Mazda 3 BN (2016-2018)

Car offers firm ride, nice steering around the corners and reliability , the one thing which irritates me is its noisy engine....it looks like a diesel especially in low speeds. Show details

Still worth owning – I have previously reviewed the 2018 Mazda 3 with the Skyactiv G 2.0 litre engine and 6 speed automatic. Now having done 60 00 km and it being our main car (it use to compete with the BL 2.5 SP25 manual) and the Mazda2 (the newer car) it now takes on the family duties. I drove this car to Dubbo recently and it performed well and the transmission… Read more

worked very well and it handled all that was asked of it. The luggage space accommodated our bags and other things and the car felt far freer than it ever has. The headlights are ordinary but an upgrade to LEDs would sort that out and the MZD connect without apple car play is good but where it is starting to show its age is the absence of lane keep assist and lane departure warning (something my Mazda2 Pure has). However, it has blindspot monitoring and auto dimming mirrors as well as some neat tricks such as setting the headlights to come on when you click the key fob.

The car is a practical and useful car with some great inclusions at the time. I have come to appreciate its abilities and look forward to driving it. Incidentally, it makes a great learners car as my daughter enjoys driving it when she can.

Love our Mazda 3 hatch – Owned from new 2017 model Maxx hatch manual 2.0……what a great car. Not a fast car, but I have tweaked it to handle as good as any hot hatch . Lowered 30mm on King springs with standard shocks in place, front camber bolts, 18 inch BP GT rims with RE003 tyres, this simple combo transforms the car with proper alignment. How good ? My friends MX5 was… Read more

slowing me down through my favourite twisties recently :) Just under 60,000kms, not one issue as of yet. 7.8 litres/100km urban driving on 95 octane. My son is a mechanic and Mazda is at the top of the reliability list in his books. In no rush to sell this car, it’s a joy to drive in general and through corners where it counts.

A medium sized car with a lot of polish – My Mazda 3 SP25GT is feature-packed. Safety equipment such as blind-spot monitoring, reversing warning systems, and city emergency braking are all featured in this car. The safety aspect really won me over when deciding to buy this car. It has a five-star ANCAP rating which means that my family and I will be protected in a crash that hopefully… Read more

will never happen. The interior oozes class with motoring magazines comparing the interior of my car to more expensive European models. It has a black leather interior with chocolate brown highlights and is comfortable really for four adults but a fifth is fine. One of the interesting features of my car is the adaptive headlights that can illuminate around bends and also in the high beam can block out certain parts of the LED light system not to blind oncoming traffic. I was always wanting a sedan rather than an SUV because the car sits lower to the ground so the handling is far superior compared to a high riding SUV. Although the engine is fairly large at 2.5 litres, fuel consumption is around the 6 litres per hundred-kilometre mark. Overall, the Mazda 3 represents great value and I would certainly buy the successor model when it comes to upgrading out of my car. Zoom zoom.

Great little car, smooth driving, no faults in 5 years – Daily driver, only serviced and rear brake pads replaced. Serviced every 10months/10,000km great fun to drive, very comfortable. All the technology works as expected. Only fault was the stop/start battery life seems to be limited, it was replaced twice withing 5 years Show details

Decent car with good interior and looks, Lacks fuel efficiency – This review is from Sydney urban and you can imagine the bumper to bumper traffic here. I am currently getting upwards 9.0 L/100 KM. You can say its a sport model and hence the less fuel efficiency, but this is not really very sporty. Even on Sport mode, you need to floor the pedal to maximum to get the power that you need. With the 2.5L engine, I… Read more

thought this would be very good to reach 60KM/Hr in seconds, but that's not the case, the transmission is very slow from lower gears to higher. If planning to buy just as a second car that doesn't get driven often, it's fine. But day to day use in a city like Sydney, it's gonna cost you lots.

Pros: Good leather seats Looks good (better than the new models of Mazda 3 which has an egg shaped back) Bose sound system is good. Safety is good with lots of Airbags. Boot space is decent. Heads up display is really good and helpful. Was able to get the Android Auto installed (costed $550 from Mazda service centre in May 2023)

Cons: Road noise is getting in plenty. Poor fuel economy (>9L/100KM). Not punchier enough when starting from signals (With Sport mode, this is better but not very good for fuel). Slow transmission from lower gear to higher. With sport mode, the rpm goes to like 5000 to get enough power.

Overall, a nice car. Happy with it except for the fuel economy.

