2010 Mazda MAZDA3

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Exterior - What the Auto Press Says

Mazda has unveiled a more aggressive exterior for the 3 sedan that's intended to improve the car's aerodynamics. A handful of auto writers regard the new style favorably, but most are turned off by its grinning front fascia. 

• "Because the Mazda3 is responsible for 30 percent of the company's worldwide sales, designers went all-out on the new model's styling, inside and out. It's generally a handsome car true to Mazda3's basic styling theme of blunt rear deck, five-point grille and sporty roofline. However, designers gave this latest Mazda3 an oversized and notably unattractive grille." -- Austin American-Statesman
• "Some staffers aren't exactly enamored with its eternally grinning mug." -- Motor Trend
• "The design theme of the all-new Mazda6 has been passed along to its smaller sibling, especially in its handsome, stretched trapezoidal-shaped headlights, taillights and foglight housings. There's also some of the swoopy front fender shape present, albeit with a less dramatic pontoon effect." -- Road and Track
• "Whatever formula Mazda used to jazz up its compact Mazda3 sedan for 2010 certainly included two squirts of ugly. Open-mouth grille, like a fish, makes the front look so heavy you expect the car to tip on its snout. Gratuitous front-fender bulge. Trunk lid echoes the ugly BMW raised-trunk look." -- USA Today
• "The face of the Mazda3 -- its front fascia -- is about as face-like as it can get. At least it's happy and will make it easy to get a talking role in the sequel to Cars." -- Washington Examiner
• "That aggressive front sets the tone for the rest of the car. Subtle creases fan out from the front of the hood to the windshield and the headlights flow organically across the corners of the car. Two more gentle, bodyside creases travel rearward from the front fenders. The car appears to lean forward, like it's ready to go. There's more presence to the car even though dimensionally it's about the same as the old model." -- Popular Mechanics