• New Cars
    • First Impressions
    • Road Tests
  • Classics
    • Classic Profiles
    • Classic Driving Impressions
    • Classics Information
    • Events and Days Out
  • Motoring For Fun
  • News & Views
  • Bookshelf
  • Technical
    • Grumpy Old Mechanic
    • Kim’s Tips
  • Features
    • Visits
    • Track Days
  • Contributors
    • About our contributors
    • Kim Henson
    • Chris Adamson
    • Kieron Fennelly
    • Ant Henson
    • Rachel Henson
    • David Miles
    • Gerald Morgan
    • Dave Moss
    • Dave Randle
    • Robin Roberts
    • Tom Scanlan
    • Glen Smale
    • Jeremy Walton
    • Keith Ward
    • John Price Williams
  • More…
    • About Wheels Alive
    • Tips for using this website
    • Useful Links

Wheels Alive

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.

To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Mazda3 GT Sport – First Impressions

30th July 2021

The first test drive of the new Mazda3 186 PS GT Sport with new e-Skyactive X hybrid technology…

By Robin Roberts (and Miles Better News Agency).

Just when you think things couldn’t get better, Mazda has improved its acclaimed Skyactiv engine technology.

Constant engine development and software revisions have improved combustion and power, reduced emissions and extended economy in the latest e-Skyactiv X with hybrid assistance.

We tried it out in the newest popular Mazda3 186 PS GT Sport, costing from just over £28,000. The specification includes 18-inch black alloys, parking sensors, keyless entry, heated front seats and steering wheel, dual zone air conditioning, intelligent headlights, sunroof, rear privacy glass, 12-speaker Bose sound system and powered driver’s seat linked to head-up display and driver mirror.

That’s a good specification at this price even if it meant a dark interior and rear-seat passengers don’t have enormous legroom.

Up front the driver and passenger have adequate room, plenty of adjustment and the former has a sophisticated memory setting to maintain not only seat but also mirror and the angle of the very useful head-up display onto the windscreen.

The car seems to wrap-around the driver and has really good responses to steering, brakes and throttle as you might expect of a GT Sport hatchback.

The powertrain is so refined now it contrasted with the suspension, which was firm, but also noisy when working away over potholes and ridges in the road surface. Oddments and boot space are both good, and visibility was fairly clear all round when manoeuvring.

For a quick comparison we briefly drove the 165 PS Skyactiv-G powered Mazda CX5 2.0, essentially using the previous engine series to the new e-Skyactiv X.

That showed slightly higher fuel consumption and more engine noise with a bigger demand on the driver to extract the available power over a mixture of roads. It’s only a rough comparison as the SUV is bigger than the hatchback but the difference was noticeable.

Having said that, the CX5 remains a firm favourite with its dynamic features pleasing sporting drivers and its practicality and room is very good.

VERDICT

No doubt we’ll see the new engine family gradually extend throughout the Mazda line-up and that will make their internal combustion engines among the best you can buy.

For: Excellent smooth powertrain with flick-of-wrist gearchanges, very good seats, well-equipped, improved economy over previous generation Skyactiv engine.

Against: Firm ride with large wheels & tyres, noisy suspension, very dark interior, short legroom in the back, ungenerous warranty.

Mini Milestones and Wheels-Alive Tech. Spec. in Brief:

Mazda3 186 PS hybrid GT Sport

Price: £28,005

Mechanical: 186 PS 4-cylinder, 2.0 litre petrol, hybrid e-Skyactiv X engine, 6-speed manual

Performance: 134 mph, 0 – 62 mph 8.1 seconds, combined fuel consumption 53.3 mpg, CO2 121 g/km

Tax costs: BiK company car tax rating 28%, VED First Year road tax £170, Standard rate £145

Insurance Group: 22E

Warranty:  3-years/60,000miles

Size: L 4.46 m (14.63 ft), W 1.80 m (5.91 ft), H 1.44 m (4.72 ft)

Bootspace: 401 to 1,022 litres (14.16 to 36.09 cu.ft)

Kerbweight: 1,941 kg (4,279 lb)

Save Post as PDF

Categories: First Impressions, Robin Roberts Tags: e-Skyactiv X, five door sporting hatchback, hatchback, Hybrid, Mazda, Mazda3, sporting hatchback

Tip: For improved search accuracy, enclose search terms for multiple words in quotation marks. For example:
"Land Rover".

Advertise with us

Recent Posts

Government’s Road Safety Strategy soon to arrive… meanwhile here’s a close look at Cambridgeshire’s most dangerous roads

Introduction to the Wheels-Alive analysis of results from the DVLA/DfT ‘call for evidence’ on classic, kit built and radically altered vehicles, and those converted to electric power.

British Motor Museum shortlised for a Green Spark Award

Enjoy sounds, science and sustainability at The British Motor Museum this half-term, October 2025

Motor Ombudsman study finds that AI would steer nearly one in five drivers when choosing their next car

Toyota’s fascinating history – notably concentrating on the enduringly popular Corona model, which arrived in Britain exactly 60 years ago, on 1st October 1965

Kia Sportage MY26 – First Impressions

‘Never Stop Charging’ – ‘Charge Your Car Day’ 5th October 2025

Contributors

contributors

Our well-respected contributors live and breathe motor cars; aren’t we lucky?

Contributors to the site include talented, highly-respected people (so they tell me) on the hallowed membership list of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and from the similarly well thought-of Western Group of Motoring Writers. In addition there are valued contributions from other knowledgeable and capable motoring writers who have something useful to say about all aspects of driving and running vehicles in the 21st Century. All of our team are passionate about motor cars!


Read about our contributors  ››

Tags

PHEV five door hatchback 4x4 SUV First Impressions crossover Kia hatchback Seven seater SUV Suzuki City car Hybrid National Motor Museum Estate car road test large SUV all-electric EV Coupé The Motor Ombudsman British Motor Museum Beaulieu MPV estate plug-in hybrid saloon luxury SUV Compact SUV Electric Tyres

All Tags ››

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Wheels Alive Social

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Please share our website

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

Advertising Opportunities

Please contact us if you would like to discuss advertising opportunities on Wheels Alive.

Copyright © 2025 Kim Henson, Wheels Alive