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Vehicle Min Max 2008 Mazda Mazda3 $11,990 $18,900 2012 MINI Cooper Clubman $39,657 $39,657 2012 Mazda Mazda5 $16,600 $21,988 2012 Toyota Matrix N/A N/A Average $22,749 $26,848 
Used Car Price Range$11,990 - $18,900
Vehicle Min Max 2008 Mazda Mazda3 $204 $321 2012 MINI Cooper Clubman $674 $674 2012 Mazda Mazda5 $282 $373 2012 Toyota Matrix N/A N/A Average $386 $456 Based On: 10% down, 5% APR, 60 months
Estimated Monthly Payment$204 - $321 per month
MPG city hwy 2008 Mazda Mazda3 23 30 2012 MINI Cooper Clubman 27 35 2012 Mazda Mazda5 21 28 2012 Toyota Matrix 22 29 Average 23 31 MPG23 City | 30 Highway
$500 Rebate Expires 05/31/2012
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2008 Mazda Mazda3 Review Summary
What reviewers liked most about the 2008 Mazda Mazda3:
With its distinctive snout, smooth flanks and shapely rear end, it looks more like a downsized European-bred machine than a Japanese car that starts well under $20,000.
- Edmunds.comEquipped with the five-speed manual and the 2.3-liter engine, our tester did the 0-to-60 dash in 7.4 seconds.
- Car and DriverWe came out of an Ikea store with an unassembled table in a flat box measuring 48 inches long and 30 inches wide, and it slid neatly in the back of the five-door with the 60/40 fold-down rear seat flattened. Flipping the seats down is easy.
- New Car Test DriveThe Mazda 6 is also the source of the 3's sophisticated rear multi-link suspension, which is set up to give the car great stability in high-speed sweepers.
- AutomobileThe standard cloth interior is sturdy, in blue or red check with leather at the edges. The leather is smooth and black and a well-priced option compared to other cars.
- New Car Test Drive
What reviewers liked least about the 2008 Mazda Mazda3:
The only gaffe we noted inside is foot room for the rear passengers that is cut off at the heels by a required crossmember.
- AutoWeek...we could do without the cheesy LEDs that light up in correspondence with volume or station changes. And as good as they look, the controls don't have the high-quality feel that you get with the Honda Civic.
- Edmunds.com
2008 Mazda Mazda3 Comparisons:
Larger in most exterior dimensions than the outgoing Proteg?, the 3 offers only negligible differences in interior space. There's still enough room for taller drivers to get comfortable up front, and the rear seats are acceptably spacious for a car in this class.
- Edmunds.com...if there's understeer, the inevitable consequence of front-wheel drive, the threshold is higher than in all but a few cars in this class, and those few are the performance specials such as the SVT Focus, Dodge SRT-4, and Saturn Ion Red Line.
- Car and DriverThe four-door, though it goes well, is a less exciting design than the very cool five-door; the S package and upgraded wheels make this practical hatch a segment leader in the looks department.
- AutoWeek
Best one-liners about the 2008 Mazda Mazda3:
The radio can be operated by an older adult, even one with bifocals.
- AutomobileThe old econobox ain't what it used to be. This is what it has become. Is this a great world or what?
- New Car Test Drive
2008 Mazda Mazda3 Introduction
The Mazda3 is a true world car. It's space-efficient and exciting to drive like a European car. It's practical and economical like a Japanese car. And like an American car, it's available with a surprising list of comfort and luxury features.
The Mazda 3, or Mazda3, was developed on three continents, by various international subsidiaries of the Ford Motor Company, which owns 33.4 percent of Mazda Motor Corporation. Volvo developed the Mazda3's body. Ford itself contributed the suspension design and sophisticated electronics. And Mazda engineered the four-cylinder engines and then tuned the complete car at its test track in Japan.
The result is a car that could change the way people think about compact cars. This is a premium automobile, exciting to drive, styled adventurously, and fully equipped with luxury features. There's nothing austere, basic or cheap about it. The seats are supportive and comfortable, good for long drives.