A good car but lacking in this combination of engine and gearbox – This car is a BN 2018 Maxx Sport 2 litre automatic hatch which was bought new and is used for commuting and some long trips. As it's an automatic both of us use it. However, the 2 litre engine lacks power and the 6 speed automatic box has been found wanting when it comes to quick acceleration. I have been spoilt by my 11 year old Mazda 3 SP25 6… Read more

speed manual which is both powerful and enjoyable to drive.I will soon be trading the BL Mazda SP25 in on a new BP Mazda G25 evolve automatic as this seems to be what I am looking for and represents the best value for money in the current 3 range. The other gripes with the hatch is the tiny boot space. At 308 litres it is 100 litres smaller than my BL sedan. Fortunately, the BP sedan is a whopping 149 litres bigger than the current hatch as well as very low to the ground (we are getting older). Overall, I really like my Mazda but not the BN 2018 Maxx Sport hatch with the 2 litre automatic combination.

Not that good – Bought new in 2018. Found it too low and bad visibility. Failed to start twice for no apparent reason. Fit and finish low grade. Traded it in as the wife couldn’t stand it any longer. No real positives.  Show details

Good car, fits like a shoe – Good to drive, powerful for its size with 2.5l. engine. Holds road very well at high speed. Less 1 star for minor glitches in GPS and camera. Rear camera is great addition. Show details

Punchy and reliable – Positives are: 1) well equipped for the price with lots of active safety kit and comforts, 2) good build quality (not a single problem since purchase), 3) flexible 2.5L engine gives more pep than the standard 2.0L, 4) sharp and direct handling. Downsides are: 1) the relatively small boot which makes loading bulky things like a pram annoying, 2)… Read more

road noise on coarse surfaces really permeates the cabin, 3) rear passenger comfort is on the right side.

This is a great runabout for a single or couple and that sales plus after market Mazda service has been top notch.

After sales pretty ordinary – Transporting my mother to and from doctors appointments and also shopping, very well looked after and low km for 42 month old car. Rubber on drivers side has began to split, was told because I constantly open and close the door, my sister also has the same model car was brought just before I brought my car and no problems. Mazda refuses to believe… Read more

that it was faulty in the first place. Not even offered to charge me cost price. I will never have it serviced for the place where I brought it from nor will my sister. I will never buy a Mazda.

Good car... can be great with a few upgrades – I use the car for commuting. It is a fantastic highway cruiser. With the 18 inch wheels with dunlop tyres it is very loud on coarse chipped road (unbearable).. I stuck dynamat in the doors and boot and upgraded the speakers. This has made a big difference. Show details

Great car – First brand new car I have ever bought and no regrets. Car drives brilliantly - preferred this model over turbo alternatives, considerably smoother and I know will go for miles. Has held its value very well as expected too. My only negative would be that it’s a little noisy when starting but you get used to it. Had it for 70k kms now and hasn’t missed a beat. Show details

Great Car – Has been very reliable and easy to maintain. Looks great and well thought out design. Will almost definitely get another one. No negative feedback to be honest For a well sized car the fuel economy is very good and the mechanic said he finds it easy to work on as he sees so many of them Show details

Very poor fuel consumption – We bought this car in January 2019 for my wife who travels short trips to/from work. I fill up every couple of weeks but have never managed to get the fuel consumption less than 10LTS/100Klms. Used occasionally on longer runs at the weekend however this doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Some good features (on paper) however the istop… Read more

stopped working after 3-4 months (which could be impacting the fuel consumption figures - but even if that reduced consumption by the advertised 10% the city driving figures are garbage). Car has just had it's 1st service and I mentioned this issue only to be asked "is she using the air conditioning"? Because the car is being used on short trips the battery doesn't charge to a level where the istop can operate therefore the safety cut out function is preventing istop from working!!!! You have to be kidding me and this is way beyond disappointing to say the least. My other gripe is with the range to empty which appears to be calibrated way too conservatively. When I'm down to zero and fill up the most fuel I've been able to put into the 50LT tank is 42Lts (meaning I could get another 80Klms - even at 10Lts/100Klms). First ever Mazda, not really impressed and will be looking further afield in the near future

Amazing car!!! – We got a Mazda last year and are absolutely loving it. So smooth and the style is perfect. Wouldn’t drive anything else!! Used every day to get to work no issues at all Show details

Great value for a small car – Great small car. Purchased new for $32,000. Kerrys Mazda in Darwin allowed trade in and purchased floor model with free stamp duty sale. Excellent for towing considering small side. Excellent interior size, easily fits 2 adults and large dogs in backseats Driven from Townsville - Sydney and back with nill issues. Great small gadgets and… Read more

nice leather trim interior. Pop up display and blind spot indicators are very handy in city driving. Good leds for dark rural roads for size of car.

