Tests and Features

Canada’s car sales war is primarily waged in the compact segment. One such automobile has owned the title of the best seller for as long as most of us can remember, the Honda Civic. Never too far behind are the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai’s hero, the Elantra. Rounding out the …

Last year’s complete overhaul of the Mazda3 made it a more sophisticated, somewhat more mature model. It won numerous prestigious awards, not to mention being named “ 2015 Best Compact Car ” by The Car Guide. We like the Mazda3 primarily for its style and dynamic ride, two characteristics that …

Fresh off of a redesign for the current model year the 2014 Mazda Mazda3 Sport has become the darling of the automotive press, and it's easy to see why. Once again Mazda has seemingly created the blueprint for compact hatchback success in the Canadian market: expressive styling, thrifty fuel consumption, …

Not only are compact cars increasingly popular in our market, but this segment is constantly evolving. To prove the point, we decided to assess—and compare—the seven most popular compacts. This time, we took a simpler approach than usual and tried to simulate a real vehicle purchase. Form and function The …

What do you do when it’s -30 degrees Celsius outside? You call the garage, of course! Don’t get me wrong, the 2014 Mazda3 I was test driving was running smoothly, but I wanted to get a better view of what makes it tick. So, I called my friend Ghyslain from …

At the Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda lifted the veil off its upcoming projects. Takashi Suzuki, manager of the Drivetrain Development department at Mazda, announced an ingenious technological innovation: a range extender system. The idea isn’t actually new, since Chevrolet offers something similar with the Volt, which uses a combustion engine …

The Mazda3 isn’t good, it’s great! Since it was first introduced 10 years ago, the Mazda3 has been like a magnet to Quebec drivers. The question is, why hasn’t it been as popular throughout the rest of Canada or the U.S.? Maybe it’s our Latin blood, but here in Quebec …

After ten years of loyal service, two generations and 3.5 million units sold worldwide, the popular Mazda3 was due for a major change. And change it has! The brand new 3 still retains a small visual link to the past, and that’s not a bad thing. The lines are tighter …