Mazda 3 Saloon review

The Mazda 3 Saloon is the grander-looking sibling of the Mazda 3 hatchback, but while the two cars have similarly curvy looks they share very few external parts.

The 3 Saloon has a larger boot and a more steeply raked roofline than the Mazda 3 but is limited to just one engine and trim level (the hatchback range offers more choice in both respects).

Rather unusually, the engine you do get burns petrol a bit like a diesel engine burns fuel – and we know how efficient diesels can be. Mazda says that means you get Mazda MX-5 performance with Mazda 2 fuel economy.

Does it work? That's what we'll tell you in this Mazda 3 Saloon review, along with how we rate it against rival executive cars including the Audi A3 Saloon and Mercedes A-Class Saloon. Read on to find out how it performs...

The Mazda 3 Saloon's 184bhp 2.0-litre e-Skyactiv X mild-hybrid petrol engine has been designed to combine the best aspects of petrol and diesel engine tech.

What does that mean in practice? Well, it's meant to behave like a sporty petrol engine when you need lots of acceleration, then at cruising speeds uses diesel-style compression ignition to reduce fuel consumption. There's also a tiny supercharger, which is there to increase efficiency rather than power.

That's good in theory, but the Audi A3 Saloon, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé and Mercedes A-Class Saloon use turbocharging to produce more power lower down in the rev range, making them much more flexible, with the need for fewer gear changes in everyday driving.

Indeed, the 3 Saloon is fine when you’re pottering around town but soon feels lethargic when you need to build up pace. While the official 0-62mph time of 8.1 seconds seems reasonable, in reality the engine is slow to rev and the long gearing (tuned for fuel economy) makes it harder to keep up with traffic. 

At least you’ll have fun as you flick through the gears, with the 3 Saloon’s manual gearbox providing a lovely precise shift that feels inspired by the Mazda MX-5. You can swap the manual for an automatic gearbox but we wouldn’t bother: the auto is often slow to change gear and reluctant to drop down when you need a burst of power. 

Because you need to rev the engine harder than its rivals, you’ll hear it more often and there’s a slight coarseness to it too.

Wind and road noise are reasonably muted compared with direct rivals, but the 3 Saloon is not as ultra-quiet at 70mph as the more expensive Audi A5 and BMW 3 Series. It also produces more suspension noise.

Speaking of which, the 3 Saloon's suspension set-up is quite firm and doesn’t smother ridges on motorways or potholes around town nearly as well as an Audi A3 Saloon or Mercedes A-Class Saloon.

On the plus side, it’s well tied down, meaning it never gets the floaty sensation over undulations you’ll experience in the softer Skoda Superb. That body control helps when you go for a spirited drive, with the 3 Saloon never leaning much through corners.

What’s more, the slow but pleasingly weighted steering gives you a good connection to the front wheels and makes precise cornering easy. It’s just the relatively low levels of grip that stops 3 Saloon from feeling composed when you start pressing on.

"A small tweak to the engine has made the 3 saloon a bit more responsive to drive around town than earlier versions, but I wish it had a bit more muscle for when the road opens up." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

While the Mazda 3 Saloon will cost you less than its rivals, you wouldn’t think so based on its interior quality. It’s a testament to how good the materials are that we’re even comparing it with premium executive cars.

It feels more solid and well put together than a Mercedes A-Class and the dashboard combines dense, soft plastics with padded leather-like material, attractive finishes and chrome trim highlights. You won't feel short-changed.

Drivers shouldn’t have any trouble getting comfortable behind the wheel either, regardless of their shape or size. There’s a broad range of adjustment for the seat and steering wheel so you can easily find a good driving position. It’s just a shame you don’t get electric adjustment or adjustable lumbar support.

As with its executive car rivals, the 3 Saloon doesn’t perch you particularly high above the road. Meanwhile, the view out of the front is slightly obscured by fairly chunky front window pillars that can get in the way at junctions.

The view out of the rear isn’t so good due to the sloping saloon roof line, but you do get a rear-view camera, and front and rear parking sensors as standard.

The 3 Saloon's uncluttered dashboard is easy to use, with physical buttons for all the functions you're likely to need a lot, including the climate controls. That makes operating them while driving far easier and less distracting than in the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé or Peugeot 408 (which require you to navigate their touchscreens for even simple tasks). 

