Mazda3 hatchback - Reliability & safety
Mazda has a good reputation for customer services and safety
Although the current Mazda3 itself has not appeared in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, Mazda as a brand performs better than average, with owners seemingly happy with their cars. The Mazda3 recorded excellent scores across the board in Euro NCAP safety testing, resulting in a five-star rating.
Mazda3 reliability
We’ve not heard any horror stories about the latest Mazda3’s reliability, and the 2.0-litre e-SkyActiv G petrol has been reliable in other Mazda models – in fact, the Mazda CX-5 is offered with this engine and finished ninth out of the top 75 cars in the 2023 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, and finished an impressive second the year before. As a brand, Mazda finished in an impressive seventh place in our 2023 manufacturer rankings, although a higher-than-average 25% of respondents reported an issue with their Mazda in the first year of ownership. For context, rival brand Toyota did much better, with just 15% of owners reporting a fault, and 19% of Peugeot and Nissan owners had an issue in the first year.
Safety
The Mazda3 achieved a five-star result from Euro NCAP when it was tested in the spring of 2019. It scored an impressive 98% in the adult occupant category, as well as 87% for child occupant protection. The former matched that of the Tesla Model X and was only bettered by the Mazda CX-30; the SUV version of the Mazda3.
Standard safety includes the latest technology, such as autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist and driver fatigue warnings, along with the usual myriad passive devices like airbags and ISOFIX child-seat mounting points.