Sedan and hatchback versions look quite different. The sedan has the traditional appearance of a four-door, five-passenger car. The five-door hatchback is like the high-fashion station wagons from European manufacturers, offering the practicality of the five-door configuration with an emphasis on a premium driving experience. The Mazda3 is a good choice for drivers who have friends or lots of stuff: The sedan and hatchback excel at back-seat roominess when compared with the Honda Civic and other competition, and the hatchback excels at cargo space.
There's a high-performance version called Mazdaspeed3, motivated by 263 turbocharged horsepower.
Launched as a 2004 model, the Mazda3 was extensively updated and upgraded for 2007, with a revised appearance inside and out. Reinforcements to the body shell improved overall chassis rigidity. Suspension damping was re-tuned to quicken steering response and reduce understeer. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist were made standard for all s-models and optional for the i-model. Traction control and stability control became available. And an auxiliary audio input with 12-volt power outlet made the Mazda3 iPod-friendly. For 2008, Mazda has added side-impact air bags and side air curtains to the premium s-models.
All 2008 Mazdas come with a roadside assistance program, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, throughout the United States and Canada.
2008 Mazda Mazda3 Walkaround
The Mazda3 has far more visual presence than you'd expect from a car with a Japanese nameplate. The designers worked hard to give this car the kind of character that will set it apart from other compact cars, and the result is a surprisingly bold look. A broad palette of color choices further distinguishes the Mazda3 from other compacts.
The sedan looks a little clumsy in its stripped-down i-model iteration, but bigger tires give it a more substantial stance.
Meanwhile, the five-door is unique, more like a stretched-out coupe than a five-door hatchback, and it's especially appealing in a radical color choice.
The facelift for 2007 defined the style even more clearly, with a body-color grille surround and new front bumper with square fog lights for both the 3s models plus brighter and more substantial-looking 16- and 17-inch cast-aluminum wheels.
There were no appearance changes for 2008.
The Mazaspeed3 looks especially tough with its oversized air intake in the front bumper and the mildly flared fenders. The whole front fascia is unique, and the rear taillights and chrome exhaust tips set it apart as well. Big 18-inch cast-aluminum wheels clearly identify this as a high-performance car.
2008 Mazda Mazda3 Interior Features
When it comes to compact cars, the game is all about space efficiency. Just how much space can be devoted to the passengers? And is the space useful for all the other tasks that are demanded of a small car?
The Mazda3 sedan offers 94.3 cubic feet of passenger space, which compares favorably with the Honda Civic sedan's 90.9 cubic feet. The Mazda and the Honda are close in front-seat room, with Mazda providing a bit less leg room but a bit more width. In the rear seat, however, the Mazda is significantly larger, most notably in leg room and shoulder room. The Civic and Mazda3 are also close in trunk volume, with the Mazda rated at 11.5 cubic feet, the Honda 12.0.
The utility of the Mazda3's interior is enhanced by a standard folding 60/40 split back seat, which enables you to increase trunk room for large loads. The back of the rear seat doesn't quite fold flat, but it's close. Thanks to this design, the Mazda3 five-door will accommodate 43.8 cubic feet of cargo behind the front seats when the second seat is folded down.
The Mazda3 seats themselves are supportive without being confining, and the use of high-quality foam in the bolsters makes them very comfortable during long drives. Every version of the Mazda3 except for the entry-level sedan features a height adjuster for the driver's seat, and this works with the standard tilt/telescoping steering wheel to enable a wide range of drivers to get a good fit with the controls. Grand Touring editions feature seat warmer for their standard leather seats.
When it's well-equipped with trim and features, the interior of the Mazda3 looks good, although black interiors seem very dark. For 3s, a brushed aluminum surface lends some drama to the dashboard, as do red-orange electro-luminescent numerals with blue-tinted dials. Mazda 3i sedans feature wood trim for the dash and white-faced instruments.
The Mazda3 affords plenty of practical storage space, notably a cavernous glovebox. Two cupholders are integrated into the center console, while a small but deep box separates the seats. Rear-seat armrests have integrated cupholders.
The optional navigation display screen flips up from the top of the dash, and it offers a bright view, while the software logic for entering destinations and the like is straightforward. The navigation system's controls are located in the center console, however, and they're small and fussy enough (especially the joystick control) to be a chore to operate. But the Mazda3 is one of the very few cars in this price class to offer a navigation system.
