Mazda 3 interior

The Mazda doesn’t quite impress to the same extent when it comes to spaciousness. Passengers in the second row are likely to feel a touch hemmed in – a consequence of a comparative lack of head room, as well as those rather thick C-pillars. Our tape measure took the former at 890mm (the Golf has 950mm), while typical rear leg room was 690mm – very slightly less than in the Golf (700mm).

Boot space comes in at an average 358 litres. The hatchback aperture makes access easy enough, though there is a fairly prominent lip to contend with. While the Mazda’s boot is likely to prove spacious enough for all but the most demanding payloads, both the Ford Focus and the Golf are more practical. Respectively, their luggage compartments have capacities of 375 and 381 litres.

Multimedia system

The 3 uses the same multimedia system as most other Mazdas. It’s one of the few systems that still use a rotary controller, and long may it continue to do so, because once you learn some of the interface’s quirks, it’s very easy to use.

At launch, the screen measured 8.8in in diameter, and rather uniquely lacked touch functionality. In 2023, it was upgraded to a 10.3in unit with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The addition of the touchscreen doesn’t actually make as much difference as you might expect, because it’s still automatically disabled on the move. Even though that’s not ideal, we soon get used to navigating CarPlay with the rotary dial. The native menus are logical and fairly simple, while the built-in navigation is quite clear and fairly good at avoiding traffic.