Mazda3: Over the mountains (and through the snow)

On the heels of a 10-day East Coast trip, we landed at SeaTac in a Christmas Eve rainstorm. Big surprise. We fetched the Velocity Red Mazda3 waiting for us and found our hotel. After spending Christmas Day with family, we pointed the 3 east, toward the mountains and home. Snoqualmie had been iffy for days and we were aiming for a promised break in the weather. When we arrived at the pass that evening, road crews were working and traffic was light. Compact snow and ice kept speeds low. It was a white-knuckle night. Except that it wasn’t. Not for me and the 3. We crested the pass and sailed across the Central Basin. We sped through the channeled scablands. We hit Spokane’s bright lights just shy of midnight and pulled into the driveway without incident. This is two stories, really. One about tires and one about the way certain cars inspire confidence. In print, we struggle to describe the driving experience. We use terms like “responsive” and “communicative” as if they meant something — anything — to readers who don’t drive a different car every week. Or spend weekends on a racetrack. But they do mean something and sometimes, as in our drive over the mountains, what may seem ineffable becomes tangible. When I’m driving in difficult conditions, I want a car that lets me know what’s happening — in the instant that it’s happening. When the the tires lose traction, I want to know it right now, not after the skid has begun. I want a car that communicates with me and responds quickly and in the way I ask, precisely and without hesitation. The Mazda3 does that. It results from a design and construction process that prioritizes communication and control. It is, as we say, a driver’s car. Nothing much has changed about the 3 since I reviewed it a year ago. With Mazda’s 2.0-liter, 155-horsepower Skyactiv-G under the hood, it earns fuel efficiency ratings of 28 mpg city/40 mpg highway. Skyactiv doesn’t re-engineer internal combustion technology as much as refine it by isolating and eliminating inefficiencies. Two other engines are available for the Mazda3, but neither incorporates Skyactiv. The base engine is a 140-hp, 2.0-liter four (25/33 w/automatic); the other a 167-hp 2.5-liter four (22/29). Either would have performed as well as Skyactiv-G during our crossing. The Mazda3 is smaller, cozier and less luxurious than the Hyundai Elantra Coupe we’d left behind in New Jersey. But, to appropriate the well-worn cliche, it was the car I wanted when the rubber met the road. What it gave up in refinement, it made for up in capability. As for the other story, our tester was fitted with Bridgestone Blizzaks, perhaps the best winter tire available. They’re pricey — $600-plus for the set of 16 inchers that fit the 3 — but worth it. They earned their keep Christmas night. Not all road trips involve snowy roads and night-time mountain passages. When they do, though, sign me up for a responsive car and a good set of tires. Don Adair is a Spokane-based freelance writer. He can be reached at don@dadair.com 2013 Mazda3 4-door Grand Touring Vehicle base price: $16,700 Trim level base price: $23,650 As tested: $27,020 Optional equipment: Interior lighting set; automatic bi-xenon headlights; fog lights; LED rear combination lights; body-color heated mirrors; rain-sensing windshield wipers; Sirius satellite radio; rear decklid spoiler; Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires. EPA ratings: 28 city/40 highway Regular unleaded fuel specified