Save the Manuals! Can This 2024 Mazda3 Stick Shift REVIVE the THIRD PEDAL or just BURN Rubber?

Do you remember when shifting gears wasn't just an Instagram flex and was part of everyday driving joy? Well, I sure do. This manual gearbox equipped Mazda3 ain't your grandfather's standard shift. This is the kind of car that will turn everyday drivers who've been driving auto snoozes into manual masters faster than you can say heel and toe. What's it like? Buckle up and let's go for a drive. I'm your host Brian Max Racer, lover of driving fast fun things and on this channel you get reviews for drivers from drivers. Now this Mazda3 with each model year continues to be updated and it's perhaps the best it's ever been and it's been a while if ever we've driven a front-wheel drive Mazda3 with a manual gearbox. I think we have but it has been a long time. Anyway before we get into what this Mazda3 is like to drive let's have a look at it in a little more depth. Mechanically this Mazda3 follows a very simple recipe one we don't see much anymore. Sure you could argue that the last time we drove a front-wheel drive manual equipped five-door was the Acura Integra Type S and its cousin the Honda Civic Type R but this isn't quite the same thing. This is meant to be more of an everyday car rather than a factory special like the Acura and the Honda is and I don't remember driving anything like this for a really long time. Under the hood is Mazda's 2.5 liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder makes 191 horsepower at 6,100 rpm and 186 pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm. Transmission is of course the six-speed manual. Differential is open it's not a limited slip type. The steering is electrically assisted. Suspension is based around McPherson struts at the front, torsion beam at the rear. We're going to talk about that a little bit more. Simple braking system, single piston calipers in all four corners, 12.6 inch rotors at the front, almost 12 inch rotors at the back. Wheels and tires are 18s. Curb weight of this Mazda3 with the manual front drive configuration is not quite 3,100 pounds and weight distribution static weight distribution is 62% front 38% rear but on this channel we know it's not static weight distribution that counts it's how you use it. Did you know that about 80% of you are not subscribed yes it's true I checked the data and 80% of you are not subscribed so if you enjoy the content on this channel do me a solid hit that subscribe button while you're at it be sure to like this video and share it and if you don't mind drop by our merch store there's lots of great stuff for driving enthusiasts like us including our very popular line of save the manuals merch. Now back to your regularly scheduled episode. Before we get into the important stuff I gotta say this Mazda3's interior is so premium that it actually improves my mood and that's because it's so well designed and it's so well finished something you don't see in cars at this price point. Now from the driver interface standpoint it is dialed the seat is perfectly positioned it's relatively low in the chassis lots of adjustment here lots of adjustment in the steering wheel as well so the column has lots of reach maybe a little bit more than I need which is great because lots of drivers of lots of sizes can fit behind the wheel of this Mazda3. On top of that the steering wheel is the right shape and the right size this does have a heated steering wheel and the heated zones are right here at nine and three where your hands should be who knew. Anyway after that the pedals are perfectly laid out great layout for heel and toe nice dead pedal for my left foot the rest of this interior is just a joy the gauges are clear very well laid out very easy to read there is a heads-up display in this model and it has everything that I need to be an effective driver when I'm behind the wheel of this Mazda3. The infotainment system seems to have been updated a little bit the screen seems to be a better quality than the last Mazda3 that we drove but when it's on Apple CarPlay that is when it's at its best you can do wired or wireless and it's absolutely a joy to use. The controller is actually growing on me yeah maybe I'd like a touchscreen but I can navigate the system even on Apple CarPlay even on Waze with this controller and it works great. Another thing I have to mention is the Bose sound system in this car is fantastic as well the rest of the ergonomics are simple straightforward easy to understand and you're never at a loss. Visibility is fantastic in all directions maybe the only compromise is the view out the rear view mirror because that sloping roof line maybe cuts off a little bit of height but view rearward is fine these big mirrors help as well and as we know Mazda builds cars for drivers so there's lots of adjustment in these mirrors you can set them so you can see all of the road behind you eliminating blind spots and we have a video on that on this channel maybe I'll put a link below so you can get to the crux of that. In terms of spaciousness you and your front seat passenger will be very happy there's lots of room in this first row lots of storage there is a wireless phone charger here along with cup holders everything is laid