Well, week 1 impression:
I'm in love with this car. It's everything I want in a daily driver.
The Hatch: I've already taken advantage of the hatchback feature, dropping the seats and putting my bike in the back to go for a ride yesterday. Easy Peasy! I tried putting the dogs in the back, but they jumped over the seats. I ordered a cage separator that straps to the headrests to prevent this from happening again. I actually want to keep this car somewhat nice, and muddy paw prints all over the back seat go against that directive.
The Drive: As far as the engine is concerned, it's no powerhouse, but it's 'adequate' for a 4-cylinder economy car with a mere 2 liters. The engine's character is nice - smooth and unobtrusive at low RPM's, and comes alive somewhat at higher RPM's. It's not as characterful as a Honda engine at full song, but really nothing is in this segment. I can't tell that it's a DI engine, as the engine is isolated well from the cabin, and none of the clatter comes through. The six-speed manual transmission is perhaps one of the best I've ever driven - keeping in mind I've only really owned FWD economy cars and a Ranger with sticks. The throws are short, the gear lever is accurate, and it's impossible to miss a shift. The clutch is light and easy to modulate. It is easily as good as the manual transmission in my 8th gen Civic SI (considered a high point for FWD Honda transmissions) - better, in fact, as the synchro's in the Mazda seem to work better than in the Honda transmission. Handling-wise, the car is extremely well balanced, and eager to have fun. The suspension and steering are VERY responsive, and yet somehow still damp bumps and road imperfections wonderfully. Why have I not owned a Mazda yet? The Civics I've always had always handled well enough, but always seemed crashy and 'coarse' on poor road surfaces. This Mazda manages to be more playful than a Civic, and yet more refined when it comes to ride/handling.
The fuel economy: I haven't driven it enough to get an actual, calculated fuel economy rating out of it yet (I've only burned half a tank since I picked up the car on Saturday). The in-car display gives me some information, though. An average drive to work (2kms, small streets, lots of stop signs) nets me about 8-9L/100kms, depending on if it's morning on a completely cold engine, or lunch/end of work time when the engine might have a bit of heat left in it from previous trips. This is already better than the Civic, which I think had a running average of 10-11L/100kms doing similar drives.
I drove to Bird's Hill last night, about 10-15 minutes of highway, and was getting an indicated average of about 6L/100kms doing 100km/h. I can't say I'm unhappy with that! I think this will be a more fuel efficient car than the old Civic, which was tired (and had less fuel economy tech built into it, being an older car).
The interior: Every review I've read/watched pegs the interior of this generation of Mazda3 as being a cut above any of the competition, save for maybe the Golf, which it equals. I believe it. The interior styling is subdued and classy, the materials are excellent, and the switchgear is tactile and nice to touch/use. I've gotten used to the HMI, and agree with Mazda: The iDrive-style knob to control the infotainment is the way to go. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you've gotten used to it, it's easier than using a touchscreen. I DO have a few complaints, and they are thus:
-Power Retention on shut-off: On the Tundra (and other vehicles I've owned), when you turn the engine off and remove the key, power is retained to the windows/sunroof for a few minutes so you can close them if they were left open. Power is cut once a door is opened. In the Mazda, they do something similar, but only for the driver's window!!!! If I'm driving with any other window down, plus the sunroof, and I turn the car off before closing them, I have to turn the car back on again in order to close the windows. But for some reason, the driver's window retains power after the car is shut off. I can't for the life of me figure out why they did it this way.
-Auto-Close on the sunroof: Every other car I've ever owned has had full one-touch mode on both opening and closing the sunroof. On the Mazda, it's one touch only for opening, but to close it, you need to keep your finger on the button until it's closed. Weird. That seems like some cost-cutting, to me.
-The Cargo Cover: It's this big, felted-cardboard like piece that fits behind the rear seats. It comes off easily enough, but it isn't really practical to store it inside the car. If I know I'm going to be using the hatch for bulky items (like an Ikea run, or for a bike) I need to have the foresight to take the cover off and leave it at home. I've seen Honda's cargo-cover implementation on their 2016-2021 Hatchback, and it seems far, far superior. This is more cost-cutting from Mazda.
These complaints are certainly not things that make me hate the car - they are merely shortcomings in what I would consider an otherwise perfect economy commuter car. I'm really enjoying driving it, and looking for excuses to take it out for drives.
