Saw my fourth Mazda3 on the road yesterday. It was a red 3s sedan in Rockville Maryland (went there for morning dim-sum).
At a stop light, it was right next to a maroon Passat and the 3 looked to be as big or slightly bigger vehicle! When I went home to check out the dimensions, can you guess which car is which?
Head Room (Fr/Rr) ---- 39.1/37.4 ----- 37.8/37.3
Leg Room (Fr/Rr) ------ 41.9/36.3 ----- 41.5/35.3
Shoulder Room (Fr/Rr) 54.9/54.0 ----- 55.8/54.6
Hip Room (Fr/Rr) ------ 54.9/53.9 ----- NL/NL
Wheelbase (Fr/Rr) ---- 103.9 ---------- 106.4
Track ------------------- 60.2/59.6 ----- 59.6/59.6
Length ------------------ 178.7 --------- 185.2
Width ------------------- 69.1 ----------- 68.7
Height ------------------ 57.7 ----------- 57.6
Cargo Volume (EPA/Mfr) 11/11.4 ----- 11/15.0
Pass. Vol. (EPA/Mfr) -----94/94.3 ----- 95/92.3
Okay, so the EPA gave the Passat 1 more cubic feet of space, which makes it into a mid-size, versus compact for the Mazda3. But other than 6.5" in lenth (which is significant) and 2.5" in wheelbase, the Mazda3 is as big as the Passat. And from where I was looking (rear), that's exactly what I saw.
Anyway, I think the Mazda3's size is perfect. I wouldn't want a larger vehicle.
At a stop light, it was right next to a maroon Passat and the 3 looked to be as big or slightly bigger vehicle! When I went home to check out the dimensions, can you guess which car is which?
Head Room (Fr/Rr) ---- 39.1/37.4 ----- 37.8/37.3
Leg Room (Fr/Rr) ------ 41.9/36.3 ----- 41.5/35.3
Shoulder Room (Fr/Rr) 54.9/54.0 ----- 55.8/54.6
Hip Room (Fr/Rr) ------ 54.9/53.9 ----- NL/NL
Wheelbase (Fr/Rr) ---- 103.9 ---------- 106.4
Track ------------------- 60.2/59.6 ----- 59.6/59.6
Length ------------------ 178.7 --------- 185.2
Width ------------------- 69.1 ----------- 68.7
Height ------------------ 57.7 ----------- 57.6
Cargo Volume (EPA/Mfr) 11/11.4 ----- 11/15.0
Pass. Vol. (EPA/Mfr) -----94/94.3 ----- 95/92.3
Okay, so the EPA gave the Passat 1 more cubic feet of space, which makes it into a mid-size, versus compact for the Mazda3. But other than 6.5" in lenth (which is significant) and 2.5" in wheelbase, the Mazda3 is as big as the Passat. And from where I was looking (rear), that's exactly what I saw.
Anyway, I think the Mazda3's size is perfect. I wouldn't want a larger vehicle.