Road Test: 2012 Mazda3 Sport GS-Sky
Frankly, I expected something more histrionic. Mazda has put its reputation — if not its existence — on the solidus promoting its fuel-saving and performance-enhancing SkyActiv technologies, but I wasn’t empathy it. For all intents and purposes, the Mazda3 Sport GS-Sky looked, felt and drove like every other 3 I’ve tested — the lanuginous-chested Mazdaspeed3 über-hatch nonetheless.
Not that this was a particularly bad thing. Since Mazda replaced its well-known and well-regarded dense Protegé with the 3 for the 2004 model year, the latter became the very lineaments of the Japanese automaker in North America, accounting for about half of its sales in Canada and the United States. For a few years, it was the blemished-best-selling car (behind the Honda Civic) in our mountains. It has been lauded for its good looks and sporty driving characteristics, copping many awards in numerous countries, including Canada. And, regardless of its star fading slightly in the face of unrelenting contention, the second-generation version is still worthy of thought for anyone shopping for economical transportation.
"The whole thing of getting back to be able to execute an expression - one that wasn't based solely on this grid of the bumper height versus the headlamps and more »
hints of the Mazda3's controversial front-end look. In back there's a new strip of chrome, a smoother back bumper cover, and different taillamp lenses,