out very smartly love the overall interior design second row passengers maybe not so comfortable headroom is a little compromised for those of us who are a little bit taller and I can at least fit behind myself in the seating position certainly for shorter drives I don't know about a longer drive but kids no problem in that second row and under the hatch there is tons of room overall this is a very utilitarian five-door. Automatics are kind of like pre-ripped jeans don't you think yeah that might be convenient but where's the satisfaction nonetheless this manual is what this car is all about and in terms of acceleration it's not a rocket ship neither would the automatic be zero to 60 might be a little less than seven seconds and that's okay because the overall balance the overall package here is definitely something to be celebrated as we'll discuss going through this episode even though we've got an open diff in the front what we don't have is an abundance of power 190 horsepower ish and 180-ish pounds of torque that horsepower is way up in the rev range there's never really a need for that limited slip diff as I've discovered I think there may be some smart suspension geometry going on here to deal with that in very different ways but I've never found this Mazda 3 to be torque steery or exhibit any behavior that I don't want when under full acceleration driving a naturally aspirated four-cylinder is definitely refreshing it's one of the things I really do enjoy because there's so many turbocharged engines available today this one on the other hand rewards you with a torque peak that's a little bit higher and a power peak that's way up near the redline of this 2.5 liter four-cylinder so it is rewarding to run the gears to redline and it's such a joy to do that it is a four-cylinder so it does sound like a four-cylinder but there is a nice little exhaust note because it's cold because we're on winters this does like to exhibit a little bit of wheel spin but again because of the suspension geometry because we don't have a lot of power that we're putting down there's no trouble at all there's no bad behavior here when you're really trying to hustle this thing it's just that you don't have a lot of grip just because of ambient temperatures this shifter is just a joy to use as is the clutch this is a brand new mazda3 with the manual so the clutch is very brand new very very new it's not that forgiving didn't take me long to get accustomed to it and this shifter is thoroughly engineered very satisfying for drivers like you and me it's kind of the front wheel drive equivalent of an mx-5 plus we have to talk about heel and toe the pedals are spaced properly for heel and toe what you do find on a lot of new cars is that they don't like and i don't know if it's a mandated thing or if it's a manufacturer thing but a lot of new cars don't like you're pressing on the gas and the brake at the same time there is a setting in this system to deactivate that feature and because we do heel and toe and we are using the brake and the gas pedal at the same time it's great to switch that off because the car is not spitting errors at us because we drive a little bit differently than everybody else in terms of pedal layout they're laid out perfectly for heel and toe but more importantly throttle response is great so that we can get the bump in revs we need for perfect heel and toe downshifts mazda lets the suspension of this three work like they do with the mx-5 it's not overly stiff there's a bit of body roll and there's a lot of compliance in the suspension but when you play with this around its limits it's very buttoned down as we will discuss here's the thing turn in response is incredible even though it's cold and we are in winter tires it steers exactly the way i want very clear there's a little bit of feel here there's a lot of feel from the chassis and that's because this is on the lighter side of modern cars that's for sure but in terms of its dynamics very happy with the steering responsiveness does exactly what i wanted to do braking is spot on as well and throttle response is important in this discussion because we are talking about handling and we'll get into that in just a minute i love brake feel brake feel is top notch you can tell this was engineered by drivers because i can feel exactly what's going on at each corner through that brake pedal i've got such precise control of this mazda3 with that brake pedal i am thrilled this is just a fantastic dance partner in the corners i'm very very impressed with the overall dynamics here in terms of ride quality because mazda lets the suspension work they don't have to make it overly stiff so it's very comfortable and compliant when we're just driving in our day situation funny thing about car reviews on youtube is that the review tells you more about the reviewer than the car itself case in point this mazda3 with its torsion beam rear suspension a lot of youtubers love complaining about it but they can't tell you why and they can't tell you how it impacts day-to-day driving let alone on-limit driving as we've discussed already the handling of this thing is polished and poised sure it's not the flashiest tech but judging a car based on the spec sheet is just like judging a book