2026 Mazda3 Road Test and Review

2026 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The average new car in America costs $50,000 today. In part that’s due to inflation. But it’s also because it’s so hard to say no to the great-looking, great-driving, generously equipped cars that are available today. 

But take a look at the 2026 Mazda3. This is a compact economy car, but it drives like a bigger and more expensive vehicle. It has elegant styling inside and out. And it starts at just $24,650, while still coming in well below $30,000 even with luxuries like heated front seats, memory settings for the power driver’s seat, adaptive cruise control, rain-sensing windshield wipers, an eight-speaker stereo, and a moonroof. 

For this review, we spent a week testing the top-of-the-line Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus sedan, and we’ve previously tested a variety of other Mazda3 models since the current generation hit the market way back in 2019. If a premium compact car sounds appealing to you, keep reading as we go through all the Mazda3’s pros and cons. 

Choice of Two Body Styles

As we mentioned, the Mazda3 hasn’t changed much since 2019. That’s pretty old for a car. Fortunately, to our eyes, the Mazda3 is aging gracefully. 

The Mazda3 comes in a choice of two body styles: a stately, elegant sedan and a racier-looking five-door hatchback. Whichever you pick, the Mazda3 has a low, aggressive front end with a long hood and slit-like headlights astride a big grille. Around the back, the Mazda3 sedan has crisp taillights and an upright, crisply tailored trunk. And the hatchback leans forward like a sports coupe. 

If you’re looking for something that’s obviously brand-new, the Mazda3 isn’t it. But to many tastes, the Mazda3 will look better than the newer competition – without necessarily looking old itself. 

2023 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus hatchback ・ Photo by Brady Holt

An Interior That Improves With Age

In-dash technology has come a long way since 2019. Digital screens have gotten bigger, flashier, and more complex. But in many cars, they’ve displaced physical controls. And if you prefer a minimal screen experience, the Mazda3’s aging interior could feel right at home. 

Mazda approached screens in its own way. Instead of touch capability, you control its infotainment display using buttons and a rotary knob located between the front seats. The screens are small: an 8.8-inch central screen on most trim levels (10.25 inches on our top-of-the-line test vehicle), plus a small customizable area at the center of the gauge cluster between the analog dials. And they’re subtle and monochromatic; at a glance, you might not notice that the speedometer is digital at all, and the center screen tucks itself apologetically into the dash. 

If you plan to use the screen a lot – either for its Apple CarPlay or Android Auto integration or its native system – you’ll find the Mazda3 limited. And interacting with Google Maps or your other mobile apps via a scroll wheel can be clunky. (The Turbo Premium Plus also unlocks limited touchscreen functionality exclusively when you're using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.) But if you want a car that lets you ignore the screen, Mazda provides that. The minimalist dashboard is also richly finished with attractive materials, and the moving parts operate smoothly. 

2026 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Comfortable Up Front, Cozy in the Back

The Mazda3 is big for a small car, but you won’t feel that inside the cabin. More of its extra size goes into its long nose rather than the backseat or the trunk. 

The driver and front passenger have plenty of room, at least. We found the front seats snugly supportive without being confining. Not everyone will care for sitting so low, but if you don’t appreciate this sporty vibe, the Mazda CX-30 is a higher crossover version of the Mazda3. Also, we appreciate how easily you can get heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, and even memory settings for the seat. A heated steering wheel is disappointingly limited to the top Turbo Premium Plus, though, which costs nearly $40,000. 

In the back, adults can expect to press their knees into the front seatbacks unless the front seats are moved well forward. This isn’t the car we’d pick to drive for Uber. Cargo space isn’t too bad – 13.2 cubic feet in the sedan’s trunk, and 20.1 cubic feet behind the hatchback’s rear seat (with 47.1 cubic feet if you fold the hatch’s rear seat down). But it’s not a class leader for your luggage, either. 

2026 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Steady and Composed

If you remember Mazda’s old “zoom zoom” slogan, the Mazda3 might seem sedate. It’s not a razor-sharp corner carver with instant steering responses. It’s a solid-feeling stoic, with its steering, ride, and handling feeling supremely natural and controlled. This is a great mini luxury car – smooth, quiet, and agile – rather than a sports car. That’s true even in the top Turbo model (which, as we’ll discuss, has a big engine for this class). Even compared with some luxury models, the Mazda3 stands out for its fluid grace – no stumbling, undue stiffness, or unnatural behavior. 

Another premium quality in the Mazda3 is its available all-wheel drive system. This year, it’s included with the turbo engine and plus on the top trim with the base engine, called the 2.5 S Carbon Edition. This AWD system helps the Mazda3 confidently put power to the road even in slippery conditions. Curiously, the Carbon Edition is sold exclusively with gray exterior paint and red leather seats, but the Turbo Premium Plus has more variety. 

2026 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Choice of Two Powerful Engines

The Mazda3 has the biggest engines in the compact economy car class. A 2.5-liter non-turbo four-cylinder comes standard, and it makes 186 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque – well above key rivals. And the top trim level adds a turbocharger that boosts output to 250 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque (or 227 hp and 310 lb-ft if you use regular-grade fuel instead of premium). Expect to reach 60 mph in about 8 seconds with the base engine and 6 seconds with the turbo, which is effortless if not sports-car-thrilling. 