Easy to park and good rearview camera.

Light touch accelerator and smooth manual gears. Good surround sound and connectivity.

Would recommend as first car/city car.

Had this car for 3 months now. 50,000 klms . So impressed !! – Beautiful intetior. Great motor and transmission. Great fuel economy on longer highway drives. A real drivers car. Luxurious for the price. Bought 2nd hand at Brisbane dealer. Have driven 5,000 Kim's so far. Best hatchback I have ever owned.

Excellent car – For my private use and family outings Also to go shopping once a week with it I use this car everyday. No issues with the car. I usually use my car for family transport and my use. Show details

Always wanted to own a Mazda – My retirement present, my first ever brand new car. A Mazda 3, SP 25 silver hatch. A great looking car with sleek lines and modern sporty feel. We live in a regional area 2 hours from any city and travel a lot, the car was comfortable and had plenty of power for overtaking those log trucks etc. We did find that the body panels on the Mazda… Read more

were quite thin and if you leaned on the side of the car or bonnet they would flex inwards easily. We had all the regular services done at the correct, recommended time and were surprised that the car started to use a bit of oil after the first couple of services. When asking about this we were told repeatedly that it could be expected, sorry I don't expect a brand new car to use oil. The tyres supplied with the car were not so good on the open road however after we replaced them with new tyres the car held the road a lot better. The accessories were good, great sound system/radio etc, Navigational System okay but not entirely up to date however this may be the fault of the road limits always changing on Tasmanian roads due to a large amount of road work being undertaken. Good heater and air-con, seat comfort could be better. Economy really good especially on the open road and lots of info for comparing and checking stats. After sales service for the Mazda through the dealer Sales Team was a bit lack lustre however the actual Service Department always delivered on time. All in all we feel that the Mazda was okay but not as good as we had imagined it would be. We traded after 2 years.

Adore this car! Heavenly to drive – We have a long commute each morning and afternoon, and wanted a car that would be fuel-efficient, very comfortable, spacious throughout, enjoyable to drive, and wouldn’t cost a fortune. We could not be happier with our purchase! It has everything we need and more. We’re very impressed with how they’ve designed it to have plenty of space in the… Read more

front and the back (and the trunk), even though it’s only considered a mid sized car.

Once we’d decided on a Mazda 3, we still were undecided whether to get a Maxx, Maxx sport, Touring or SP25 but purchased this car (SP25) as it had all the features we were after and was in run out so we got a fantastic price for a brand new 2019 model. If we were making the decision to buy a car all over again we would definitely buy this exact vehicle.

We’ve previously owned a 2007 Mazda 3 Maxx, which was super reliable and never let us down even though we had nearly 240,000 km on it. If this car lasts that long again and continues running as beautifully as it has been, we’ll be buying Mazda for the rest of our lives.

The interior feels sleek and modern, the safety and warning features are exactly as we expect, the built in entertainment/navigation system has everything we need and connects perfectly to our phones every time without having to push any buttons. Using our phones for hands-free calls, receiving texts, or listening to music on Spotify is super easy.

With newer features like pushbutton start, keyless entry, electronic parking brake, and i–stop, I’d been a little concerned about upgrading from our old car and having to deal with ‘unnecessary’ technology, but now I’d never look back.

There are only two things that I miss from our old Mazda 3 - we no longer have somewhere to throw loose change as there’s no ash try, and the glove box in our 2007 model was very deep and could easily fit lots in it, this new 2019 model just has a regular sized glove box. Neither of these are deal breakers, so we’re extremely happy with our purchase.

Our 2019 Mazda 3 SP25 is really enjoyable to drive, it sticks to the road beautifully and drives super smoothly. With a 2.5L engine it gives a nice boost when needed, and can accelerate quickly and without effort even in 4th gear. We would recommend this car to anyone! Young, young at heart, families, singles and everyone in between.

Exceeding Expectations – My Mazda 3 is used daily commuting to work and back. This car has never skipped a beat and delivers more than I had expected, especially with it holding a low price tag compared to other vehicles in its class. It may not be the quickest car, but it's fun to drive.... Show details

Runs well and very economic – I travel 1500Km's a week in this for work use, on all types of roads. The car is in use at least 8 hours a day 7 days a week and is serviced every 15000kms. The car is great on fuel only 6L/100km average. Paint work needs improvement as there has been chipping that Mazda refused to repair within the first 12 months because they said it was caused by bird poo despite the car being washed once a fortnight. Show details

Phenomenal Car – Bought one for the Mrs and both us are even more impressed than we thought we would be! Mazda are at the top of their game. We purchased this as a brand new car in December 2018 to replace her 2008 Mazda 3. For such a competitive price point, there is really nothing to criticize. It feels very solid and capable and is very nice to drive. She loves… Read more

the technology, in particular blind spot mirrors.

