Ok I finally got to test drive one.
The engine and drivetrain feel much more isolated than before. The pull of the 2.5L is similar in feel to the 2.3L, but I sense there's a bit more vibration there due to the extra displacement. The engine pulled very nicely when going onto the highway, with no qualms as it reached the upper revs. Unfortunately, I did not get to drive a manual transmission, but the automatic felt great, and I think its something I could live with. It's still reasonably geared.
The steering wheel felt great - I was surprised by the car's ability to handle corners. However, the dampening has been softened and you will feel it when you are on a highway off-ramp and you need to correct for the turn. The trade off is that when you hit bumps, the car doesn't really crash through them, but does a much better job to absorb them. I for one, really really liked this about the car because my Protege just crashes through bumps and it's rather tiresome to deal with.
You can definitely feel the pork in this model, but I'm really glad its there, to be honest. The Protege feels so light on its wheels and uneven road surfaces can really bother it. The new 3, doesn't feel that way at all. It maintains its composure in a way that mimics the entry level German sedans.
As for the interior, the dashboard and the center stack controls are really really thoughtfully designed. I really like the placement of the information screen - it's right within your field of vision and is the right size. However, they could have used a different font. Something about it screams cheap to me - it might be the MS-DOS style font they use.
The seats might be the biggest qualm for me. The side bolsters are huge and very supportive, but I think this might be too much. My legs were forced into the center of the seat, making for a rather odd driving position. And the cushion of the seat doesn't feel very supportive. I'm not sure this will hold up on long drives. My protege has fantastic seats despite the lack of side bolsters and I was expecting the same from this car. However, the seatbacks of the new 3 are fantastic! MY back felt really good!
I'm not a fan of the dimmer and odometer switches in the car. They could have spent a couple of extra pennies to refine their feel. Additionally, the dimmer switch doesn't exactly give you a very workable range for nighttime driving. It's either too dim during the night, or at full-blast during the daytime. The design of the gauge cluster looks great though.
For the most part, the rest of the car felt like the old 3. I enjoyed being in it, but I'd like to see Mazda correct some of these minor quibbles. If they do that in the next couple of years I'm sold. The car has the refinement I've been waiting for in my next ride.
Oh and one last thing - I checked out the Mazda5 to see where the alternator is: It's located closer to the front, and is protected by the lower plastic shielding. Why Mazda chose to do this with the 5 and not the 3 is seriously beyond me.