The Mazdaspeed3's interior has the same overall look as its siblings, but red stitching in the steering wheel, shift knob and seats adds some motorsports style. The thick rim, leather-wrapped rim of the steering wheel feels substantial, while aluminum covers for the pedals enhance the presentation. The best thing about the Mazdaspeed3's interior is the high-bolstered sports seats, which cradle and support rather than confine. The strategic use of leather and cloth inserts in the Grand Touring version keeps you from inadvertently sliding around when you're driving at a quick pace. These are the kind of seats that will help you rack up a thousand miles of driving in a day.
2008 Mazda Mazda3 Driving Impressions
The character of the Mazda3 is determined by the engine you choose.
The Mazda3i has a 2.0-liter engine that will produce 148 horsepower if you roar it to 6500 rpm, but it requires that kind of intensity to wring out everything it has to give. The variable valve timing and variable intake length improve torque low in the rpm range. Still, this engine's mission seems to be a low purchase price and good fuel economy rather than performance. EPA ratings are 24/32 mpg City/Highway on regular-grade gasoline for the manual, 23/31 mpg for the automatic. (This is using the new EPA test procedures enacted for 2008 that are designed to more accurately reflect the way most people drive.)
The 2.0-liter is a good choice if you're concerned largely about fuel economy. The engine itself is great, but the Mazda3 is a little heavy, so you need all the power you can get. If you're looking for a combination to crawl in commuter traffic, the wide-ratio four-speed automatic is an acceptable choice. The transmission's semi-manual shifting feature gives the driver some flexibility and can be entertaining.
The 2.3-liter engine, on the other hand, delivers substantial power over a wide range of rpm. Its tractable mid-range punch helps provide good throttle response without the need to shift gears frequently. This character sets the Mazda 2.3-liter apart from its competition; it's more like the big-displacement four-cylinder engines in the mid-size Honda Accord and Toyota Camry than it is like its competition in the compact class.
Counter-rotating balancers, exclusive to the larger engine, substantially reduce vibration, making this a particularly smooth-running powerplant. At the same time, this engine really does its best work above the torque peak of 150 pound-feet at 4500 rpm as it pulls to its peak of 156 horsepower at 6500 rpm; so it, too, needs a little help from the driver's shifting skills to stay in the fat part of the power band. At the same time, the 2.3-liter's EPA fuel-economy ratings are 22/29 mpg City/Highway on regular gasoline.
Both the 2.0-liter engine in the Mazda3i and the 2.3-liter in the Mazda3s belong to Mazda's MRZ family, and feature such sophisticated technology as sequential valve timing (S-VT), variable intake system (VIS), and electronic throttle control. Both the sedan and the five-door are set up to take advantage of the strong personality afforded by these Mazda MZR engines.
The steering with its electro-hydraulic power assist responds crisply and accurately to your command, and the tires afford plenty of grip in the corners.
The brakes are up to the task as well. ABS with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist are standard on 3s and optional for 3i; while Dynamic Stability Control with traction control is standard on 3s Touring and Grand Touring. As a fun-to-drive package, the Mazda3 has better credentials than its competition.
The Mazdaspeed3 is an entirely different product due to its turbocharged engine with direct fuel-injection that delivers 263 hp at 5500 rpm. The Mazdaspeed3 has all the hardware to keep up with so much power, notably a six-speed manual transmission that rips off quick, clean shifts in a way that no other front-wheel drive car can match.
The Mazdaspeed3 is a legitimate 155-mph automobile, with a quieter, calmer personality on the freeway than the previous-generation Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evo IX. Yet the Mazda is really in its element in the corners, where there are no surprises in the way it handles. The chassis stays balanced and predictable right to the limit of tire adhesion, where the limited-slip differential still delivers optimal power to both front wheels. The Mazdaspeed3 carves through the corners in a way that's distinct from its all-wheel-drive competitors.
2008 Mazda Mazda3 Final Word
The Mazda3 is a driver's car that's practical. The Mazda3 is useful, space-efficient, economical and pleasant across a broad range of driving situations. It also has the style, comfort, features, and personality to transform any driving experience into a sporting proposition. It's slightly less refined than its competition from Honda and Toyota, but you seem to get more car for your money, and that means personality as well as features. Compared to the competition, the Mazda3 is a driver's car, meant for people who enjoy their time in an automobile.
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