The IT Nerd

This is the 2.5L SkyActiv engine that powers the 2016 Mazda4 GT. It’s a 4 cylinder engine that puts out 184 horsepower and 185 pound feet of torque and it’s mated to a six speed transmission that can be shifted manually either from the gear shift or the paddle shifters. One note about the paddle shifters, you can use them without having to put the transmission into manual mode. That’s handy if you need to hold a gear through a turn. It has plenty of torque to move you forward from a dead stop as well as get you around transport trucks on the highway.

Mazda has the steering dialed in perfectly as it’s well weighted and it has just the right amount of feedback. Plus the suspension is also dialed in perfectly so you know exactly what the car is doing as you drive it. If you need to make a lane change on the highway, it only requires minimal steering input. As a result driving this car gives you the feeling that you are one with it. As a result, you really want take the Mazda3 to some back road and really have some fun with it. It is also a perfect place to use the Sport Mode switch which makes the throttle response crisper and the shifts quicker. Unfortunately, the Mazda3’s fun to drive nature is affecting my fuel economy. I’m averaging 10.5 L/100KM’s. I expect that to drop throughout the week. One thing to note is that this trim level comes with Mazda’s i-Eloop which promises additional fuel savings. I clearly need to have less fun.

When it comes to the all important noise, vibration and harshness, there’s no wind noise below 120 KM/h. Though I will note that the tire noise is really present at highway speeds which makes it difficult to listen to music without cranking up the stereo or have a conversation. While I do admit that the winter tires that were on the car were the cause, the other two Mazda vehicles I drove in the last couple of weeks had winter tires as well and there was not nearly the same amount of tire noise in those vehicles. Perhaps Mazda could look at improving that for the 2016 model year.

The next area for me to look at is the interior. Mazda has a very upscale interior inside the Mazda3. Check back tomorrow to see how upscale it is.

This entry was posted on April 7, 2015 at 6:20 am and is filed under Products with tags Mazda. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.