We all want luxury, style, and performance, but we don’t want to pay the money for it. We all want the latest on the market, but we want it for the price of the old. Well, Mazda created a hot-hatch that is luxurious in design, capable, and best of all, takes inspiration from the MazdaSpeed3 with its turbocharged engine – all for an affordable price. If you are looking for value and luxury, or you are simply looking to make a statement with your car, this 2022 hot hatch is for you.

The Japanese automaker has done a tremendous job with this 2022 Mazda3 Turbo AWD, but the question is, should you really spend over $31,000 for the turbocharged engine, or should you stick with the lower trim levels? First, let’s go over the Mazda3 Turbo AWD, what makes it special, and how it stacks up against the competition.

2022 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo AWD Premium Plus Overview

Thanks to Mazda, our press car featured the highest trim available for the Mazda3: the 2.5 Turbo AWD Premium Plus. The Premium Plus trim gives you everything you ever thought you could have in a Mazda and more.

While the style of the Mazda3 Hatch across the spectrum is exquisite, the Premium Plus gives you a much more refined design. Most notable, the gloss black aerodynamic parts around the exterior completely enhances the looks of the hatch. This includes a front air dam and a rear roof spoiler.

The package also includes some additional safety features, like the Smart Brake Support-Reverse, and Rear Cross-Traffic Braking, which works flawlessly. This trim level also benefits from a well-designed 360-degree camera and a Navigation system, which the 2.5 Turbo doesn’t have. With this upgrade, the Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus is able to recognize and display traffic signs on the instrument cluster.

Mazda Skyactiv-G 2.5 Dynamic Pressure Turbo Engine

The 2022 Mazda3 Turbo sports an i4 2.5-liter turbocharged direct-injection engine with DOHC 16-valve engine. While the Skyactiv engine has a really high compression ratio, it’s able to run on as low as 87-octane fuel without causing detonation thanks to the long 4-2-1 exhaust system. To prevent knocking even further, the engineers shortened the combustion duration. The faster the combustion process, the less time unburned fuel is exposed to high temps. This allows the entire combustion process to finish before any knocking can happen. In addition to its ability to run on a wide range of octane levels, the Skyactiv engine also reduces turbo lag.

Numerous other engineering marvels allow this engine to have an extremely high compression ratio, while being able to run on very low octane levels without causing any detonation. As a result, Mazda is able to give two different power and torque figures depending on the level of octane you run.

On 93-octane, the 2022 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo AWD delivers 250 horsepower at 5,000 RPM, and 320 lb-ft of torque at just 2,500 RPM. If you run 87-octane, the Mazda3 will deliver 227 horsepower at 5,000 RPM, and 310 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 RPM. Compare these numbers to the 186 horsepower you get on the 2.5-liter naturally-aspirated engine on the lower trim levels, and you can justify the additional cost, especially when you get behind the wheel.

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2022 Mazda3 Turbo Hatchback Design

Perhaps one of the best-looking hatches in its segment, the Mazda3 is the definition of a “Hot Car” in terms of design. The 2022 is the year after the 100th Anniversary edition, and it continues to improve. A mixture of sleek, smooth curves with simplistic accents make this design ever so effortless.

Starting with the front, the sharp, thin headlights point you downwards onto the grille that is just classy enough, without sacrificing the sportiness of the exterior. The smooth curves take you to the rear where you see a skinny rear window with two very well-designed taillights. On our press car with the Premium Plus package, the rear roof spoiler finishes the simple looks brilliantly. Dual exhaust pipes exit the rear, and you’re left with designers that are simply not trying too hard.

Our loner came with the Polymetal Grey Metallic. This paint color with the 18-inch alloy wheels in a black finish are an absolute home-run. The overall result of the exterior design is confidence, classiness, sportiness, and a top contending design to BMW's and Mercedes’s offerings in this segment.

