The biggest changes are to the suspension dampers, which have been revised to be a bit softer, and the power steering assist has been made a bit lighter at certain speeds. Nothing groundbreaking, but they do improve the daily driveability of the car.
Yeah, in Quebec you must have winter-rated tires on your car from December 1st to March 15th (all seasons don’t count). Technically there’s a grace period for new cars, but with a bunch of snow forecast over the next few days, it was a no brainer to have them installed.
In all honesty? Yeah it actually does. I was originally custom ordered for someone who then canceled, so I was able to take delivery super quickly. It only spent a couple days on the lot before I purchased it.
Already on the winters, since the Quebec winter tire deadline is tomorrow. This one was built November 23rd, basically hot off the line! I have to say, the new dampers are noticeably more compliant over the awful Montreal roads than the earlier production car I test drove last week. Now granted, I live somewhere with roads so bad it’s hard to even explain, but I’d say I prefer the new tuning. It doesn’t feel soft per se, it just absorbs the bumps better all while still holding the road in typical Mazda fashion.
I’m quite pleased with my upgrade, coming from a 2020 Mazda3 GT. The turbo is fun, the car doesn’t necessarily feel fast, but it definitely has more than enough power to pass people without having to plan it out far in advance. I have to say though, the wireless charging pad is next to useless, I can’t get my iPhone 15 to charge for more than a few seconds at a time.
Is this actually a problem? The battery is a consumable item and eventually has to be replaced; even EVs have the 12V battery and it still won’t last forever. If yours goes out, just replace it with a decent brand and you’ll be back to normal. There’s nothing unique to the Mazda3 when it comes to the battery.
The biggest problem with the turbo is not even that it isn’t offered with a manual, but that it’s only offered with Mazda’s ancient 6AT; which is really lackluster. I wouldn’t have minded nearly as much if it was a DSG or just a much more modern 6-8 speed torque converter unit. The fuel economy issues with the turbo would also be reduced with a better transmission.
Montrealer here, I have no regrets getting the AWD version. I have yet to get myself stuck anywhere, and i have a somewhat steep incline to get out of my parking spot. You can definitely get by with FWD and good winters (they’re legally required anyway), but AWD with good winters is a whole new game. She’ll be looking forward to driving in bad weather with a car that’s not going to let her down.
GT Turbo, which I believe equates to Premium Plus Turbo in the US.