2026 Mazda 3 review

It’s a tough time to be a small car.

Sales of affordable small cars are down 24.1 per cent this year, and the Hyundai i30 – a segment stalwart – has been discontinued for the local market.

Yet, despite declining demand for the humble hatchback, the Mazda 3 hasn’t lost any admirers. It’s easy to see why – the Mazda brand holds plenty of credibility in Australia, and the current 3 still looks as good as it did when new back in 2019.

Mazda has also made sure to update the 3 for modern audiences, from the introduction of Mazda Connected Services to wider standardisation of the Vision Package safety suite. The G20 Evolve on test here benefits from both those upgrades, as well as a long list of standard equipment that recently grew to include USB-C connectivity, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and wireless phone charging.

But is that enough to justify the accompanying price hikes? And should loyal customers be looking elsewhere in 2025? We lived with the Mazda 3 for a full week to find out.

How much does the Mazda 3 cost?

Prices continue to trend upwards, but recent rises have also coincided with upgrades to standard equipment.

Our test vehicle was optioned with the Vision Pack, which adds a surround-view camera, cruising and traffic support, driver monitoring, front cross-traffic alert, and front parking sensors for an additional $2000.

To see how the Mazda 3 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

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What is the Mazda 3 like on the inside?

Despite sitting near the bottom of the Mazda 3 food chain, the G20 Evolve still feels relatively upmarket inside.

The cloth seats are comfortable, with decent bolstering and full manual adjustment, while common touch points like the steering wheel and centre armrest are trimmed in premium materials. There’s likewise a suppleness to the door trims, dash, and even the driver’s footwell, where you’ll find a padded area to rest your left knee during longer journeys.

It’s not quite perfect. The doors feel tinny, and scratch-prone gloss black plastic surrounds the shifter and infotainment controls.

Nevertheless, the Mazda 3 is a very pleasant car to sit in, at least for those in the front row.

Recent technology upgrades also ensure the fourth-generation Mazda 3 still feels somewhat modern nearly seven years on from its debut.

The Evolve features a dinky 8.0-inch infotainment screen as standard, but ticking the Vision Package box nets a larger 10.25-inch system with full touchscreen functionality. That’ll be music to the ears of many, however I find the screen sits too far away from my driving position to be used regularly as a touchscreen. Instead, I trusted in the central rotary dial, which felt like a safer and more comfortable way to make adjustments on the move.

Native navigation is included, but the infotainment system otherwise lacks depth compared with newer competitors. The home screen presents as a simple scroll menu with no more than five tabs for vehicle information, entertainment, communication, navigation and settings. Most of the time I’d end up in Apple CarPlay, which can now be accessed without a wired connection.

The colourful CarPlay interface draws attention to the visual quality of the infotainment system, which is fine, though not standout. The same can be said of processing speeds.

And there’s not much for the kids to get excited about when it comes to the instrument display, either. Behind the steering wheel lies a traditional instrument cluster featuring two analogue gauges flanking a central speedometer. It’s hardly a flashy setup, but I personally appreciate the elegance and timelessness of this layout.

And if driving modern vehicles has taught me anything, it’s that Mazda has made the right call by keeping physical climate controls that fall easily to hand.

Despite the compact nature of the Mazda 3, there’s plenty of storage space up front. A spacious split centre console and deep glovebox are highlights, while you also get skinny door bins, a sunglasses compartment, centre cupholders, and a coin tray next to the steering wheel.

The Evolve also comes with a wireless phone charger, as well as two USB-C outlets and a 12V socket.

It doesn’t, however, offer much in the way of second-row space. Kids will fit back there just fine, but adults should expect a claustrophobic experience.

Amenities are also in short supply. There’s a centre armrest with integrated cupholders, bottle holders in the doors and a single map pocket, but no USB outlets or air vents.

As such, owners are better served folding the rear seats down and treating the bench as extra luggage space. But even that strategy is dependent on the front seats being set quite far forward.