We also like the infotainment system. The centrally mounted, 10.3in screen has clear, simple menus and a quick response to your inputs. You can operate it using the touchscreen when the car is stationary, but you’ll mainly control it through a rotary controller and shortcut buttons between the front seats.

It’s better than the Peugeot 408’s infotainment, which is a little slow to respond to inputs and frequently requires you to hop between functions to use them. The 3 Saloon’s system comes with an impressive array of features too. All models get DAB radio, Bluetooth, sat-nav and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring.

"I like how upmarket the interior feels but I wish they used a few more colours inside to brighten it up." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

Space in the front in the 3 Saloon is exactly the same as in the hatchback Mazda 3 and even tall adults should be comfortable, with plenty of leg, shoulder and head room.

There's plenty of storage space, including room for a bottle in each door bin, cup holders in the centre console, a non-slip area ahead of the gearlever and a reasonably sized glovebox. 

Anyone nearing 6ft tall sitting behind an equally tall occupant will find enough clearance for their knees behind the front seat. However, their head will be brushing the sloping roof while a middle occupant having to sit on a raised section of the bench will need to hunch.

It's tight for three adults across the rear bench, and the relatively small back-door openings make it a bit tricky to get in and out.

You’ll find similar problems in the Audi A3 Saloon and BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé. For much more rear space, try the Skoda Superb. 

The rear seatbacks in the 3 Saloon split and fold 60/40, which isn’t as useful as the more versatile 40/20/40 split you get in the Mercedes A-Class Saloon. You can, though, fold the 3 Saloon’s rear seats using levers in the boot and they lay totally flat when folded, leaving a useful extended load area.

Speaking of which, with the rear seats raised, you’ll find more boot space in the 3 Saloon than in the Mazda 3 – 450 litres versus 334 litres for the hatchback. That’s also more space than in the A3 Saloon and A-Class Saloon, but all are hampered by a saloon boot that limits boot height. The Superb has a wide-opening hatchback boot lid and a 645 litres of space.

"The Mazda 3 Saloon's boot is big and I like that the release for the rear backrest is so conveniently located by the top section of the boot opening." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

As a cash purchase, the Mazda 3 Saloon is competitively priced. The only trim level you can have is the high-spec Exclusive-Line, which costs less than an entry-level Audi A3 Saloon and Mercedes A-Class Saloon. An entry-level BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé costs nearly £10,000 more. 

It’s worth noting that the 3 Saloon is predicted to lose its value faster than those rivals, so it might cost you more per month if you’re buying on PCP finance. You can check the latest prices using our New Car Deals pages.

When it comes to running costs, Mazda’s e-Skyactiv X engine does pretty well. With a manual gearbox the 3 Saloon officially achieves more than 50mpg and our experience suggests that more than 40mpg is easily achievable. The automatic is slightly juicier, but isn’t far off equivalent rivals.

As a company car, the manual 3 saloon sits in a slightly lower BIK tax band than the equivalent Audi A3 Saloon, although the automatic version is slightly higher. For the lowest BIK tax you'll be better off with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) such as the Mercedes A250e or – better still – an electric car. 

Unlike the Mazda 3, the 3 Saloon is only available in one trim level, but it comes with an impressive amount of equipment. Exclusive-Line includes 18in alloy wheels, heated front seats, adaptive cruise control, dual-zone climate control, adaptive LED headlights, wireless phone-charging and rear privacy glass.

That’s probably all you’ll ever need and you’ll have to pay extra for some of those features on premium executive cars.

You get a generous level of safety equipment, including an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system called Smart Brake Support), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assistance, traffic-sign recognition and emergency response service (eCall).

The 3 Saloon achieved five stars out of five when it was tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP in 2019. On the surface, that matches the 2 Series Gran Coupé and A-Class Saloon, but it did provide better front occupant protection.

The hatchback Mazda 3 finished near the bottom of the family car class in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but we don't have specific figures for the Saloon. Meanwhile, Mazda claimed a middling 16th place out of 31 brands – below BMW but above Audi and Mercedes. Every 3 Saloon comes with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty.

"Despite the engine’s fuel-saving tech, the mid-40’s mpg figure we achieved isn’t as impressive as we’d hoped. Most rivals can match that now." – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

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