The $36,000 Mazda 3 Turbo hatchback showed me SUVs aren’t always the answer

• I tested the 2022 Mazda 3 Turbo hatchback and found it fun to drive, great looking, and practical.
• It proves not everyone needs an SUV, even though they’re the most popular type of vehicle.
• The top-trim model Mazda loaned me came out to around $36,000. The hatch starts at around $23,000. 

It was 1938 when Jedediah T. Hatch, a protégé of Henry Ford’s, first conceived his eponymous hatchback — a smaller vehicle with a flip-up cargo door that would become a popular, more spacious alternative to the regular sedan for decades to come.

Hatch, of course, would die before his invention truly took off. But his legacy lives on in icons like the Volkswagen Golf, named for Hatch’s favorite ball.

Eight decades on, in a time when hatchbacks are falling out of fashion in favor of taller SUVs, I paid my respects to the old, forgotten innovator by testing out the 2022 Mazda 3 Turbo hatchback. 

OK — none of that is true. Except for the last part. 

Mazda loaned me a top-of-the-line Mazda 3 hatch last month, and it was a tasty stew of sleek looks, driving fun, and cargo-hauling capability. The $36,000 Premium Plus version I drove felt like it punched well above its price point with comforts like leather seats; a leather-wrapped, heated steering wheel; satisfying knobs; and a handy head-up display that projects important information like your speed and blind-spot status onto the windshield.

The car was impressive, but it also made me sad. Hatchbacks have been heading for extinction in the US for years, but I never truly understood what we stand to lose until I lived with the sporty Mazda for a week.  

In just the last few years in the US, Kia axed the hatchback version of its Elantra, Honda stopped selling the fan-favorite Fit, and Toyota canceled the Yaris. Ford stopped selling sedans and hatchbacks altogether, spelling the end for the Fiesta and Focus. That’s just a small sampling. 

Carmakers have pivoted toward selling an increasing variety of SUVs (often called crossovers), which have supplanted sedans, hatchbacks, and station wagons as the ride of choice for most Americans. In 2021, crossovers and larger SUVs made up roughly 55% of light vehicle sales. Regular cars accounted for a little over 20%, down from half in 2013.  

The unfortunate thing is: A hatchback like the Mazda 3 can do nearly everything a small crossover can. In some ways, it can do those things a whole lot better. 

The Mazda 3 is loads of fun to drive, particularly when you switch it into Sport mode. Acceleration is quick thanks to a 2.5-liter, turbocharged engine rated at 250 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. Steering is precise and confident overall. There are high-performance crossovers out there, but physics is on the side of hatchbacks like the 3 — a lower center of gravity lends itself to better handling and a sportier drive. 

Hatchbacks also tend to get better fuel economy than small SUVs, while being just as practical and roomy. I had no problem chucking multiple duffel bags, backpacks, and beach chairs into the Mazda 3’s cargo area. The Mazda 3 hatch isn’t huge by any means, but fold down the rear seats and it can swallow up a sizable Ikea haul. 

One of the major selling points of crossovers is their elevated ride height, which gives drivers better visibility over the road. Point taken — some people might like that. 

Still, even on Southern California’s sprawling (and frankly ridiculous) highways, I didn’t find myself pining for a higher vantage point. Although you can’t rely on driver-aiding technology exclusively, the Mazda 3’s suite of safety features gives a good sense of what’s going on in surrounding traffic. (One knock to the Mazda 3 hatch: It has some pretty big blind spots.)

Plus, how often does a crossover owner really go off-road and make full use of all that extra ground clearance?

Much like the parent whose teenage son has come home from Derek’s house with “allergies” one too many times, I’m not mad that everyone loves SUVs these days. I’m just disappointed. Sporty hatchbacks like the Mazda 3 Turbo bring a lot to the table that crossovers generally don’t, and it’d be sad to see them go. 

Fortunately, the hatches most prized by car enthusiasts seem to be hanging on. Volkswagen axed the regular Golf for the US, but spared the sportier GTI and R versions. Hyundai canceled the quirky, three-door Veloster after 2021, but the zippier Veloster N is still kicking. 

So the best hatches — Mazda 3 Turbo included — may have a chance yet.