2021 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo

Time for a very Quick Spin in the 2021 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo; Mazda’s latest attempt to put even more vroom, in their zoom-zoom. 

It comes courtesy of the CX-9’s 2.5-liter I4 turbo. But, it’s not an exact engine swap, as it wouldn’t quite fit in the Mazda3’s engine bay. Mazda took advantage of the situation to install a new intake with air-to-water intercooler. This allowed the engine to not only build torque a little more quickly than before, but to deliver it more consistently; though ultimately output numbers stay the same; 250-horsepower and 320 lb-ft. of torque.  

Mazda stuck with just a 6-speed automatic transmission, to avoid the constant gear hunting of some rivals; and packed Mazda’s iActiv all-wheel-drive along with it, as standard equipment for the 2.5 Turbo. 

Also included, is an updated version of G-Vectoring Control Plus, which goes a long way towards eliminating understeer to provide an even more rewarding driving experience. 

Brian Robinson: "More power? Yes. Am I happy about that? Absolutely yes. But Mazda has gone to great lengths to not just add more power, but create a better overall driving experience in the 2.5 Turbo. You want to get on it, it will go like no other Mazda3 before it. But if you want to relax and chill, it does that equally well, smooth and refined. It’s not hyper at all, very smooth and refined.  It says it all that they benchmarked Porsche and BMW engines when it came to the tuning of this Turbo."

Minor changes to the suspension have also been made, mostly to deal with the additional weight of the engine; but ultimately stiffens everything up just a little bit. 

The 2021 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo is truly the ride Mazda enthusiasts have been waiting for.  Arriving before the end of the year, sedan pricing starts just under $30,000; add another $1,000 for the 5-door hatchback.