2021 Mazda Mazda3

The Mazda3 knows its audience, and vice-versa: Sedan or hatchback, the 3 feels a cut above the typical compact car, with striking design and engaging performance. And its fans know they’ll pay for that pleasure—especially in the new-for-2021 2.5 Turbo edition, whose $31,045 base price pushes the usual boundaries of the class.

That 250-horsepower, 2.5 Turbo model is the cherry atop a rich sundae of style, performance and features. A Premium Package lifts the turbo hatchback’s price to $34,695 (including destination fees)—on par with a hot-hatch benchmark, the Volkswagen GTI—including subtle spoilers, leather upholstery, navigation, a head-up display, rear cross-traffic braking and traffic-sign recognition.

The turbo is part of a two-pronged expansion of the Mazda3 lineup for 2021. The other half is a new base-model sedan powered by a 2.0-liter four cylinder. The cost of entry is low, just $21,645, but the 2.0 has limited features and a dawdling 155-horsepower. We recommend spending the extra $1,000 for a 2.5 S sedan at $22,645. It brings 186 horsepower from a larger 2.5-liter four. It also adds standard features including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and optional all-wheel drive for $1,400.

The great-looking 2.5 S hatchback costs $1,000 more at $23,445, with more cargo versatility from its split-folding rear seats. The hatch offers 20.1 cubic-feet of space behind the rear seats and 47.1 with them folded, which compares well to the Honda Civic hatchback (25.7/46.2) and the GTI (17.4/53.7). The sedan’s 13.2 cubic-foot trunk is small compared to popular-brand competitors like the Volkswagen Jetta, but bigger than some premium-brand alternatives like the Mercedes-Benz CLA.

Both 2.5 S models bring a fat list of standard features: LED headlamps and taillamps, an 8.8-inch infotainment screen, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, automated emergency braking, a lane-departure warning and lane keeping assist, rain-sensing wipers and a pair of USB ports.

Three more trim levels—Select, Preferred and Premium—progressively boost the Mazda into luxury territory. With their standard six-speed automatic transmission (a six-speed manual is optional on the front-drive hatchback), the non-turbo 2.5 models are still reasonably swift. The hatchback does 0-60 mph in about 7 seconds. They also deliver most everything that makes this Mazda special: Lovely styling, a sophisticated cabin and road manners similar to a European sports sedan.

If that’s still not enough, there’s the 2.5 Turbo. Its fine new engine, borrowed from larger Mazdas including the CX-5 crossover, combines 250 horses and 320 pound-feet of torque. It hustles the 2.5 Turbo from 0-60 mph in as little as 5.6 seconds, quicker than several small luxury models like BMW’s 228i xDrive Gran Coupe, and if feels even faster.

Mazda’s well-engineered i-Activ AWD is standard, helping drivers put that burly power to the pavement, and boosting traction in slippery conditions. A six-speed automatic transmission is also standard, though alas, there’s no manual turbo available. The lack of a stick-shift option is telling: The 2.5 Turbo is a different animal than the late, lamented Mazdaspeed3 version last sold in 2013, aimed more at taste-conscious consumers who might buy an Audi A3 rather than street racers who’d lean toward a Subaru WRX STI.

A firmer, retuned suspension gives the 2.5 Turbo even sharper control than less pricey models. The six-speed automatic gives up a gear or two to some rivals, and can feel a bit slow on the uptake for a performance car. Again, the 2.5 Turbo isn’t a fiery corner-carver in the Mazdaspeed mode, but also eschews that car’s rock-hard ride and raucous road and tire noise.

On a long drive from New York to New England, the 2.5 Turbo shined, dispatching hundreds of miles at an effortless pace, and still providing bursts of entertainment on freeway ramps and winding roads. Seats are especially good, firm yet supportive, with an ideal ergonomic relationship between the driver and the steering wheel. These are the kind of details the Mazda gets right, from its softly padded interior surfaces to buttons and switches that operate with ease and precision.

One detail Mazda gets wrong is its infotainment system, which operates via a rotary console knob, with no redundant touchscreen functions. The unit has improved over the years but even some operations, like tuning the radio, still require too many twiddles of that control knob.

The Mazda’s biggest demerit is fuel economy, with all models below average for the class. The basic 2.0-liter sedan is rated at 28 mpg city, 36 highway, and 31 mpg combined. With front-wheel drive, 2.5-liter sedans return 30 mpg combined and hatches 29. Those numbers fall to 28 and 27 mpg with all-wheel drive. The Turbo comes in worst of all at 26 mpg combined in hatchback form.

Most competitors average about 32-33 mpg combined, although the Mazda3 Turbo does get better gas mileage than the Honda Civic Type R (25 mpg combined). Compounding the Mazda’s thirst is a smallish, 12.7-gallon fuel tank.

For Type A drivers determined to squeeze maximum performance from the frisky Mazda, giving up a few mpg may seem a reasonable sacrifice. And the Mazda3 isn’t pretending to be an economy car. Rather, it’s a sophisticated performer in a practical, relatively affordable package.