Exterior

The 2010 Mazda3's exterior styling builds on its predecessor's athletic proportions by emphasizing design features. One of them is the front grille, but Mazda may have gone a bit too far with it, as the gaping opening in the lower bumper looks like a sinister smile. It's a little much on the front of this car. The rest of the Mazda3 is stylish but much more toned down than the front, with smooth body panels.  Exterior features include:  

  • Hatchback or sedan body styles
  • Standard 16-inch wheels
  • Optional 17-inch wheels
  • Optional moonroof
  • Optional rear spoiler
  • Optional xenon high-intensity-discharge headlights and LED taillights
    See also:

    Two Strikes Against
    The two strikes against the 2009 Mazda3 are its crash tests and its gas mileage. With the crash tests, the problem isn't the results, it's the lack thereof. The Insurance Institute for Highway Saf ...

    Rear WindowWiper and Washer
    The ignition switch must be in the ON position. Rear WindowWiper Turn the wiper on by turning the rear wiper/washer switch. ON - Normal. INT - Intermittent. Rear WindowWasher To spray wa ...

    Competing for Space
    The interior is well-engineered and well-executed, but there's no avoiding the fact that there are six seats in a relatively small space. This isn't uncommon, but many models sacrifice space in ju ...