| Functionality, Equipment and Comfort - Enhancing a Winning Formula
- New driver instruments and illumination, new sedan boot shape
- Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels reduced for more comfort at high speeds
- Advanced keyless entry and hard disc drive (HDD) audio system now available
Great to look at inside and out, Mazda3 is also versatile, comfortable and easy to use on the inside. One of the C-segment´s larger vehicles, Mazda3 delivers good knee, shoulder and headroom front and back, a good view of the road and both vertical and telescopic steering wheel adjust- ment. The front seats are comfortable on long trips with good side support for sportier driving habits, the 60/40 split back seats fold for a large load space if necessary and there are four door pockets, a large double-bottom centre console with cupholders, and pockets behind both front seats.
New features for even more ease-of-use
In updating the Mazda3, designers enhanced this winning formula of roominess and practicality by making the interior even easier to use. They introduced an instrument cluster 18 with white driver meters with indirect blue illumination on base and mid grades, which improves readability during half- light conditions. They redesigned the sedan's interior boot trim for easier loading of bulky items like golf bags, and they gave the boot lid a hand recess to make it easier to open. An advanced keyless entry and start system is now available as well (depending on market and grade) with global opening and closing of all windows; along with cruise control for the 2.0-litre MZR petrol and the High Power 1.6-litre MZ-CD turbo diesel with 109 PS.
No More Bulky Keys
This has got to be the easiest key system ever. Just carrying the card-type key is enough to unlock the doors (and lock them when you get out of the car). And you can start the engine without a key by turning the ignition knob. Even cooler is its "outer door handle request switch" that you can use to open and close all windows from outside the car. This is especially handy in hot weather, since you can open the windows to cool down the car. Or if you forget to close a window when leaving the car, you can close it without having to get back in.
You can convert the Mazda3 facelift into a rolling concert hall with an optional seven-speaker Bose® car audio system (depending on market). This system incorporates a high- power 222 W digital amplifier specifically tuned to the characteristics of Mazda3´s new fabrics and materials for excellent sound quality. Also available is an integrated audio system (depending on market) with CD player, AM/FM tuner and a 20 GB hard disk drive (HDD) that makes sorting through CDs a thing of the past, as it can store up to approximately 3000 tracks.
NVH updates - a quieter ride for more comfort while travelling
Mazda3 facelift´s interior is not only easier to use than its predecessor, several features are introduced for improved noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance, making the ride more comfortable, especially for longer periods when cruising at higher speeds on the motorway. A revised generator is now under the bonnet with flatter and smoother surfaces of the generator's cooling fan blades, resulting in less noise during operation. Engine drone at higher engine speeds is also reduced by increasing the rigidity of the joint bracket near the right drive shaft by modifying its design and by relocating the engine mounting to make it more rigid as well. Engineers also added new insulation material at the underside of the bonnet that, in conjunction with dash panel insulation already onboard, insulates passengers more effectively from engine noise at high speeds. Steps were also taken to reduce road noise, including new tyres with a redesigned internal structure for less roll noise. Suspension vibration characteristics were improved as well by reinforcing the wheel rims and adding dynamic dampers to the rear suspension cross member, which lower pendulum resonance here. Finally, new Thinsulate TM Acoustic soundproofing material was applied to the cabin, which helps reduce the level of both road and wind noise reaching the interior of the new Mazda3 facelift. The result of these measures is a reduction of interior noise levels by up to 1.5 decibels, which places the new Mazda3 among the class-leaders for quietness.
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