2010 Mazda MAZDA3

Mazda’s been on the right track with its Mazda3 for some time, and despite minor quibbles about its new mug, the refreshed 2010 Mazda3 continues to be one of our favorite small cars. We’ve already driven and tested the new Mazda3 sedan, and we recently had a chance to get behind the wheel of its five-door hatchback sibling in both manual and automatic flavors.

Our 2010 Mazda MAZDA3 Grand Touring tester’s 2.5L four-banger, which makes a healthy 167 hp at 6000 rpm and 168 lb-ft of torque, is powerful, smooth, and sufficient enough to tackle a variety of urban environments. It scoots along easily with the standard six-speed manual gearbox onboard (a five-speed auto can be had too). We found it most powerful above the 4000-rpm mark.

WHY IT'S ON OUR HIT PARADE: Small cars are sophisticated and special in some corners of the world, and the 2010 Mazda MAZDA3 is aimed at those places. Dressy interior materials and Euro-sport chassis tuning helped elevate the last-gen MAZDA3 to the top of nearly every comparison it's contended, and the new one has been stiffened, lightened, and juiced for even better performance. Available nav and active front Xenon lighting bring lux to the hatch class.

COOL FACT: Nanoparticle catalyst gets exhaust squeaky clean with 70 percent less precious metal.

SUM UP: A worldly road's scholar.

A minor irritation we have with the new 2010 MAZDA3 comes from the placement and size of the navigation screen, which is way too small, located high on the dash and squished next to the stereo display. It seems a gigantic step backward from the previous MAZDA3's flip screen, but this is only a niggling issue and one that can be avoided by not opting for the nav system. The rest of the interior feels more upmarket, thanks to several styling improvements and the leather trim on the 2010 MAZDA3 Grand Touring model we tested.

The road feel hasn't changed noticeably, but the extra oomph from the engine is more apparent.

Still as Fun to Drive as Before. And while the 2010 MAZDA3 doesn't deliver the fuel economy you'd expect from, say, a Honda Civic, it's quicker and more fun to drive. It also has a much nicer interior than you'd expect from a car in this price class, with very high-quality materials and a quiet, smooth ride befitting a much larger car. In fact, even the 2.5-liter-a very large four-cylinder indeed-is so unbelievably smooth that you'll never hear or feel a vibration, from idle to fuel cutoff. At idle, you can't tell if it's running, and cruising at 50 mph with the windows down, you might not even notice that you're accidentally still in second gear and approaching redline. You simply won't hear or feel the engine-this kind of refinement makes the new 2010 Mazda MAZDA3 slightly less visceral than the old one, but more grown-up at the same time.

And when we say fully loaded, we mean fully loaded - this little charmer was equipped with luxury features you'd never expect to find in an economy sedan. Our candy-colored 2010 Mazda MAZDA3's youthful appearance seemed at odds with its decidedly grown-up arsenal of equipment: swiveling bixenon headlights, dual-zone automatic climate control, an eight-way power driver's seat with memory, a ten-speaker Bose Centerpoint sound system, a tilt/telescope steering wheel, heated seats, leather upholstery, keyless ignition, navigation with full iPod integration and Bluetooth, rain-sensing wipers, LED taillights, electroluminescent gauges, and . . . you get the point.

These features, some of which are not available in the Mazda's competitors for any price, could put the 2010 MAZDA3 on the shopping list of buyers looking to downsize from larger gas slurpers.

Evolutionary also applies to what's under the hood. The turbocharged 2.3-liter I-4 seen in the last-generation Mazdaspeed 3 soldiers on in the 2010 model, producing the same 260 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. Likewise, it's still mated only to a six-speed manual transmission, channeling power to the front wheels.

Mazda claims new half shafts were designed to reduce torque steer, and new 18-inch wheels, patterned after those on the RX-8, are capable of handling wider Dunlop 225/40R18 rubber.

Wow, what a great little hatch. This 2.5-liter I-4 pulls very well from idle to fuel cut, and the six-speed manual transmission is superb. I can't think of a better example of a small car that feels just as solid and rewarding as a "real" car. Of course, the last Mazda 3 was also terrific, so it's not surprising that the 2010 MAZDA3 is so delightful.

The MAZDA3 isn't completely perfect. That nav screen is absurdly small, and some interior bits, particularly the center console, aren't as solid as one expects from a high-quality Japanese compact. But the 2010 MAZDA3 has in spades something most competitors completely lack: character.

The powertrain is exemplary. Nice gearshifter, good clutch pedal, etc. It all works for me. Ride quality is firm but not harsh, there's good steering feel, brake pedal isn't mushy--it's all good.

The 2010 MAZDA3 is a premium car in a compact package. The Mazda3 is available as a four-door sedan or four-door hatchback, and offers comfort and luxury features we're not used to seeing in a small car.

The Mazda3 has been reengineered for the 2010 model year. It gets new styling inside and out, a larger, more powerful engine, new transmissions, and even more luxury and technology amenities than the generous helping it offered before.

The 2010 Mazda MAZDA3 benefits from several architectural enhancements designed to make the structure stiffer. The result is a sporty car that feels firm and composed on the road, with moderate lean in turns. The steering is sharp and precise, and the brakes provide a linear pedal feel.