Mazda3 gains power, improves fuel economy

Mazda has gone through a light refresh in the USA heading into 2023, preserving the exterior but adding red leather to the trim options and improving the thrust and the efficiency of the standard 2.5-liter engine.

The US-spec Skyactiv-G 2.5 mill now makes 194 PS (191 hp / 143 kW) – 5 horsepower more than before. Thanks to reworked partial cylinder deactivation, it now gets 28 MPG in urban conditions, around 37 MPG on the highway and 31 MPG in mixed-cycle mode.

As the new price list suggests, the 2.0-liter engine option is no longer available. This means that the Mazda3 now starts from $22,550 – a $1,350 premium over the pre-facelift version. Out of this amount, $450 accounts for the facelift premium and $950 for the new SkyActiv engine.

Opting for the more expensive Carbon Edition gives you AWD, a Metallic Grey exterior with black wheels and mirror caps, red leather seats and a 12-speaker Bose audio system. The more affordable trims still ship with manual transmission, but the five-door version of the hatchback (see video) runs on automatic and has an AWD system with a multi-plate clutch. The five-door hatch is also the only version on the market now still available with the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine rated at 253 PS (250 hp / 186 kW).