Mazda makes fabulous interiors that consistently look like they belong in more expensive cars, and that’s exactly what you’ll get when you take a seat in the 2017 Mazda 3. They didn’t need to throw out the old and start new because what was already there was pretty great. The cabin is the same size as before but has a smaller center. Being a driver-centric car, the Mazda 3 compromises the rear seat spaciousness for a broader front-seat environment.
It's accessible through comparatively smaller doors and has congested legroom. Rear seating, although not as comfortable as what you’ll find upfront, is still nice. The headroom is good and two adults will find plenty of space unless the front seats are pushed all the way back. Putting a person in the middle rear seat makes things tight though, so the sedan isn’t great for taking five people on longer trips. This sedan also has 12.4 cubic feet of cargo capacity which makes for a pretty good-sized trunk.
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Model
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2017 Mazda 3
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2017 Kia Forte
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2017 Toyota Corolla
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2017 Hyundai Elantra
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Passenger capacity
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5
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5
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5
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5
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Front (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (in.)
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38.6/57.2/42.2
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39.1/56.1/42.2
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38.0/54.8/42.3
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38.8/56.2/42.2
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Rear (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (in.)
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37.6/54.4/35.8
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37.3/54.9/35.9
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37.1/54.8/41.4
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37.3/55.3/35.7
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| Cargo Capacity (cu-ft) |
12.4 |
14.9 |
13.0 |
14.4 |
All the four rivals have an equal passenger capacity of five. For the front seat driver and passenger, the Kia Forte has the most headroom space and shares equal legroom with Hyundai Elantra and Mazda. Though the Toyota Corolla has the least headroom, it compensates with larger legroom, just by an inch. As for the rear seat passengers, Kia has the most headroom and Toyota comes last in that aspect. Yet again, the Corolla manages to come up with the largest legroom for the passengers leaving behind the other three by a great margin, the Elantra being the last.Â
If there is a weak spot in the Mazda 3, it’s the infotainment system.Â
It features the Mazda Connect infotainment system, which is easy to manage because of its high intuitiveness. It comes with a standard 7-inch touchscreen display and is controlled by a central rotary console. The menus are not clear, and it’s outright confusing unless you already know how it works. That said, Mazda also offers a head-up display on higher trims. It provides key information like speed limits, current speed, and navigation so that you keep your eyes focused on the road. Some of the interior features include:
- Tilt-telescopic electric power steering with audio and cruise controls
- 4 way manually adjustable passenger seats
- Split-folding rear seatback
- Rearview camera
- Interior air filtration and rear ventilation ducts
- 6 total speakers
- USB connection, Auxiliary audio input, and Bluetooth audio and phone
- Voice command