by its cover this rear suspension it's like the underground band playing in a back alley bar blowing away everyone who actually bothers to listen so forget suspension snobbery this mazda3 proves that quality focused engineering can come in simple packages when we throw this around in the corners it is incredibly well balanced you'd expect a car like this that is not tuned to be a hot hatch by any stretch of the imagination to be a little bit prone to understeer but that is not the case here what i've found at least with me driving at the limit this is incredibly well balanced and i can adjust the attitude with the throttle so for example if i'm into a corner and we're at the limit i want to tighten my line a little bit well i lift off the throttle that lets the rear rotate a bit tightens the nose tightens my line and i am happy this is an incredibly responsive front wheel drive car that's not a factory special hot hatch and color me impressed the dynamics of this mazda3 are so incredibly good it might just be the most satisfying car to drive in the segment and that's kind of relevant when we bring the mx-5 into the equation that is such a beautifully balanced package in every way it's thoroughly engineered to be satisfying to drive and it's clear that mazda's engineers have paid similar amounts of attention to this mazda3 certainly with the manual gearbox as well to make it satisfying to drive but its chassis is incredibly good for just a very very simple car and i am very impressed i did not think that this would be such a joy to drive and for a car that doesn't cost a lot of money it is incredibly satisfying to drive on a day-to-day basis and when you're out carving some corners in the canyons this is a blast to drive and it's an incredibly good value in terms of its driving pleasure and driving satisfaction mazda you've done an excellent job with this mazda3 how do you spec yours well for my american friends you can't quite get this because the mazda3 is product planned a little bit differently in the united states as it is in canada and one of the key differences is that this is a leatherette interior and you my lucky american friends can get a leather interior i'd rather us just have a high-tech cloth but that's another story for another day what we are looking at is this new platinum quartz metallic and that is a black leatherette and it is actually stunning inside hopefully that's coming through on this episode in the u.s this is 30 350 as tested in canada this is 34 445 as tested those prices are before freight and local taxes of course the automatic is a thousand dollars in the u.s or 1300 here in canada can't quite remember because it's just not on my mind and why would you want to equip your mazda3 with an automatic transmission anyway nonetheless how you spec yours is pretty much like this with as many options as possible i love small highly contented premium cars and this one fits the bill on top of that it's got a manual gearbox and it's fun to drive so in terms of specking yours get it with as many options as you like and you definitely need to spec your mazda3 with a manual gearbox my verdict well let's start with fuel consumption because buyers of cars in this segment are interested in to be fair with me driving it it's guzzling gas like a frat party guzzles bud light but at least i'm having fun doing it nonetheless i'm really not paying attention to fuel consumption because this is such a treat to drive i might be getting 30 miles per gallon but i'm genuinely not paying attention the real story here isn't just this mazda3 it's about all of you the passion for the third pedal the camaraderie of the save the manuals fam and driving for pure pleasure that's what makes this community so special you're the spark that keeps this going the rebels against the auto snooze so share your mazda3 manual memories your best shifts in your driving careers your heel and toe experiences and just keep the manual transmission alive because that is what makes this community so worthwhile at least to me and i'm glad i can share that with you as for this mazda3 this has been a complete joy not what i was expecting at all it's been a blast to drive it is simply an honest pure front wheel drive manual driving experience that doesn't come along very much anymore and if you're looking at something like this you absolutely owe it to yourself to try a mazda3 with a manual gearbox thanks for hanging out with me today and having a look at this mazda3 hatchback with a manual gearbox anyway hope you like this episode if you did you're not new to youtube you know what to do smash the subscribe button turn on your notifications like this video and as always sharing is caring so please share this with your friends especially on reddit because on reddit they really need to see reviews for drivers from drivers if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comments below i'll get back to you as soon as i can and if you want to support the channel please hit up our merch store links here links below lots of great stuff for driving enthusiasts like us including our very popular line of save the manuals merch thanks again for watching we'll see you again next time and remember cars don't understeer by themselves not even mazda3s