2019 Ford Focus vs Mazda 3

What's the difference?

While It might be hard to explain exactly what micro-niche the Active falls into, it's less difficult to understand it's appeal.

Let's face it, the vast majority of us will never have need for the complex four-wheel-drive systems that appear in some SUVs.

And so a car like the Active makes obvious sense. Whatever the hell it is.

The new 3 sedan is just as good as the hatch, but different. Mazda has gone out of its way to make the two body styles look different enough to cover more than a few bases. This works on a global scale - the Chinese market absolutely loves a sedan but in Australia, the 3 sedan only accounts for around 10 percent of sales.

The new 3 really is something else - it looks feels a heck of a lot more expensive than it is (especially in Soul Red), drives beautifully without being startling and in the case of the sedan, rides very comfortably indeed.

Like the look of the Focus hatchback? Then have we got some news for you. Because the Active looks a lot like one, just a little higher off the ground.

The 17-inch alloys are fitted with higher-profile tyres, and there is some black wheel-arch cladding and side skirts that are designed to convey an adventurous spirit, but outside of that, it's Focus through and through.

That's not a bad thing, mind. The new Focus is a handsome small car. More that you can see where the marketing department might struggle to call this anything but a hatchback.

Climb into the cabin and you're met with an equally Focused experience, though there are some exclusive Active niceties on display. That Nordic Blue piping on the seats, for example, or the 'A'-stamped seat patterns and the Active-stamped scuff plates at the doors.

The sedan is oddly anonymous in this new Mazda3. It misses out on some of the cool detailing of the hatch, particularly the gloriously designed tail-lights - the circular sections are flatter and flush with the rest of the housing.

It's not ugly, not by a long shot and certainly isn't as polarising as the hatch. You can also see out over your shoulder. 

The front ends of the hatch and sedan are fundamentally identical, with the funky grille shape and effects along for the ride.

From the side, both have good presence but the hatch's - I hesitate to use this word - stance is much more convincing. The good news is, the choice between them is more than a boot.

Inside is visually identical to the hatch. The new dash is refreshingly button free (although still a bit colourless) and the new screen looks terrific.

There's something about the consistency of detailing in the current Mazda range - all the fonts match on the switches, the instruments and the head-up.

It sounds ridiculous but that makes a huge difference in making the cabin feel resolved. The seats are terrifically comfortable, too.

The Active stretches some 4.4m in length, 1.8m in width and 1.5m in height. In other words, it's very much the Focus hatch you're familiar with, no matter how much the ride height has been lifted.

And that means your key figures are largely unchanged, too; you'll get 375 litres of boot space with the rear seats in place (about on-par for the segment), and 1354 litres with the seats folded flat, though that's measured all the way to the roof line.

Up front, you'll find two cupholders, and a storage pocket in each of the front doors. On the tech front, there's a USB point in front of the wireless charging pad, and another hidden in a  deep, covered central storage bin.

Ford says there is more shoulder room in the backseat, and they've tried to design an airy-feeling space, thanks to larger rear windows. And if you've ever spent time in a car like the Toyota C-HR, for example, then you'll know how important a little lightness and brightness can be for backseat riders.

That's about where the good news ends for backseat riders, though. There's no cupholders (nor a pull-down divider to house them in) and no USB points either. Also missing are rear air vents.

There are two ISOFIX attachment points, though, one in each window seat in the back.

The sedan rides on the same wheelbase as the hatch but the overall length is up 200mm. That might not seem like much, but that translates to a boot of 444 litres, which is a lot more than the hatch's 295 litres.

The rear seats seem slightly more roomy than the hatch. There are even air vents for rear seat dwellers, which is rather nice.

The G25 Evolve starts at $29,490 (before on-road costs) for the manual almost nobody buys, and an extra thousand takes you to $30,490 for the six-speed auto.

The Evolve spec isn't skimpy, with 18-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, an excellent safety package, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, keyless entry and start, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, electric drivers seat, sat nav, leather wheel and shifter, leather seats and a space-saver spare.

Mazda's 'MZD Connect' has a had a big facelift to go with the very nice interior. Displayed on an 8.8-inch screen that looks like it belongs, it has DAB+, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and in-built sat nav. The eight-speaker stereo is quite nice if nothing amazing.

There's just the one engine and gearbox combo on offer here, but it's a peach. A woeful sounding on paper, but utterly charming in real life, 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine good for 134kW and 240Nm, which is fed through an eight-speed automatic to produce an 8.7 second sprint to 100km/h.

