2025 Mazda 3

Price Range: $24,150 - $36,000

Average

7.4

out of 10

edmunds TESTED

The Mazda 3 Sedan gives its driver a lot of style, refinement, and comfort. Opt for the turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive and you get impressive speed and all-weather traction, too. A cramped back seat, frustrating tech, and elevated price tag compared to most rivals could turn buyers away.

#5 out of 7

Small sedans

40 Owner Reviews

Pros

Pro:Premium interior design and materials
Pro:Confident handling makes it fun to drive
Pro:Available all-wheel drive
Pro:Quick acceleration with the available turbocharged engine

Cons

Con:Mediocre legroom in the back seat
Con:Less cargo capacity than other small cars
Con:Center display is too far away from the driver to easily use as a touchscreen

What’s new

Entry-level 2.5 S trim now offered on hatchback models
Newly available Alexa Built-in voice assistant
Available onboard navigation now gets over-the-air updates
Part of the fourth Mazda 3 generation introduced for 2019

2025 Mazda 3 Review

Overview

Written by automotive expert Alex Nishimoto

7/10/2025

If you listen to your heart more than your head when purchasing a car, the Mazda 3 might be for you. Available as both a sedan and hatchback, this compact car is largely overshadowed by its competitors on paper. But it stands out in a few key areas: It's exciting to look at and drive. The Mazda 3's interior is another highlight because it uses higher-quality materials than you'd typically find in this class.

Edmunds spotlight: All of the Mazda 3's changes for 2025

For 2025, Mazda has made the base 2.5 S trim available with the hatchback body style. Additionally, 2.5 S Select Sport models and up receive a new Alexa Built-in AI voice assistant, which can control the temperature in your car or change the radio station via voice prompts. It can also connect to Alexa-powered smart devices in your home. Models equipped with Mazda's onboard navigation system will now get the most current map data through over-the-air updates.

Competitors to consider

The Mazda 3 competes with other compact sedans and hatchbacks on the market. If you're shopping for a car with a traditional trunk, you might also look at the Honda Civic sedan, Toyota Corolla sedan, Kia Forte, Hyundai Elantra, Volkswagen Jetta and Nissan Sentra. The Mazda 3's hatchback rivals include the Civic hatch and Subaru Impreza, and could also include hot hatches like the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Toyota GR Corolla if you're comparing them against the highest trim of the turbocharged Mazda 3.

What’s it like to live with?

We spent a year with a 2020 Mazda 3 sedan, and despite its lackluster non-turbo engine, the compact four-door left us impressed. We liked the upscale feel of the interior and cushiness of the seats. A few editors complained about the stiff ride and limited trunk space, but many found it to be a fine road-trip companion. Read our full thoughts on the Mazda 3 sedan here.

Which 3 does Edmunds recommend?

For our money, the 2.5 S with Select Sport package offers the best bang for the buck. The Select Sport doesn't cost much more than the base model but gets you more attractive 18-inch wheels, synthetic leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, hands-free keyless entry and more. The 2.5-liter under the hood is also pretty gutsy for a naturally aspirated four-cylinder and should provide adequate thrust for most commutes.

Compare 2025 Mazda 3 trim levels

Helpful trims summary and side-by-side comparison chart

Mazda 3 models

The 2025 Mazda 3 is available as a sedan or a hatchback. There are two main trim levels that coincide with the choice of engine: Mazda 3 2.5 S and Mazda 2.5 Turbo. The base 2.5 S trim is eligible for all-wheel drive, while the Turbo has it as standard equipment. Keep reading for our rundown of the Mazda 3's standard and optional features.