For some additional driver engagement, the Mazda3 is one of the few cars you can still get with a manual transmission. It’s limited to one well-equipped trim level of the Mazda3 hatchback, with front-wheel drive and the base non-turbo engine. It costs $31,650. All other Mazda3 models get a smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transmission – eschewing the CVT automatics you’ll find in most competitors. 

The Mazda3’s big engine and old-school transmission do come with some cost. A front-drive sedan with the base non-turbo engine gets an EPA-estimated 27 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway, and 30 mpg combined. It’s not a gas guzzler, but that’s worse than any competing small sedan. Opting for either the hatchback body style or AWD takes off another mile per gallon. And the turbo sedan like our test vehicle gets just 23 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, and 27 mpg combined (and the hatchback does about 1 mpg less again). We did slightly better, hitting 28 mpg during our weeklong test. 

Highest Safety Standard

Despite its age, the Mazda3 stands out for safety. It earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s top score of Top Safety Pick+, reflecting exemplary performance in crash tests and collision-avoidance evaluations. The Mazda3 even outscores some newer competitors in the IIHS’s newly introduced tests, such as rear-seat protection in a frontal impact and side-impact protection from a big SUV. The Mazda3 also earned five out of five stars in every test from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

The Mazda3 also comes packed with standard driver-assistance features that include a forward collision warning with emergency automatic braking, blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert, and a lane-departure warning with lane-keeping steering assistance. In IIHS testing, the Mazda3’s automatic braking entirely avoided collisions in 11 of 15 scenarios between 31 and 43 mph, and it reduced the car’s speed by 24 to 36 mph in the remaining four tests. A surround-view camera and rear automatic braking are limited to the Turbo Premium Plus, though.

2026 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Luxury Experience, Bargain Prices

As we mentioned, the base 2026 Mazda3 starts at $24,650 (plus a mandatory $1,235 destination charge). That’s for a nicely equipped 2.5 S sedan. You can also pay $1,000 extra for the 2.5 S Select Sport with leather and leatherette trim on the seats, steering wheel, and shift lever; 18-inch wheels instead of 16-inc wheels; and automatic climate control. Our favorite Mazda3 is the 2.5 S Preferred, which costs $27,090 with heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory, and a moonroof. 

Other trim levels include the 2.5 S Carbon Edition ($30,210 with AWD), the 2.5 S Premium ($31,450, sold only as a front-drive hatchback with a manual transmission), and the Turbo Premium Plus ($36,740 with the turbo engine, AWD, and some exclusive amenities like the bigger infotainment screen, a heated steering wheel, and the safety features we mentioned before). 

The hatchback costs about $1,000 to $1,400 more than an equivalent sedan, depending on the trim level. 

2026 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Mazda3 vs. the Competition

Compared with the competition, the 2026 Mazda3 drives like a more expensive car – solid, substantial, confident, powerful, and relatively quiet. The Volkswagen Jetta isn’t far off the Mazda3’s driving experience, and it has a roomier interior and better gas mileage, but its interior is cheaply finished. And the Honda Civic is spacious, economical, fun to drive, and well-finished, but it’s noisier and more expensive. 

The Kia K4 is another affordable small car with some level of luxury and performance, including its own optional turbo engine. But it’s more about everyday ease of use and lots of room than the Mazda3’s higher tier of luxury and driving composure. And the Nissan Sentra, sold only as a sedan, is upscale and expensive but slow. 

A high-end Mazda3 is also a viable alternative to small luxury cars like the Audi A3, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, and Mercedes-Benz CLA. The Mazda has the smoothest ride and the simplest controls, and it’s by far the least expensive. If you’re not dedicated to a modern infotainment system – or actively would prefer to avoid one – the Mazda3 can be a great choice. 

You can also shop the Mazda3 against the much more popular Mazda CX-30. This crossover has a similar size and shape to the Mazda3 hatchback, but it’s a little taller. It still has a tight back seat and cargo hold, it doesn’t handle as well as the Mazda3, and it’s a little less economical. But depending on the features you’re interested in, it can even cost less than the Mazda3 – the opposite of the SUV stereotype. 

2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Sport Touring hatchback ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Uniquely Appealing in Its Niche

The 2026 Mazda3 doesn’t have the lowest sticker price in its class. It doesn’t have the roomiest interior, the best gas mileage, or the best infotainment system. Many people looking for a compact car will pick a competitor that beats the Mazda3 on one or even all of those widely desirable counts. 

But in its own niche, the Mazda3 is uniquely appealing. It’s a throwback to cars that focus on carefully honed driving pleasure, and which provide a high-end experience through solidly built buttons and knobs rather than big screens. If you expect you’d value the Mazda3’s intangibles, you want a beautifully executed car that’s not downright exhilarating, and you don't prioritize a big touchscreen, put it on your shopping list. 

2023 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus hatchback ・ Photo by Brady Holt