Road Test: 2012 Mazda3 SKYACTIV

[@russoul8633]

150000 miles, and still pures like a kitten. Great investment, and lots of fun to drive.

[@evanharral6001]

Have you changed your transmission fliud?

[@stanza77]

How was your gas mileage exactly?

[@johnforneyify]

I did tons of research and decided on a 2012 Mazda3 Skyactiv. NO regrets!!! You get your money's worth.

[@arturoestenoz5825]

My 2012 has 202,000 fun and reliable miles. Great car!

[@aarikc17]

God I love how Mazda gets the manual shifting right!!!

[@junechris]

They make good engines, actually got good torque, at least the 2.3 and 2.5L

[@jraposo]

I love the speedometer placed slightly to the right, most of the time i drive with my left hand on top of the steering wheel forcing me to move my hand if I wanted to check my speed, but not with this smiley baby

[@alireza6250]

thanks mr john davis this car is a huge monster i have this car its so amazing

[@jraposo]

I truly love this car, got an i touring earlier this month, so responsive, agile, just pure fun, you wouldn't think you are driving such a fuel efficient car, I get 42-46 MPG hwy, and 25-30 while on the city, and that's with AC Blowing MAX-4

[@stanza77]

Might be getting one of these this weekend, wish me luck.

[@pwrshots]

love your reviews John. Straight to the point.

[@johnforneyify]

I bought mine 2 months ago with the 6 speed auto. The transmission adjust to my driving style. when I go down hill and slowly apply the brakes, it keeps whatever gear it is in, but if I want to upshift (say from 4th to 3rd ), all i have to do is tap on the brakes and it shifts. Did many hours of research with the competition and I made the right choice. This is the best BANG for your BUCK for this segment

[@ivan2979]

Mazda 3 Skyactiv - excellent fuel economy & well made

[@jabrother]

These cars are so good

[@ricardomartinez5057]

just bought mine today! love it already!

[@powersurge001]

@TheMattGosselin you're right that alot of this is just about labelling similar technology to differentiate from other manufacturers but Skyactiv is not just direct injection. It also uses extremely high compression ratios that are not common in gasoline engines. In effect, Mazda is blending diesel and gasoline engine technology to increase power and efficiency. In this sense they are ahead of the curve because that is where the future of the internal combustion engine is headed

[@johnforneyify]

Best bang for the buck. Period!

[@xvrhernandez349]

my dad has one of these, just with a 6spd manual. it is the best thing ever!!! its super fun to drive! i feel like a F1 racecar. if you want to have so much fun witha lot of peppiness & amazing fuel economy get this!! :D

[@behnkeee]

i have that exact car, fuel econ is more like 32/46. amazing car, with great handling.

[@TheRampage007]

Test drove this car and LOVE it I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a new car. You should try all the other cars your interested like civics, corollas, elantras and then go drive the mazda 3 and its over you won't wanna go back to any other car

[@Xcorgi]

A big thanks to Motorweek for being the first to actually show EVERYTHING this new Mazda3 has to offer by giving us the HP and torque #'s when telling us the Mpg. Also for being the first to mention the 265 watt Bose system! This thing totally rocks! No other car in this catagory offers such a great sound system. Yeah, you can get the Civic Si with a more powerful one but then your mileage goes in the pooper and defeats the purpose of getting the most sporty car w/best Mpg.Yes it DOES have a GPS

[@castulovasquez1191]

Mazda 3 i 2012 turing Skyactiv lo mejor de mazda

[@HolidayKirk]

Does anyone else love the smile grill? Cause I love it. :D

[@fnsonicrick]

Edmunds and Motortrend got about 7.8 If i remember correctly. Not bad for an economy car.

[@123456iambelial]

I was in Mazda dealer and was looking at their 2013 Mazda3. I was told they were released on 10/04 and they are on their way from Japan to the US. They told me they all should be on display either the last week of October or first week of November.

[@SwPiotrek]

I like this guy voice.

[@davidaubin3902]

Yes John is great narrator for the road and comparison tests

[@camshaft53149]

just bought my itouring hatch skyactiv and its awsome. 38.6mpg during city driving mainly and fun to throw around corners. at 100mph on the freeway i was still getting almost 32mpg. pretty awesome car.