Excluding bench storage, boot capacity is quoted at just 295 litres. That’s far less than you get in a BYD Dolphin, Skoda Scala or Hyundai i30, the latter of which is now in runout.

The boot in the Mazda 3 may be small, but the aperture is nicely square and the manual tailgate opens high enabling easy loading of items. A space-saver spare tyre is located under the boot floor, which is nice to have if you run into trouble.

To see how the Mazda 3 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

A pair of naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines are available with the Mazda 3, this being the smaller 2.0-litre lump producing 114kW and 200Nm.

To see how the Mazda 3 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Mazda 3 drive?

There’s something very familiar, if not old-school, about how the Mazda 3 drives.

It sets off smoothly from a standstill and delivers smooth, linear power courtesy of a long-lived four-cylinder engine that remains devoid of turbocharging or any form of hybridisation.

The 2.0-litre on test here feels very similar in character to 2.5-litre variants, just with a little less punch. The torque deficit is definitely noticeable from behind the wheel, but it’s forgivable given this G20 Evolve is meaningfully more affordable than its G25 equivalent.

And, for a modern hatch, the available performance is still more than adequate. Sure, 114kW and 200Nm doesn’t sound like much, but this entry-level Mazda 3 feels properly pokey when you wind it out. I say that because rivals like the hybrid Toyota Corolla and electric Dolphin Premium will have the Mazda 3’s measure from a set of traffic lights, such is their instant power delivery. But, on balance, there’s not much to split most of the options in the small car segment.

Mazda is also seemingly aware of the limitations of naturally aspirated power, as the 3 comes equipped with paddle shifters that allow the driver to pick gears and access the power band more easily.

The transmission itself is a conventional torque-converter automatic rather than a dual-clutch, and that pays dividends in stop-start city driving. Shifts are smooth, predictable, and free from the jerkiness common to the gearboxes found in Volkswagen Group vehicles such as the Golf and Skoda Scala.

However, there are some drawbacks to the powertrain found in this Mazda 3, namely noise and fuel consumption.

The engine in G20 versions of the Mazda 3 is forced to work harder than those found in the G25 or external competitors, and it shows. There’s a seemingly constant buzz from under the bonnet, and the thrum only grows louder as you flex your right foot.

Life with the Mazda 3 also requires regular servo stops. That’s because this little hatch can drink upwards of 10 litres of fuel per 100km in city driving, a figure that doesn’t fly in 2025. With that said, owners can get away with using 91-octane unleaded. Still, you’ll save hundreds of dollars per year on fuel by buying a Corolla instead, and electric alternatives are even cheaper to run.

However, neither the Corolla nor EVs like the Dolphin and GWM Ora hold a candle to the Mazda 3 in the dynamics department.

Indeed, the Mazda 3 continues to be one of the most rewarding cars to drive in its class, with perfectly weighted steering and predictable pedal response. Handling is a real strength of this platform, whether you’re slicing through the suburbs or enjoying a winding country road.

The suspension skews towards the firmer side, but finds a happy medium between rigidity and comfort. Body control is excellent, and the Mazda 3 recovers quickly from imperfections that would unsettle lesser cars.

It also feels at home on the highway, which can’t be said for all hatches and small sedans. Our test vehicle came equipped with the Vision Package, which adds true semi-autonomous driving capability to an already stacked suite of driver assist systems. The system succeeds in taking the stress out of long journeys, and it’s easy to adjust cruising speed and following distance using the physical steering wheel controls.

Tyre roar is present at higher speeds but never deafening, although the tinny doors allow more sound into the cabin than ideal. Additionally, limited rear visibility can cause issues when changing lanes on the highway.

Don’t worry about those rear blind spots when it comes to low-speed urban manoeuvres, though, because the 3 is compact and features a handy surround-view camera.

To see how the Mazda 3 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

All grades received additional features heading into 2025, with the Evolve gaining Mazda Connected Services, USB-C connectivity, wireless smartphone mirroring, and a wireless phone charger.

