As you might expect from a company that has always sought to inject a bit of fun into all its offerings, and also has a long history of making highly competent sportscars, the Axela (known as the “3” in North America) is a delight to drive. While some smaller hatchbacks are fun to drive simply due to their light weight, engineering a car the Axela’s size to drive as well as it does is a testament to the platform the Axela rides on (co-developed with Ford, and also underpinning the excellent Volvo C30 and Euro-only second-generation Ford Focus). Up front there are traditional MacPherson struts with an aggressive anti-roll bar, but out back is the innovative “E-Link” multi-link system that saves cargo space but provides excellent, mostly neutral handling. Power is provided by a Mazda 2.3-liter inline four that provides 168 horsepower, a healthy output in this class, enabling class-competitive acceleration figures and a broad torque band.
