2004 Mazda Mazda3 Overview Change Vehicle

This 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 overview explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2004 3, and includes Mazda MAZDA3 safety, reliability, and fuel economy information.

Au revoir Protegé et bonjour nombre trois! In other words, the Mazda Protegé is gone and the all-new 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 takes its place. While we think they may have gotten the names backwards given that the MAZDA3 has certainly been influenced by the Protégé, we will overlook this definitional confusion and give Mazda the props it deserves for the MAZDA3. The MAZDA3 jumps into the market with the joie de vivre we’d expect of a car from the zoom-zoom company. Quite frankly, we’re filled with joie too because the MAZDA3 is zoom-zoomy.

The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 is un petit plus grande than its predecessor. For those of you following in English, that means it’s bigger. It’s also more powerful with a larger engine, is more stylish inside and out, and is safer. It handles well, it’s fun to drive and it’s versatile thanks to availability in two body styles, a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback.

The MAZDA3 debuts having learned a lot from the Protégé, just like a good protégé is meant to, but it is clearly its own car and a better one at that. Vive le trois!

The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 is offered in two trim levels. The entry-level trim is the MAZDA3i and it is only offered in a sedan body style. The upper-level trim is the MAZDA3s and it’s offered as a sedan or a five-door hatchback. The MAZDA3i version comes with a 2.0-liter engine and the MAZDA3s model gets a 2.3-liter engine.

The MAZDA3i, not unlike other entry-level models in the economy class, has only the basics. It’s got a stereo, which is more than some base trims in this class can say, and said stereo even has a CD player. There are also cloth seats, floor mats, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, map lights, vanity mirrors, and a rear defroster. Of course, you can turn this into a more comfortable and convenient car by laying down some more dough. An options package is available that gives you power accessories, keyless entry, cruise control, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, and 16-inch alloy wheels. For a little more money, you can even get air conditioning.

The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3s is offered as a sedan or, for a little more money, a five-door hatchback. The extra money you pay for the five-door gives you larger 17-inch wheels and the cachet of cool that comes with driving a sporty hatchback. Unlike the MAZDA3i, both MAZDA3s body styles come standard with air conditioning, power accessories, cruise, and a height adjustable driver’s seat. You also get fog lights with the standard package. Available options on the MAZDA3s include a sunroof and six-CD changer, leather upholstery, a navigation system, and high-intensity discharge headlights with a tire pressure monitor. You can also get the 17-inch wheels on the MAZDA3s sedan, packaged with sporty rocker panel extensions.

There’s one other option package we need to discuss, and that’s the collection of safety features available on all Mazda MAZDA3s that is worth the extra investment. It adds front side-impact airbags, side-curtain airbags and antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution.

The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3i comes with a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine producing 148 horsepower. The MAZDA3s trims come with a 2.3-liter inline four-cylinder engine making 160 horsepower. Either way, you get more power under the hood than last year’s 130-horsepower Protégé. All 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 models are front-wheel drive.

Both the 2.0- and 2.3-liter engines come standard with a five-speed manual transmission. A four-speed automatic with a manual shift mode called Activematic is available. What Activematic means to the driver is that you can simply cruise around in automatic mode or, with the flip of your hand, push the selector over and drive in the sportier and quicker manual shift mode. The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 is the only economy car to offer this type of transmission.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) estimates, the 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 with a five-speed manual transmission should get 28 miles per gallon in the city and 35 mpg on the highway. With an automatic transmission, the Mazda MAZDA3 is estimated to get 26 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway. The Mazda MAZDA3 with a 2.3-liter engine and a five-speed manual transmission returns 25 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway while the automatic provides 24 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.

The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 comes with a few new safety features that its predecessor didn’t have. A collapsible steering column and breakaway pedals are now included to make the MAZDA3 safer. Like the Protégé, the 3 is equipped with dual-stage front airbags with occupant weight sensors. Optional safety equipment includes four-wheel-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), front-seat side-impact airbags, and side-curtain airbags for the front and rear passengers.

The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 gets a Good rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for its performance in the frontal-offset crash test, the highest score the IIHS gives. It gets a mediocre Marginal rating for protection against injury in a rear collision. The IIHS has not performed side-impact testing or roof strength tests on the Mazda MAZDA3, so there are no IIHS ratings.

In tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 gets 4 Stars for the driver in the frontal-impact crash test, 3 Stars stars for side-impact protection for the driver and rear passenger, and a 4 Star rating for its ability to resist rollover. The NHTSA does not provide a test result for frontal-impact performance for the front seat passenger.

The Mazda MAZDA3’s crash-test performance is middling, and so is its reliability record. According to Consumer Reports, the 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 provides better than average reliability, but J.D. Power and Associates claims that dependability rates below average.

The curvy styling of the 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 pleases us. The more powerful engines in the 2004 Mazda MAZDA3 please us. The 2004 Mazda MAZDA3’s driving dynamics please us. In most respects, the Mazda MAZDA3 is a great step up from the Protégé and touches like the Activematic transmission offered on the upper-level trim, the availability of a navigation system, and the versatility of the available hatchback body style almost put the MAZDA3 in a class of its own. Legroom is a little tight in the rear, but other than that, we can’t see anything glaringly wrong with the Mazda MAZDA3. And despite middling crash-test and reliability scores, this car is so much fun to drive, and so upscale in look and feel, we’d be tempted to take a chance on one anyway.

By Courtney Messenbaugh