We have a limited number of reviews for the 2022 3, so we've included reviews for other years of the 3 since its last redesign.
Awesome Hatchback
Rhyno, 02/10/2021
updated 02/22/2024
2021 Mazda 3 Premium 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
73 of 80 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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Saved by the Manual
Matt, 09/09/2022
2022 Mazda 3 Premium 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
First off, love this car! It has style, class, engagement and you don’t see many of them. My black-on-black hatch in particular looks way more exotic than anything from the other comparable brands. Can take it to meet a client where a Civic or Corolla would look “cheap.” This is a second vehicle, we also have a CX-5 for family duty. Cross shopped the civic manuals for this car, which I purchased in February. It is a notch below the Civic SI in tuning, but I think a notch above the Civic Touring manual. However it is much better than either for the regular 200+ mile road-trips I’ve taken it on (MUCH quieter than the civic!). I also found the seats to be better for me than Honda’s. I also preferred Mazda’s NA 2.5 engine to Honda’s turbo. The power is similar enough however you get the more linear and predictable delivery of a naturally-aspirated engine. The manual is good (not Miata Great, but better than many others out there). It has a predictable clutch and with the 186hp and torque it is easy to chirp the tires on the 1-2 upshift. Having owned other recent Mazda products the dial controller isn’t an issue for me. Recent rental cars also confirmed how difficult it can be to hit the right button in a touch-screen while driving, Mazdas system does take this hunt and peck out of the equation, for better or worse. I’m fine with it. Also on technology, very glad this manual comes with Mazda’s full safety suite (looking at you Subaru!). You can even shift while using Adaptive Cruise Control and it will keep your speed and distance. Of course there is no low-speed traffic assist, but that is part of the deal deal with a stick. I would like a but more advanced lane-centering for the long road-trips, Mazda’s system is a few rungs behind Hyundai and others who really help relieve some of the burden when cruising on a highway. All in all, a great car. Probably the last manual I’ll own unless I get a “classic” ND.2 Miata someday
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2022 Mazda 3 for sale near you
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- Premium 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $19,250In-stock online
- 2.5 Turbo 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $25,998In-stock online
- 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus SedanMSRP: $23,908In-stock online
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Great Commuter - Prior Model Seemed Better
MazdaDash, 09/18/2022
2022 Mazda 3 Premium 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
17 of 18 people found this review helpful
I bought a 2022 Mazda 3 2.5 FWD Sedan in Premium trim back in February of 2022 for use as a commuter. I had previously owned a 2014 Mazda 3 2.5L Grand Touring for this purpose. Car is very nicely equipped and looks great given the price point. Very good in traffic and quick enough with the 2.5 naturally aspirated (didn’t opt for turbo). The combination of the 2.5 engine with the reliable 6 speed transmission is perfectly matched for this car for most people, and will deliver a satisfying performance experience. Overall decent gas mileage as well on longer highway runs - better than the 2014 I had with the same engine and transmission. Generally happy with the vehicle and was able to get one vs a new Civic (cross-shopped these), which were unavailable at dealerships when I was looking/or with high markup. I had owned the previous body style and while the new car looks more upscale, the older version seems to have had a slightly better ride and performance. Not enough difference, however, to say the new model isn’t great and the upgrade was worth it. Having lived with the car now 7 months, some minor negatives to consider are as follows if you are considering this car. It is a bit loud inside (which is typical of Mazda), although it seems a little louder than previous model to me. I had expected it to be quieter. Ride is a bit rough imo with lots of road noise coming from expansion joints and road variance, and the wind seems to blow the car around a bit on the road. This could be the OEM tires though, and changing tires might improve this behavior. Wind noise coming into the cabin can be a bit much during higher wind days and any cross-winds on the highway cause an odd noise at the top of the driver’s side door (seems to flex this area blowing under the seal). From what I read, I did expect noise and ride to be improved over the previous model but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Other items that could be improved are placement of the cup holders and the infotainment/navigation. The cup holders in the new iteration are placed too far forward under the climate control-dash overhang and somewhat difficult to use (esp if cup is larger). The new infotainment is great overall and I like the simple Mazda interface and the I find the common knob to be great (no issue for me without touch screen). The issues I’ve had are quirkiness with Apple Car Play (poor quality transcription of texts, sometimes commands on the screen are unavailable for no reason - cannot be selected). Also the navigation always seemed slightly off and as a result the street sign recognition/speed limit is often incorrectly displayed on the dash and heads-up. For example, on an interstate, the system will often show the frontage road speed limit instead. I have had the system reset/reloaded but with no correction on this. I have another newer model Mazda (CX-9) that does not do this and tracks accurately. Finally, the front lower fascia seems easier to scuff on curbs than the 2014 I had, so have some touch-up paint on hand and be cautious parking. Other than these minor items the car has been great overall for my intended purpose. All-in-all the vehicle is great, however, the outgoing model may have actually been slightly better. That could be because I had higher expectations with respect to interior noise with the newer interior (Mazdas except for the CX-9 have always had somewhat higher interior noise to me). I also expected the ride to be slightly improved given they had moved away some from performance to increasing luxury. This doesn’t seem to be the case. Before buying I would recommend driving some of the other cars in this class to be sure and also trying to do a longer highway drive to ensure you are okay with the noise quirks of this car.
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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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Sleek Sporty Style
Dawn Rivero, 01/30/2021
2021 Mazda 3 Preferred 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6A)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
Love the new interior design changes from the 2017 model. A bit more spacious than the 2017 as well.
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