Build Quality
Overall, the Mazdaspeed 3 is a tightly assembled car, but we did find a few flaws during a thorough inspection. On the outside, the hood’s gap tolerances were inconsistent at the windshield pillars and we discovered very minor variances in fit between the front doors, the beltline trim, and the hatch. Inside, the seams where the center console matched up to the dashboard were sloppy, the ashtray cover was a bit tweaked, and the glove box door could have used a smidge more attention to detail with regard to fit.

Materials Quality
When the Mazda 3 debuted for 2004, its interior became the gold standard for small car quality. Four years on, it’s still nice, but competitors have caught up – especially Honda’s Civic. The Mazdaspeed 3’s cabin is all business, and could use some silver trim in place of the dark charcoal accents on black plastic. The fuzzy, low-rent headliner should be swapped out for a woven mesh fabric, and the leather portions of the sport seats feel a little stiff and dried out. Hard plastic abounds, and at the very least the upper door panels should be softer to be kind to elbows. Love that handsome shifter, though.

Styling
I have a love-it and hate-it reaction to the Mazda 3 Hatchback. From some angles it’s all out of proportion but from others looks dashing and European. Hanging a bigger nose on the front, bolting on larger wheels, tacking on a roof spoiler, and stapling additional black plastic onto the rear bumper cover sets the Mazdaspeed 3 off as the go-fast variant, but doesn’t improve the car’s looks or balance. Inside, five different grains and patterns create a busy aesthetic but I really got a kick out of the orange and blue gauge lighting at night.