At time of writing, the car has traveled 6000klms faultlessly. It had its first baby service and hasn't required anything since. There are no annoyances or issues we can pick with the car. So far it is averaging 6.8L/100km and we are happy with that. Would buy another one in a heartbeat.

A Good Balance – I've only recently gotten this car, but I find it strikes a good balance of luxury, sportiness, and price! I'm thrilled that I can kick it over into sport mode for quick overtaking or taking off at the lights. I drive approximately 3 hours a day and find it comfortable. There are a few niggles that I wish weren't so, but could also be down to… Read more

user error. Things such as the windscreen wiper auto speed not always being accurate, for example.

My only concern is that the auto doesn't seem to always kick over into another gear when I expect it to, and causes it to feel sluggish. I will be getting this looked at for my 10,000km service.

What a machine!! – Automatic were not an option in the country I grew up. Learnt a manual or stick shift, drove them for good few years and absolutely loved the feeling. Coming to oz and seeing the convenience of automatic decided to get a used lancer sx, hang on I'm getting to the 3, drove it for a year and hated it. Not so much the car itself but CVT. It just felt… Read more

bland and unexciting. Decided to trade it in for a new 3, boy did I make the second best decision in my life ( first being asking my wife to marry me, she reads this stuff). Main reason to buy was the transmission.

Awesome: Lets talk engine. This has to be one of the finest engines. I've driven an imprezza, i30, corolla but imo 3 has one of the most refined engines.

Transmission, all manual drivers can relate to the way the transmission feels when you get off the line. The gear shift is seamless.

Handling, good Lord this car can take a corner. The G vectoring or whatever the heck they call it when the tail sort of tells you, yeah mate good going I've got your back, is amazing. Sport mode, in the Twisties, best fun you can imagine.

Power, trust me you won't have problems getting off the line with the 2.5lt engine. Unless your stopped next to a SS. But it's an unfair comparison.

Good:

The goodies, oooo leather seats. It's one of those luxuries that I always wanted but never really paid attention to much. Good comfortable seats. The tech is pretty good In the 3, I still think Subaru isight is best in class.

Fuel economy is decent, considering it's a bigger engine. Mine averages around 7.6.

Bad:

Noise, the 3 can get quite loud inside the cabin on a rough road. Plus the low profile tyres don't help the cause.

Istop jitters sometimes. I suppose this tech needs way more refinement in most manufacturers.

Transmission failure at 3,000kms!! – I purchased a brand new 2019 Mazda 3 BN SP25 on the 8th of March 2019 from my local Mazda dealer. The car drove fine for the first 2 months (as you would expect from a brand new car). On the 21st of May I started up my car and gave it 5 minutes to warm up, as I usually do every morning. As I was exiting my street and turned onto the main road, I… Read more

noticed that the vehicle was not changing from first gear to second gear (automatic transmission). The car was revving up to high rpms and refused to changed gear. I somehow managed to drive the car up the hill on the main road and turned into a nearby residential street. I immediately turned off the vehicle and waited a few minutes before starting the car again. I proceeded to drive back to my residence and I noticed that the vehicle refused to change gears again and the car was lacking power. I managed to drive my car up the hill again with the hazard lights on and managed to park the car on my nature strip. I changed the gear to reverse to adjust the car on the nature strip and I noticed the car wouldn’t reverse either ...

I left the car at home and took my weekend vehicle to work. I had to ask my father to stay back from work, to have the vehicle investigated. My father called the Mazda dealer we purchased the vehicle from and the dealer organised to have the vehicle towed. However, the dealer advised us that they wouldn’t be able to inspect the car for a few days as they were full booked out. The vehicle was towed on the same day the incident occurred (Tuesday 21st May 2019).

The dealer advised that they will be contacting Mazda Australia immediately to organise a courtesy vehicle. I didn’t receive a call from Mazda Australia on Tuesday, so I decided to call both the dealer and Mazda Australia on Wednesday. The dealer advised that they spoke to someone from Mazda Australia on Tuesday and that Mazda Australia has advised that someone would be contacting me on the same day. The dealer advised that they will be following up with Mazda Australia again. I decided to call Mazda Australia myself and the customer service representative advised that my case manager was busy, so she would return my call. I didn’t receive a call back from Mazda Australia on Wednesday either.