[@powersurge001]

@TheMattGosselin Skyactiv is not simply a "high efficiency package" like alot of manufacturers offer, this is the future of engine technology for Mazda. they want to eventually make all their engines in all their models Skyactiv engines. i really respect Mazda for taking this real innovative engineering approach instead of following everyone else into the stupid hybrid fad.

[@TandemDawgBMG]

I drove this car a few times and at 60 mph it was doing about 2k rpm, if they could push the revs maybe 200-400 rpm lower this car would get even better fuel mileage

[@AndresSalazarAutos]

@soyntgo4it I do understand your point, but in any case the problem is not really buying american made, it is deeper than that, it involves quality, production costs and all of that, car makers prefer to build elsewhere because it is cheaper (and usually with the same or better quality)...

[@PieceOfRiceCake924]

0-60 time seems a bit underrated. I've seen other Skyactiv Mazda 3 reviews with less than 8 seconds 0-60.

[@sszhao11]

Downshift and and corner at 40MPH is very fun

[@matdamond]

amazing improvements

[@aaronbehindbars]

@PieceOfRiceCake924 They probably ran their 0-60 in regular auto mode. Manual mode is noticeably quicker. MPGomatic ran 60 in 8 seconds in manual mode, but nearly a second slower in auto mode. I've been meaning to get an iphone accelerometer app to test my car.

[@ChrisG-gl5st]

This and their duratec engine are so reliable

[@camshaft53149]

love mine as well. glad i chose this one!

[@Jake940T]

True, and Mazda knows this. Expect to see the 2.5 replaced with a 2.2 turbodiesel in the near future.

[@SuperChrissy2012]

My car is worth alot more then that I'm not sure where you came up with those numbers but I know the trade value in on it. Thank's for helping.

[@pinoyeh]

John Davis forgot to show the braking test for this model.

[@turbine50]

The Dart is not an American car. It's a re-branded Alfa Romeo Gulietta.

[@76carmel]

Ah, the dual clutch auto. I had that feeling when I test drove the VW Jetta GLI. Despite the fact that's it's a performance vehicle, the herky-jerkyness of that transmission drove me nuts when I test drove it.

[@accord03]

@jimlasalle Don't the mean 58 km/g, its around 36mpg.

[@nismofury]

This is the best compact eco box you can get. Better than the focus cruze elantra corola civic dart.

[@jsoul911]

What is skyactive really? I haven't read into it yet.

[@t5e2]

what's reason not to get the SkyActiv version? it's cheaper to buy, and only about 15 hp less than the 2.5 litre. It also saves a lot more gas!

[@AndresSalazarAutos]

@soyntgo4it this one isn't... and next year this and the mazda2 are going to be made in Mexico (it will be much cheaper to ship the cars from Mexico than from Japan!)

[@PrototypePrjs]

and the question is : What is SKYACTIV?

[@2thePtBassTuT]

That's what the local weather forecaster says when it's raining ... But seriously folks.. "Skyactiv is a brand name for a series of technologies developed by Mazda that increase fuel efficiency and engine output. "

[@L4TIn0St4NdUp]

If u feel like a F1 Racecar you're not human

[@squibbles0]

its 13:1 compression

[@SwPiotrek]

I agree, But Focus is very similar to this Mazda 3.

[@2000xlt]

is this the engine with the 14:1 compression?

[@zenco4832]

2000xlt 12:1

[@116thcrazy]

What about braking?

[@ethanellis2474]

I get to drive this car at the end of the month

[@Darksyne]

no 0-60?

[@partikelsmusic]

In Gemany we can't buy the skyactive in the mazda 3. :/

[@AndresSalazarAutos]

@soyntgo4it At least in my country, Mexico, people who work at auto plants do not earn as much as in North America, but still the cost of living in Mexico is much lower, renting, or buying a house, public transport and food is much cheaper than in the USA, so they do not need to earn as much, in average they earn about 13 or 14 thousand USD yearly just enough for them and above the national average for people who work at factories!! i do believe that in china or india low quiality is a concern!!

