Mazda3 Fastback saloon - Practicality & boot space

Overall, the Mazda3 Saloon is a practical car, but it’s not quite as spacious as its rivals, which all come with bigger boots and a bit more room for rear-seat passengers.

Mazda3 Saloon interior space and storage

Rear-seat passengers should be happy enough in the Mazda3 Saloon, as headroom and legroom are both good for adults - although the sloping roof line will affect the tallest people. The Toyota Corolla saloon, Honda Civic saloon and Hyundai i30 Fastback are all a little more accommodating if you’ll regularly be carrying adults in the back seats. The front seats are comfortable, and there are storage compartments all around the cabin.

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Boot space

The saloon offers 444 litres of boot space – 90 more litres than the Mazda3 hatchback. The Honda Civic saloon has a boot that’s significantly more spacious, offering 519 litres of luggage room, while the Corolla and i30 offer a little extra boot space over the Mazda3. The downside to both these cars is that loading certain things is a little bit more awkward than the hatchback versions - you’ll struggle to load furniture or kids’ bikes into the saloons. That being said, the Mazda’s rear seats fold down to offer more boot space, making this a reasonably practical car for most users.

Towing

The Mazda3 is an acceptable tow car for small and medium-sized trailers, thanks to a maximum towing capacity of 1,300kg. Because of its small size and low weight, it wouldn't make a particularly good tow car for larger caravans. But for normal towing or even a small caravan, the Mazda3 provides adequate power and braking capabilities. It’s worth noting that the more powerful petrol (the only option in the Saloon) offers the same towing capacity as the smaller petrol, but it’ll make lighter work of towing duties.