RoadTest: Mazda3: 6+3+2+RX8 = 4 (per cent market share)? Perhaps.Mazda's mathematics are really beginning to add up.
The kernel of success would seem to be combining Japanese reliability with European panache. In other words, cars made with equal parts of funk and function yield desire.
The Japanese have long held sway in the manufacturing end of car production, and Mazda has been no exception. Given that total reliability was not always the strongest point from European or American firms, it's understandable why the Japanese saw quality control and functionality as their route to profit and success. The mantra was "function comes first".
However, as Europeans have wooed Japanese partnerships, and tried to learn from the Asians, the reliability gap has closed to some extent. With Ford now holding a 33.4 per cent share in Mazda, the Americans benefit in terms of improved manufacturing techniques and engineering. Mazda, for example, is to lead the development of the next generation platform for the Fiesta. In return Ford and its European stablemates have opened Mazda's eyes to the market reality: style, thankfully, is back in vogue.
Mazda has been trying to crack the formula for years. It stumbled upon it before, at the end of the 1980s with the 323F. That model alone managed to garner a 4 per cent market share in Ireland at the time. I even owned one, and yes I've heard all the jokes about it being the hairdresser's Porsche. While my experience may be anecdotal, come hell or high water the trusty 323F wouldn't let us down.
Of course, all that styling and success in the mainstream was too much for some at Mazda HQ in Hiroshima and they quickly returned to dull functionality, with the consequential effect on sales.
In Mazda's defence, there's always been a "funky" heart hidden within the firm. While it might have killed off the 323F, it did retain the glorious MX-5 and the RX range. So design awareness has been there, if hidden in the margins.
Now it's taken to the mainstream and the new Mazda3 is probably its greatest challenge yet, as it's aimed to go head-on at the most hard-fought segment in Europe. It's up against such hard-sellers as Ford's rock-solid seller the Focus, Renault's quirky favourite, the Megane, and the slick 307 from Peugeot. But it's the car which started the segment 29 years ago, Volkswagen's best-selling Golf, that Mazda has its sights most set on. There's also Opel's new Astra, set to add to complications when it enters the fray this spring.
For those who know the Mazda6, it's obvious that the 3 comes from the same stable. There are the same detail cues, like the slanted headlights flanking a signature five-pointed smiling grille, blistered body haunches and a similarly sporting stance. In the saloon version the blisters are replaced by a single body-length crease. In both cases the design really works. With the exception of dull hubcaps on the non-alloy standard wheels, the Mazda3 hatch is very pretty, displays attractive shoulders when viewed from the rear and, most importantly, looks completely at home beside more established European designed competitors.
Of course we've already mentioned in previous articles the similarities between the hatchback 3 and the Alfa Romeo 147, but apparently chief designer of the 3, Hideki Suzuki, is annoyed by the visual comparisons. He says the 3's look was settled by the time the 147 went on sale two years ago. Regardless of which came first, there's no escaping the fact that they both look similarly sharp and sporting and in the end it's to neither car's detriment. How many owners would complain if compared to an Italian pin-up?
The Mazda3 benefits from Ford's new common C platform, shared with the new Focus amongst others, in that it reaps the reward of Ford's expertise in this area.
The new platform is considerably bigger than the last 323 and, most importantly, on the road it's wonderfully sure-footed, remaining flat through corners, with a surprisingly meaty steering for an electronic system. It does however, rumble on more extreme bumpy surfaces and takes potholes quite hard. The Mazda3 is available initially in two petrol formats - 80 bhp 1.4-litre and 105 bhp 1.6-litre - with prices ranging from €19,500 up to €23,500 for hatchback models, and between €20,600 and €23,500 for saloon versions. Diesel engine models will be available by the autumn.
While the 1.6-litre may lack some zoom-zoom in certain instances, the neat handling makes up for a lack of punch. While it is busy in the 105 bhp format, we suspect it would be more so in the 1.4-litre derivative. Of the smaller engine, we did not get a chance to try it, but would suspect it to be slightly underpowered, at least for those seeking out a sporty hatch.
Inside, fit and finish is on a par with anything from Germany. In darkened trim, the interior space is deceptive. The back bench is well shaped and provided with a good rake angle for comfortable long distance comfort. The hatch's luggage space is more than adequate at 635 litres.
Perched in the driver's seat most European drivers should feel quickly at home. This is reinforced by a console and dash treatment that opts for dark tones and classy textures, with high quality, pliant plastics. The cabin contains even more European - dare we say Alfa 147-style - flourishes, such as the three large dials housed within individual cowls.
Controls are straightforward, but perhaps in some instances form overcame function. The deep-set dash dials are very stylish and retro, but the display can be quite dark unless you have the lights on.
The disco-effect, horizontal light bar that flashes with every adjustment of the stereo is also reminiscent of the bar of red lights on David Hasselhoff's car, KIT, in the 1980s mullet-fest Knight Rider.
We had one other gripe about the interior - the air conditioning is quite noisy, even at low levels and on cold mornings it was like travelling with a hairdryer switched on.
Overall, the Mazda3 is yet another nail in the coffin of cynics who suggested that the success of the Mazda6 was a one-off. Their line argument is that the recent incarnations of the 323 were downright dullards, so it didn't take much to improve on matters.
But Mazda has gone beyond merely updating the old version. This car is more revolution than evolution and, along with its new stablemates, has shot the marque into the European mainstream.
There's already a burgeoning waiting list for the racy RX-8 and those interested in a Mazda3 saloon are going to require patience as right-hand-drive production has been delayed because of better-than-expected demand across Europe.
If more proof were needed, consider the fact that this car came joint second in this year's European Car of the Year, tied with none other than the daddy of the hatchbacks, the new Golf.
