• Plush interior feels high-quality
• Infotainment system refreshingly simple
• But some ergonomic issues

How is the quality and layout?

The Mazda 3 Saloon has a minimalist but attractive interior. Its dashboard is simple, consisting of just a few sweeping lines and some understated switchgear, plus an infotainment screen nestled neatly within the driver’s eyeline, supported by a standard-fit head-up display. All told, it’s a seamless piece of design and a nice place to spend time.

Quality is very good too, with impressively squishy materials used on the dashtop, armrests and door cards, and all the controls feeling solid. But while the heating controls are simple enough, they can be quite fiddly to use on the move as they’re tucked beneath the dashpad that sweeps from one side of the car to the other.

Infotainment and tech

The Mazda 3’s infotainment screen is up on the dash out of hand’s reach but better positioned to actually see without taking your eyes too far from the road, although it’s narrow, almost letterbox-like format makes viewing sat-nav mapping tricky at more complex junctions.

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Still, the whole infotainment system is easily controlled by a simple rotary dial and supplementary buttons. It’s very intuitive and we’ve always found it very easy to get to grips with.

Comfort

• Excellent driving position for most drivers
• Supremely comfortable seats
• You do sit very low, though

The best bit about the Mazda 3’s seats is that you don’t need to get a top-spec car to get the best ones. All have been designed to be good for your spine, and a long journey in any is unlikely to cause any discomfort. They’re soft enough to be comfortable but supportive enough to keep you in a good driving position.

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Adjustment is plentiful, and the armrests are well positioned and themselves very squashable, so you won’t have your arms and elbows on hard plastic.

Refinement is also impressive. You do need to work the engine quite hard to get up to speed at times, but even then there’s very little road or wind noise finding its way into the cabin, making journeys very hushed and relaxed.