power like something out of a luxury car. The AWD paired with the turbo really helps keep the car planted and under control when aggressively stepping down on the accelerator. While it’s very peppy, the engine remains very modest and quiet when you’re driving normal or idling. I will also add that it’s paired with a silky smooth transmission that shifts effortlessly. No CVT or DCT! Just a perfect transmission made directly by Mazda. The safety features on this car are also fantastic. The adaptive cruise control is very smooth and offers four different spacing options between you and the car in front of your. The lane keep assist is not very evasive in its steering or keeping you in the lane, which is great, and the blind spot monitor is extremely helpful given the huge blind spots in the hatchback. Those are the only safety systems I’ve tested so far, and they’ve excelled my expectations. Also, the safety systems link into the head up display, which is even more brilliant. The audible warnings associated with the systems sound great and don’t scare the heck of you when they go off. The infotainment system and interior components… WOW. Amazing. I love the fact that it doesn’t have a touchscreen, honestly. Mazda makes you use a rotary dial, with a cool clicking sound as you turn it, to control all aspects of the infotainment so that you keep your eyes peeled on the road. At first it thought that would’ve been an issue, but after using it, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Not only is it much easier than having to reach for the screen, but it keeps fingerprints off the screen, which are huge pet peeve of many. The infotainment system itself is very fast, has no lag navigating from menu to menu, and the graphics are super bright and crystal clear. When you use this, you know you’re in 2021. Next level technology. There is no wireless CarPlay, but with the center compartment having enough room to fit your phone and hide cords out of the way to keep a clean look, it doesn’t bother me one bit. In fact, it forces you to not look at your phone while driving, which I’m sure is what Mazda intended. The seats along with any place that’s in reach and meant to be touched regularly feel AMAZING. The arm rests in the center and on the door panels are like memory foam! Comfort you can literally see with your eyes. The knobs have great haptic feedback and clicking sounds that are satisfying if you’re weird like me. Everything feels very high quality and like something that will hold up beautifully for many years to come. Very little plastic pieces inside with the exception of the gear shift panel that will scratch if you’re not careful. The exterior on this car speaks for itself. My car has black paint with black rims. It looks stunning with the design of the body. The paint quality is great with the metallic flakes that flicker in the sunshine. I would recommend, as with any car, to get a paint protection film, because of how close the car is to the ground. You are very likely to get rock chips—huge ones if you like to drive fast like me! Overall, Mazda hit the ball out of the ballpark with the Mazda 3. I’ve read reviews where people complain of the high price point, but it’s worth every penny & you see why it’s more expensive than other rivals the moment you get behind the wheel and drive it. I’m not sure if I’ll want to leave the Mazda brand after driving this car, and I’ve driven MANY car brands. It’s that great of a car. Plus, you get a car that’s actually made in Japan and the Japanese are huge perfectionists when it comes to their work, which explains a lot in this car. If you’re on the fence, just do it. I promise you will not regret it.
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Awesome Hatchback
Rhyno, 02/10/2021
updated 02/22/2024
2021 Mazda 3 Premium 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
73 of 79 people found this review helpful
I test drove two different Mazda 3 Premium hatches before buying the second. The first one was the "soul red" color with black leather interior which was a beautiful paint job. The one that I purchased is "polymetal gray" and I ended up liking this color better, it looks sort of blue-gray on cloudy days and more gray-gray on sunny days. The interior is red leather which looks much more like an "ox-blood" color in person than it does in pictures - absolutely gorgeous and a very premium look and feel. This car does drive very well overall and has a sporty feel to it without really being a sports car. The 18" wheels do look very nice especially in the gloss black color and I find it's contrast to both the Polymetal and Red colors to be pleasing to the eyes...however this does translate to some roughness on rougher roads...not a deal breaker for me though. I did not initially intend to get such a high trim level, but buying a car with a manual transmission was an important factor to me so I ended up with the premium trim. The MT is VERY smooth in my opinion and took very little time to get adjusted to since I have previous experience with manuals. The clutch is light and easy to push and the shifter is smooth. This is a very forgiving car for someone to learn to drive MT, especially with the hill-hold button. The features and tech in this car are fantastic and way more than I had ever intended to get. I find the heated seats and heads up display to be particularly useful. The infotainment system is a little cumbersome to get used to in regards to using the different menus but after getting the hang of it it's not so bad. The hand controls for the infotainment are really nice to use once getting accustomed to them and I find the location to be perfect for my hand in its resting place. You can tell that these cars really are designed around the DRIVER as everything is pretty intuitively placed. The backseat is definitely a little cramped but my wife and I do not have kids so this was not much of a concern for us. I have not yet had to load anything massive into the cargo area but am looking forward to testing out the space with the seats folded down. The appearance of this car is just stellar to me and looks much sleeker and sexier than most any small hatchback I have seen on the road... and I do not see many of these updated 3's on the road (especially in hatch form) so it is nice to not have the same box that everyone else has. The other cars I was considering before purchase was the Honda Civic Hatch and the Subaru Impreza Hatch. The Civic looks like a transformer to me (very angular) and the Subaru just didn't float my boat... kind of dull. As much as I would like to say it doesnt matter to me, the aesthetics of what I was going to spend my money on was pretty important to me. I want to smile and be excited when I look at my vehicle and this is definitely a much better looking vehicle than my aging 06' Ford Ranger lol. I bought my new car on January 16th 2021 at Flow Mazda of Greensboro NC which was a good experience overall. I only have about 600 miles on the car but 1st impressions are good and I am happy that I purchased this