On Thursday I called Mazda Australia again and once again the customer service representative advised that the car manager was busy and my call would be returned. I also called my local dealer and the dealer advised that the car has been diagnosed with a failed transmission ... I was beyond shock that a transmission on 2 month old car had failed (the car had only travelled 3,000kms at this point). The dealer advised that a transmission had been ordered and it would take about a week to arrive from Melbourne.

On Friday I finally received a called from Mazda Australia, my case managers name was Jennifer (Case number #1515275). Jennifer discussed possible pick up dates for a courtesy car and we arranged for a Mazda 3 with GPS to be picked up on Saturday form Avis Rental Penrith. I specially requested for a vehicle with GPS as my job requires me to travel to different clients weekly.

I requested for a brand new replacement vehicle from Mazda Australia, as I had major safety concerns about my vehicle. The transmission had already failed at 3,000kms and I wasn’t sure of what would fail next. I also stressed that I purchased this vehicle as a daily car for work, as my main (weekend) car is a v8 and purchased the vehicle as a collectors item for myself. Jennifer advised that my request will be forwarded to the Mazda executive team and the case would be reviewed. Because of Mazda Australia’s lack of communication and care, I had to use my weekend vehicle to travel from Western Sydney to Mona Vale for 4 days.

On Saturday morning when I went to pick up my courtesy car, I was given a Toyota Corolla Ascent (no GPS) ..... I told the rental company that I required a vehicle with a GPS but the rental company advised that Mazda Australia didn’t request for a vehicle with a GPS.

I tried to call Jennifer from Mazda Australia a few times the following week to discuss the progress of my request for a new vehicle, however once again the customer representative advised that the case manager is busy and she would return my call. Every single time I called to discuss the case with Jennifer, I was advised that she would return my call, however it took her at least 3 days to return my call each and every time.

After about 3 weeks the Mazda executive team decided that won’t consider my request for a replacement vehicle, so they decided to offer me 2 free services and 2 years road side assistance ....

I tried to convey how the outcome of the review was unacceptable to Jennifer, however she didn’t seem to care and stated that the executive teams decisions was final and nothing could be done.

I picked up my on 7th June 2019 when the replacement transmission had been installed.

Penrith Mazda were okay to deal with, however there was a lack of updates and it seemed that I had to call and ask for updates myself every time. The service rep (Tim) on the day I went to pick up my car was also very rude and unprofessional. Tim was defending Mazda Australia when I asked him if it was common for a transmission to fail on a 2 month old Mazda and he stated “at least Mazda Australia replaces the transmission, other brands/dealerships like Holden wouldn’t even do anything about it”. I told Tim that I had personally owned 3 Holden’s and have never had any issues, however time was more concerned about degrading other brands And refused to comment on my original question. However, apart from Tim’s attitude and service I was really happy with the way Penrith Mazda handled the vehicles repair. I also really appreciate that Reagan and Christian from the service department were always happy to help whenever I had any questions over the phone

I will personally never buy or recommend a Mazda again, especially after the treatment I received from Mazda Australia. I bought a Mazda 3 for reliability and got the compete opposite. I really regret not buying a Golf GTI or Holden Astra RS-V.

2018 Mazda 3 Maxx Sport Automatic Hatchback – Purchased the vehicle during the recent Mazda run-out sale. Personally have not driven a Mazda before so decided to give this a try after receiving many positive reviews about the vehicle. So far after driving for almost 3 months mainly commuting on a daily basis, the feeling of the car has been very positive. The car feels and handles very well… Read more

and one does not feel like I am driving a small car. One of the main reason also for selecting this car is due to it's fuel efficiency and so far in my 70+ km daily commute it has certainly not disappointed and can hit around 700 km on a full tank. Overall the vehicle does provide very good value for money.

perfect small car, some minor issues with windscreen wiper – I use my car for everyday travel to work, or long distance road trip on a daily basis. It has never failed on me , except when I left the lights on to drain the battery. The windscreen wiper appears to leave screen blurry on every initial use but it does clear up after about 10 wipes. Show details

2018 Mazda 3 SP25 Manual - Great Zoomy car with a bit of speed – As a real estate agent on the sunshine coast I use this to get around as my daily, I have chosen the manual version and love the gear shifts. This car handles really well as I drive up to Mapleton on those winding roads. Bluetooth is annoying??? A questionable upgrade needed as it drops out regularly. Show details