The 3 Saloon’s longer body translates to a bit more interior space compared with the hatchback. And, despite the more awkward access, the boot is bigger too.
Up front, though, things are the same. Despite the cocooning driving position, there’s plenty of room and some usefully large door bins with a large area beneath the big, squishy armrest. Moving further back and access to the rear seats is slightly easier than in the hatch – the roof isn’t quite as sloping as in the five-door.
Once in the rear seats and there’s a greater sense of space because of this, which is good as the regular 3 can feel quite dark and claustrophobic in the back, even if legroom is fairly good.
The boot is bigger than the hatchback’s, but less flexible – and we think this is a problem. While it’s much better for carrying lots of smaller items like shopping bags or soft luggage, you’ll soon struggle with bulkier loads.
You can flip down the rear seat backs to expand the space, so there’s ample room for longer items. But unlike a hatchback, you can’t just remove the parcel shelf for taller items, so you’re limited by the saloon’s narrow opening and low ceiling. As a result, you’ll struggle to fit more than two large suitcases in at once.
How safe is the Mazda 3 Saloon?
Five stars for five-door Mazda 3
Saloon gets the same score
Driver assistance kit also available
Tested in 2019, the Mazda 3 hatchback was awarded a full five-star rating by Euro NCAP, with particularly good scores in adult occupant protection – 98% in fact. A full suite of airbags throughout the car help, but there’s also Isofix in the rear seats to help keep child seats in place, while standard-fit autonomous emergency braking (Mazda calls it Smart Brake Support) and lane-assist boost the safety kit count.
The only kit you don’t get on all models is Smart Brake Support for the rear of the car, front cross-traffic alert and driver monitoring via a camera in the central display. This all comes on top-spec GT Sport Tech cars.
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Mazda 3 Saloon.
3x3 point rear seat belts
ABS
Air conditioning
Alarm
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Driver`s airbag
Electric mirrors
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Heated mirrors
Isofix child seat anchor points
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Sat Nav
Service indicator
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Traction control
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
CD
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Electric driver`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
GT Sport equipment
GT Sport standard equipment
Climate control
Electric driver`s seat
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
GT Sport optional equipment
CD
Electric sunroof
Height adjustable drivers seat
GT Sport Edition equipment
GT Sport Edition standard equipment
Climate control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
GT Sport Edition optional equipment
None available
GT Sport Tech equipment
GT Sport Tech standard equipment
Climate control
Electric driver`s seat
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Partial leather seat trim
GT Sport Tech optional equipment
CD
Electric sunroof
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
GT Sport Tech Edition equipment
GT Sport Tech Edition standard equipment
Climate control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric sunroof
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
GT Sport Tech Edition optional equipment
None available
SE-L equipment
SE-L standard equipment
Cloth seat trim
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
SE-L optional equipment
None available
SE-L Lux equipment
SE-L Lux standard equipment
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
SE-L Lux optional equipment
CD
Sport equipment
Sport standard equipment
Cloth seat trim
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Sport optional equipment
None available
Sport Lux equipment
Sport Lux standard equipment
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Sport Lux optional equipment
CD
Electric sunroof
Euro NCAP Rating – 5 stars
The Mazda 3 Saloon was tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 and was awarded a 5 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.