car. This is my first Mazda but it looks like it won't be my last as long as I continue to be happy with this purchase. My wife may end up in a CX-5 when she is ready to upgrade. -Rhyno (happy new Mazda Owner) Update 08/10/2021: The Mazda 3 Premium Hatchback with MT is still a joyous car to drive and I do not have any complaints about the vehicle. I only have about 4,800 miles on it after 8 months as I am babying it to preserve its glory lol... Very fun with the MT, takes off and shoots through traffic when I need it to, runs smooth as butter around town. I am glad I purchased this car and hope that it has much longevity over the course of my ownership. Thanks Mazda, keep up the good work! Update 02/11/2022: Just a little over a year after purchase and I still very much enjoy driving this car! It looks fantastic and I have honestly gotten countless compliments on its sexy appearance - definitely stands out as a looker compared to most other things I see on the road. The manual transmission is still fun and I am glad I went that route. The fuel mileage seems to have improved slightly over time... Not sure if this is due to just being more broken in or if it is just my improved smoothness with shifting since being used to it at this point. Wonderful car, please do not stop making these Mazda and consider bringing back the "Speed 3" so a version with turbo + MT can be obtained! I will probably be upgrading my exhaust/intake/tune once my factory warranty has expired :-P Update 08/18/2022: The car is still fantastic at 14,xxx miles, drives/handles/shifts/rides very nicely. The car does have some pretty bad blind spots but that is the tradeoff for such sexy styling! Update 02/21/2023: I have a little <20,000 miles on the 3 hatch now and have had no true issues to speak of. It is still a fun car to drive, I enjoy the manual transmission very much. When I step out my back door and see it sitting there waiting on me it definitely puts a smile on my face. Update 08/22/2023: Still a great car. Go get you one before manual transmissions go the way of the dinosaurs. WU-Tang is for the children yall Update 2/23/24 She's a keeper, and a lover. Get yourself one while you can.
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2021 Mazda 3 for sale near you
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- 2.0 SedanMSRP: $18,99822 mi away
- Premium 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $19,998In-stock online
- Preferred 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $19,222In-stock online
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The perfect little hatchback!
Joe, 05/31/2021
2021 Mazda 3 Premium 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
This is such a fun car to drive. Got the Wolf Gray (the blue gray) with the red interior. It's such a nice combination, but I didnt get this vehicle for the aesthetics, which are so much better than anything in this category. I bought this car because of the fun to drive ratio! Its a refined GTI, with Audi styling, Toyota reliabilty! The infotainment is very simple and easy to use, even the Android Auto interface, while not touchscreen, is sooo intuitive. Back to the driving dynamics, its a Miata with cargo space. I cannot sing enough praises of the PURE DRIVING JOY this car offers. I'm coming from a Kia Stinger GT2 with 365hp, while that car was way more refined and luxurious (commuting to work, had to get something economical, wish I could've kept both cars!), this car has a purity of driving pleasure behind the wheel that is unmatched. The Stinger was a pure joy on the freeway, the Mazda 3 is a pure joy everywhere else :) Test drive one, you wont forget it! This thing gets amazing gas mileage, Miata driving dynamics, with decent cargo space. Luxury cars you lease, this car you BUY!
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Great Overall Car
Zach Robbins, 12/12/2021
2021 Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
I did a lot of research before buying a car because I’m pretty picky. The Mazda3 hatchback turbo checked a lot of boxes for me, and in my opinion, at a great price. The driving experience is great overall. I love the engine, and it packs a lot of punch. It’s definitely one of the best turbo 4s out there. It could use a little more horsepower though as the thrust peters out when you get higher up in the rpms. The handling is great and inspires a lot of confidence even though the steering doesn’t offer much feedback. The styling is great inside and out. Definitely one of the prettiest hatchbacks on the market right now with an interior rivaling much more expensive cars. I love the simplicity of the design. The sound system is great and so is the infotainment system which features an Audi style rotary controller instead of a touchscreen. My only complaint there is there is a minor glitch when using Spotify with Apple CarPlay where it sends you back to the Spotify Home Screen sometimes after you go to Now Playing. Visibility out the back isn’t great, but the driver assistance systems make up for it. Another minor annoyance is that the parking brake is always on in park, meaning when you put it in drive you still have to disable the parking brake. Also I’m not a big fan of the cup holders being placed under the dash instead of near the armrest. Aside from my few minor grievances, this car is really great and offers a ton for the money. After putting 1000 miles on it, I can highly recommend this car for someone who wants something practical, fun to drive, with a lot of features and doesn’t want to break the bank.
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Beware of faulty parts!
Scott Zschappel, 02/16/2022
2021 Mazda 3 2.5 Turbo 4dr Hatchback AWD (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
33 of 39 people found this review helpful
I purchased the 2021 Mazda 3 turbo hatch in November and it has never been 100%. From the first week I had it the airbag light came on and I had it looked at by three different dealerships that have told me nothing is wrong. Finally found the problem almost four months later to be the airbag sensor in the drivers seat which happens to be backordered until the summer. The diagnosis itself caused even more problems. Now the car randomly vibrates somewhere and it’s not a safety feature or road related. No idea what’s causing it. And several very loud weird rattles that are road related coming from the back of the car, the seatbelt adjuster, and even from the HUD being loose. The installation of the sensor itself is invasive and they have to take apart the seat to get to it which leads me to believe that won’t be the last of the constant stream of issues I’ve been dealing with. Very disappointing as I have been a Mazda enthusiast for years. Other than the annoying problem and possible lack of airbag function, the car drives well and is very comfortable other than the strange noises that drive me crazy. The Bose sound system is the best feature in my opinion and the updated infotainment system is great.
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