2026 Mazda 3 G20 Pure equipment highlights:

• 16-inch alloy wheels – silver
• 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen
• 8.8-inch Mazda Connect display
• Keyless start
• Air-conditioning
• Wired Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
• 8-speaker audio
• AM/FM/DAB+ radio
• Electric parking brake incl. Auto Hold
• Automatic LED headlights
• Automatic high-beam
• Leather-wrapped gearshift, steering wheel
• Power exterior mirrors – auto folding
• Power windows incl. auto up/down
• Satellite navigation
• Seat trim – black cloth
• 60:40-split rear seats
• Tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment
• USB-C input and charging port
• Mazda Connected Services
  • MyMazda app compatible
  • Vehicle locator
  • Geofencing function
  • Flash lights
  • Curfew notifications
  • Remote locking
  • Vehicle health report
  • Vehicle status report
  • Vehicle tracking assistance
  • SOS call

G20 Evolve adds:

• 18-inch alloy wheels – metallic grey
• Dual-zone climate control
• Rear air vents
• Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror
• Paddle shifters
• Rear centre fold-down armrest
• Overhead sunglasses storage box
• Wireless Apple CarPlay
• Wireless Android Auto
• Wireless phone charger

G20 Touring adds:

• Keyless entry
• Driver mirror – auto dimming
• Exterior mirrors – heating function
• Exterior mirrors – reverse tilt-down function
• Exterior mirrors – position memory
• Seat trim – black leather
• 10-way power driver seat incl. lumbar, memory
• Vanity mirrors with illumination
• Vision Pack
  • Surround-view camera
  • 10.25-inch Mazda Connect display
  • Cruising & Traffic Support
  • Driver monitoring
  • Front cross-traffic alert

G25 Evolve SP adds (over G20 Evolve):

• 18-inch alloy wheels – metallic black
• Keyless entry
• Driver mirror – auto dimming
• Exterior mirrors – reverse tilt-down function
• Exterior mirrors – position memory
• Exterior mirrors in black
• 10-way power driver seat incl. lumbar, memory

G25 GT adds (over G25 Evolve SP):

• 18-inch alloy wheels – metallic grey
• Exterior mirrors – heating function
• Heated front seats
• Seat trim – black leather
• Heated steering wheel

G25 Astina adds:

• 18-inch alloy wheels – gloss black
• Bose premium sound system
  • 12 speakers
  • Amplifier
• Glass sunroof – power tilt, slide
• Seat trim – black leather or optional Burgundy leather

To see how the Mazda 3 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the Mazda 3 safe?

The Mazda 3 wears a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on Euro NCAP testing, although this will expire in December 2025.

Standard safety features include:

• Autonomous emergency braking (forward, reverse)
• Lane departure warning
• Lane-keep assist
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Traffic sign recognition
• Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
• Reversing camera
• Rear parking sensors
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Dual front, front-side and curtain airbags
• Driver’s knee airbag
• SOS emergency call

Vision Package* adds:

• Surround-view camera
• Cruising & Traffic Support
• Driver monitoring
• Front cross-traffic alert
• Front parking sensors

* $2000 on G20 Pure, G20 Evolve

To see how the Mazda 3 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the Mazda 3 cost to run?

The Mazda 3 is more expensive to service than most rivals. For example, the Corolla Hybrid and electric BYD Dolphin both cost less than $1500 to maintain over the first five years, while the Mazda will set you back $2284.

To see how the Mazda 3 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Mazda 3

Age hasn’t dulled the charm of the Mazda 3, but charm alone doesn’t necessarily warrant a recommendation.

Because while this mature hatch is safe, sexy and sophisticated, it’s deficient in things that small car buyers really want – efficiency, practicality, and low running costs.

Similarly priced alternatives such as the BYD Dolphin Premium and Toyota Corolla SX better nail that brief, and the Hyundai i30 N Line remains a solid option until production ends for our market in December.

Having said that, the Mazda 3 is still worthy of consideration for those who pack light, appreciate the act of driving, and don’t often get stuck in city traffic.

What’s more, this G20 Evolve is just about our pick of the range, alongside the more potent G25 Evolve SP.

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