2022 Mazda3 Turbo Hatchback Interior Look

The cabin is as simple as the exterior. Mazda wanted to compete with luxury brands, and they did just that. The refined, soft, pillow-like material on the inside gives off an extremely luxury vibe. We complimented the exterior for being extremely smooth, but this design sacrificed some of the visibility inside. The rear window is extremely small, and your blind spots are bigger with the small passenger windows. To continue the “small” theme, the Mazda3’s rear seats offer no legroom, far tighter than any of its competitors. We would understand if this was a two-door, but now we just have two extra doors that we can’t really use with adults. The dashboard is classy and the minimalist approach completely works in this cabin.

The infotainment system isn’t touchscreen; instead you can navigate it through the rolling switch on the center console. Not going with a touchscreen display allowed Mazda to place it far away from the driver and create more space to play into its elegant cabin. Despite the great placement of the 8.8-inch screen, the system itself can be a tad confusing and less friendly than we would like. Instead of the bells and whistles automakers can offer to impress you, Mazda decided to keep it all at a minimal. The result was switching their focus to more quality materials and knobs. All in all, the interior of the 2022 Mazda3 Turbo is basic in the best way. The simple layout gets a lot of things right and not too many wrongs.

2022 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo AWD First Drive

The refinement of the exterior and interior continues behind the wheel. The Mazda3 Turbo has great road-manners, that of vehicles much more expensive. The engine could have good response, you only need to get past the first half of the throttle. Once you find the sweet spot, the Mazda3 truly comes to life. Despite the engine coming to life, the transmission tends to slightly hold it back. It simply doesn’t feel as refined as the rest of the vehicle. Mazda received huge praise when they announced that the 2.5 S Premium gets a manual transmission, followed by great disappointment that the turbocharged version only gets the six-speed automatic. Such commitment to the enthusiasts, but they did it in the wrong platform.

Historically, Mazda has been an automaker capable of producing some of the world’s most balanced and well-handling vehicles, such as the RX-7 FD and the MX-5 Miata. You can see their expertise in handling translating perfectly in the Mazda3 Turbo. The steering is precise and fun. The firm ride offers great confidence around corners, and while it takes away slightly from the ride quality, turbocharger fans will always choose firm over comfort. Brakes are more than enough to stop this hot-hatch on a dime; however, they do feel a bit spongy and require long travel. Don’t let the sponginess fool you, however, they offer plenty of stopping power.

On our combination of city and highway driving, we averaged 24 mpg. Given we never let the turbocharger stop spooling, this wasn’t the worst number to get. All in all, driving the 2022 Mazda3 Turbo AWD is fun. It feels sporty and firm without punishment, and the turbocharger is a must have if you enjoy the faster things in life.

Mazda3 Hatchback Trim Levels

Dare we make an argument that perhaps considering the 2022 Mazda3 2.5 S Premium over the turbo may be a good option? We can all agree that the Mazda Miata has always been underpowered in the past, but it is still one of the most fun cars you can drive on track. This is a result of its lightweight, great balance, and fun-factor in terms of the manual transmission option.

We can vouch for the 2022 Mazda3 in terms of sporty chassis and firm ride, so would it be terrible if we chose the 186 horsepower solely based on the fact that a manual transmission is available? Of course, the 2.5 S Premium won’t be as much fun as the MX-5, given it delivers the same power with more weight. However, if you are strictly looking for a fun, engaging hot-hatch, the 2.5 S Premium will give you the manual transmission, slightly better fuel economy, and save you around $6,000. If you decide to go with our crazy idea, you must know that you will sacrifice the all-wheel drive system, the significant bump in power, and the fun characteristics of boost.

The Bottom Line

Mazda has successfully increased the gap between the Mazda3 and its normal competitors in the Civic and the Corolla. Now, the Mazda3 rightfully competes with the Germans. Given it’s a few thousand dollars shy of a BMW 2-Series, the Mazda3 now officially plays in the big league. The decision will have to come down to your wants and needs.

If this is a vehicle that you plan on having passengers in, think again. The backseat room won’t let you. If the Mazda3 is selfishly for you, you can rest assured you will have the handling of a sporty car, the reliability of Mazda (excluding rotary engines), an energetic turbocharged engine, and luxury. In terms of design, we would confidently put up the Mazda3 against any competition. This hot-hatch is naturally-beautiful – it will turn all eyes wearing sweatpants as much as it will wearing a cocktail dress.