[@msalehm8622]

anybody knows when will mazda3 2013 be released??

[@Xcorgi]

@soyntgo4it Good point. Just dont confuse American brand with American made. There are so many cars from the big 3 made in Mexico while all the Japanese and Korean companies build right here and provide us with jobs while Ford, Chevy and Dodge gladly send them over seas for the cheap slave labor.

[@miatageekscott]

I have one with a 6 speed

[@AndresSalazarAutos]

@CowsRCool2KJHQ Sir buying foreign products does help the economy of any country, they pay import tax (you are also paying for it), this tax goes to the economy of your country... and btw most things americans buy are not made in the USA, many electronics come from Asia, and I bet you most cars in the USA road are not made in the USA, many are made in Asia, Canada and Mexico, as well as some european made... we are living in a globalized world...

[@tungol00]

Smileey faaaaysss

[@behnkeee]

mine will do it in 7.5

[@ljp1942]

Save Fuel Save Fuel Save Fuel Save Fuel Save Fuel Save Fuel

[@nismofury]

They need to make a tuned 2 door coupe it would kill a brz.

[@DevPack]

STOP SMILING AT ME!!!!!!!!

[@Darksyne]

Wow really? they must've got good drivers cus from what i hear the average is around 8.8 to 9 seconds

[@pinoyeh]

Yes that is true just do a ZOOM...ZOOM....how about STOP...STOP...equals...CRASH...CRASH....and....OUCH...OUCH...

[@ItsKingRabbit]

people say this car is ugly cause it has a smile for a front bumper yet they manage to search, click and watch the video...trolls -_-

[@AndresSalazarAutos]

@soyntgo4it It is official... they have already began building the damn factory... it is also official that Mazda 3 and 2 will be made there as well as the engines... I don't understand that American hate of anything that is not made in the USA... most thing sold there are not made there!!! have you ever heard of china? ipods, computers, phones and many other things!! luckily not your car still but many come from other countries!!

[@quest250]

i was using it as an example

[@yourmotherrules]

holycrap he got old...

[@jimlasalle]

@Lambo6fo agreed

[@jimlasalle]

Mazda PR people must be smoking something....same car gets 58mpg in Canada. How's that possible?

[@hultii]

@CowsRCool2KJHQ im not american .. but just to let you know buying foreign cars helps your economy because many of these manufactures have factory's in usa so they are giving american people jobs .. only thing you are doing by buying only american cars is keeping some of them alive even if they are not competition for eu or asian cars

[@ladyvee7110]

I hope one day Mazda will get rid of that happy face, cheesing grill. You can only imagine how unnerving it is to be driving down the highway and seeing a car smiling at me in my rear view mirror.

[@jimlasalle]

@accord03 58mpg..........check out the MazdaCanada youtube channel.

[@mb013962]

wow its not in blue!

[@2000xlt]

spoke to soon,,,it is 12:1

[@UltimateCARNUT]

seems kind of pricey to me for an econobox. Id rather spend that scratch on the turbo dodge dart.

[@tomtude]

the bad about this car is the singnal light in sight the car is too small and right in mildle of steer wheel . u can't see it clear. bad design. i always forgot to turn off the singnal because i it's been block by the steering wheel . everything else is ok.

[@quest250]

The dart is a new American car, and i advice you not to be a test rat. You already have a Mazda and know how good the quality is and your dealership will give a couple discounts. And don't trade in your car you can sell it on Kijiji for 4000 but the dealership might buy it for 2500, unless its a lease

[@787brx8]

The technology/designs Mazda stole from me for the new engines and transmissions etc.

[@importcarenthusiast]

Haha, Yep!

[@nikemac84]

Not liking that exterior design at all>>>>>Looks too much like the Chevy Cruze........

[@tiberianexcalibur]

Engine noise sounds like a german car lol

[@Darksyne]

Dart is still more fun to drive than this tho =p

[@Ithinkiwill66]

Darksyne but does it have the room like the Mazda??

[@Azul36550]

ugliest front bumper EVER!