Feature highlights for the Mazda 3 include:

Mazda 3 2.5 S
Comes with:

2.5-liter four-cylinder engine (191 hp, 186 lb-ft)
Six-speed automatic transmission
16-inch alloy wheels
LED headlights
Cloth seats
Folding 60/40-split rear seat
16-inch alloy wheels
Six-speaker audio system
8.8-inch center screen
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration

Every Mazda 3 also comes with:

Forward collision warning with automatic braking (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)
Adaptive cruise control (adjusts speed to maintain a constant distance between the vehicle and the car in front)
Lane keeping assistance (steers the vehicle back into its lane if it begins to drift over the lane marker)
Lane departure warning (warns driver when the car is starting to drift from the lane)
Drowsy driver monitor (issues an alert if sensors determine you are becoming fatigued)

From there, Mazda offers four subtrims (or packages) that you can add to the 2.5 S. They include:

2.5 S Select Sport

18-inch wheels
Synthetic leather upholstery
Dual-zone automatic climate control
Keyless entry and start
Rain-sensing wipers
Alexa Built-in voice assistant
Blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert (alerts if a vehicle is in your blind spot during a lane change or while reversing)

2.5 S Preferred

Power-adjustable driver's seat with memory settings
Heated front seats
Sunroof

2.5 S Carbon Edition

All-wheel drive
Includes features from Preferred package
18-inch black-painted wheels
Special exterior paint color
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Wireless charging pad
Red leather interior
Eight-speaker Bose audio system

2.5 S Premium (hatchback only)

Includes features from Preferred package
Front-wheel drive
18-inch wheels
Six-speed manual transmission
Upgraded exterior lighting with adaptive headlights (swivel as you turn the steering wheel for better illumination in curves)
Head-up display (displays important information in your sight line onto the windshield)
Leather seats
12-speaker Bose audio system
Integrated navigation system with traffic sign recognition

Mazda 3 2.5 Carbon Turbo
The Carbon Turbo is the least expensive trim to have the turbocharged engine. It also comes with the contents of the 2.5 S' optional Select, Preferred and Premium packages, minus the leather upholstery, heated steering wheel and navigation system. Standard features include:

2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine (227 hp and 310 lb-ft on regular or 250 hp and 320 lb-ft on 93 octane gas)
All-wheel drive
18-inch black-painted wheels
Special exterior paint color
10.25-inch center touchscreen
Red synthetic leather seats
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Wireless charging pad

The 2.5 Turbo Premium Plus buffs up the 3 even more with:

Front and rear parking sensors
Heated steering wheel
Paddle shifters
Navigation system
Leather upholstery
Lane centering system (makes minor steering corrections to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane)
Surround-view camera system (gives you a top-down view of the Mazda 3 and its surroundings for tight parking situations)
Rear automatic braking

Mazda 3 Owner Reviews

4.1

5(57%)

4(18%)

3(10%)

2(10%)

1(5%)

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Beautiful car

Ione, 03/28/2022

2022 Mazda 3 Select 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6A)

I have the Mazda3 2.5S hatchback Select trim in platinum quartz metallic. This is a really beautiful car that looks and feels much more expensive than it actually is. It is fun to drive, has lots of power for a car of its size, and makes my daily commute pleasurable. Only two downsides I can think of. First, the backseat is pretty cramped, but not such an issue for me since I don't have …

Finally satisfied

Ontheroad, 03/22/2022

2022 Mazda 3 Preferred 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl 6A)

Though I've only had my car for one week, I am in love. I have always been a auto enthusiast, spending hours watching videos and scouring the internet for both professional and lay reviews of automobiles from makes A to Z. Before deciding on this vehicle, most of my research kept pointing to Mazda. Over and over again, this company scored high in almost every category that really …

Saved by the Manual

Matt, 09/09/2022

2022 Mazda 3 Premium 4dr Hatchback (2.5L 4cyl 6M)

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 …

Great Commuter - Prior Model Seemed Better

MazdaDash, 09/18/2022

2022 Mazda 3 Premium 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 6A)

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.

We have a limited number of reviews for the 2025 Mazda 3, so we've included reviews for other years of the 3 since its last redesign.