The interior of the Mazda3 Sport GT AWD is outstanding the mix of black and red leather really sets it off and makes it stand out. I got a ton of compliments about it from those who were in the car and total strangers. Let’s take a look at the interior to see why it generates this sort of reaction:
The drivers seat is a comfortable place to be. It’s leather, power adjustable in ten ways with two memory settings. While it could have a bit more bolstering in the lower part of the seat and be slightly wider, you’ll find no issues with it.
The mirror, door locks, and window controls are lit and easy to reach. There’s a leather and piano black finish along with silver trim around the speakers that gives the interior an upscale feel.
Here you can see the buttons for the electronic overseers as well as the driver seat memory settings. You can also see the pedals and the dead pedal.
There’s also this storage area for coins under the buttons for the seat settings.
The steering wheel is on the thick side and much like the Mazda3 Sedan that I tested recently, I never really got comfortable with it. It is heated and has all the controls that you need to use the infotainment system and cruise control. There are also paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.
The gauge cluster is made up of two real gauges on the outside, and a TFT screen in the middle which you can flip through a series of screens that allow you to get the information that you need. It’s generally bright and easy to read, though I did note that it is sometimes prone to glare.
Moving to the center of the dash, there’s a 8.8″ widescreen for the infotainment system. The screen is bright and very, very sharp. I’ll have more on this and the whole infotainment system tomorrow.
Below the screen are the controls for the dual zone HVAC system which includes the controls for the heated front seats and the heated steering wheel. Right below that is a USB port to plug your phone into.
Right under the HVAC controls is a cubby that also contains a pair of cupholders. I have to admit that when I first saw this, I was dubious that it would pass my Venti Starbucks drink test. But….
… But it did pass. Though I did note that this venti Starbucks drink was a bit too loose in the cupholder for my liking.
Here you can see the leather wrapped gear shift, the redesigned HMI Commander Switch, as well as the parking brake, auto hold switch and the sport switch on the left. You can also see the fingerprints that tend to get left behind on a piano black finish like this.
Flip up the armrest and you get this storage area complete with a USB port and 12V outlet.
There’s a decent sized glovebox.
You also get a decent sized powered moonroof.
The back seats are a decent place to be for two adults as I tested that with two six foot tall adults during the week I had the Mazda3. Three adults back here is a non-starter because of the tunnel in middle of the floor.
There’s a pair of cupholders in an armrest that flips down from middle of the back seats.
My wife noted that there were plenty of anchors for a child seat in the Mazda3 Sport. That is a big bonus for a small family.
The cargo area with the seats up can hold a lot of stuff and it is deep. But if you need more space you can flip down the 60/40 folding rear seats to get an almost flat floor to slide your gear into.
The rear seats flip down with ease via the button to the right of the seatbelt.
As you can see, the Mazda3 Sport holds our weekly shopping with ease.
One nice touch is that the rear hatch as a button to lock all the doors. I don’t recall ever seeing that in a vehicle before. Thus that’s good thinking on Mazda’s part as it’s very handy.
Overall the interior is first class in every way possible. Mazda really did a great job putting the interior together as it it really impressed anyone who saw it. The interior is also very quiet. More so than I expected it to be. I should also note that there’s very good vision in every direction for the driver. No rattles, squeaks, or other annoyances were noted during my week with the Mazda3 Sport AWD.
Tomorrow I will talk about the technology in the Mazda3 Sport GT AWD which has made a massive transformation for 2019. Stay tuned for that.