You also get improved independent rear suspension that's missing from most Focus models. Plus the key difference that makes this Active more, well, active, is the increased ride height, but we're really only talking a handful of centimetres at each end.

Mazda's 'SkyActiv' 2.5-litre engine lives on with a few more kilowatts into the bargain, in this case delivering 139kW/252Nm to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic.

The G20 makes do with 114kW/200Nm and feels a lot slower.

As ever, the SkyActiv engine drives the front wheels through a six-speed SkyActiv transmission. 

It might be a tiny three-cylinder engine, but Ford has still thought hard about the fuel use equation, including a cylinder deactivation function that, when cruising, shuts down one of the cylinders to save petrol.

As a result, the claimed/combine fuel use figure is 6.4 litres per hundred kilometres - and it's a believable quote, as we scored 6.5 litres after a day of pretty enthusiastic driving.

The Co2 emissions are pegged at a claimed 148g/km, and the fuel tank will hold 52 litres.

Despite all the extra hardware south of the rear axle, Mazda reckons you'll sip standard unleaded (there's a bonus) at a rate of 6.5L/100km on the combined cycle, 0.1L/100km less than the hatch.

Our week with the car saw us average 9.8L/100km with mostly suburban driving.

As before, Mazda's has fitted 'i-Stop' stop-start which is quite clever. Most people hate stop-start, but this one covers both bases.

You can control whether it switches off the engine. Light brake pressure keeps the engine ticking over while a slight increase will cut the fuel.

"Would you take a regular hatchback on sand?" Asks one of the Blue Oval's reps, as we point the noise of our Active at a stretch of commendably soft sand.

And if we're honest, the answer to that question would be a resounding "no". Not least of which because we've just watched the Active in front of us getting pulled out of this very sand pit, the front tyres dug into the soft stuff like they were burrowing their way to China.

But no sooner was it pulled out than the Active was tackling that very obstacle again, this time with a bit more speed, and sure enough, the high-riding Focus was through the sand and out the other side, the front tyres somehow finding a way to keep the Focus moving.

And then we followed, and with the same successful result. As did the car after us. And so on. 

Now, a true off-roader it ain't. The Active is a front-wheel-drive only proposition, but it's two new drive modes (Trail and Slippery) are intended to give you just a little more confidence as you pull into a campsite or turn onto an unsealed road.

But for mine, the real charm of the Active isn't how it performs off-road, but rather on it. It's not a particularly sporty-feeling drive, and to be fair, there are other cars in the Ford range that can tackle those duties, but the steering is engaging, and it's a composed, comfortable and quiet drive experience.

Part of the reason for that is the new independent rear suspension setup (also found in the ST Line wagon). We piloted the Active over some pretty harsh and broken country roads on our drive program, and it proved plenty comfortable, disposing of most road imperfections with little bother.

A final word? I bloody love the engine. A tiny little three-cylinder unit, sure, but it never feels underdone, even when overtaking uphills. And for bonus points, it makes a delightful little burble when you plant your right foot.

Mazda tells that the set-up of the sedan is identical to the hatch. Sure there are differences like, say the tyres, but the idea is that the two drive identically. I, uh, I don't think so.

Plenty is the same. The engine and transmission do a good, less frantic job of moving the 3 along than the lower-powered 2.0-litre.

I can't stress enough how much better the 2.5 is. The 2.0 does a good enough job, it's just that you'll find it wanting with a load on about halfway up that steep hill. The 2.5 is much happier in traffic and the difference in fuel consumption is negligible, so the only real extra cost is the up-front spend for the G25.

The steering is just as keen and quick as the hatch's, too. The wheel responds very quickly to inputs and you don't have to do much twirling to get the car into a park.

It's not too quick a sneeze will send you into orbit, though, which is handy. The clever 'G-Vectoring' system is along, too, rapidly building driver confidence in the car's abilities.

What felt a lot different to me was the ride, something I noticed moments after picking up the sedan. I had a hatch overlapping with the sedan so was able to jump in and out over a couple of days to ensure I wasn't making it all up.

It seemed a little less busy than the hatch which felt a bit more loaded for bear. The sedan felt like it had a little more roll and carried a little more weight. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, a scaled-down 6 isn't a bad idea at all.

In town and at speed, the 3's past problems with road noise are a distant memory. No doubt strategic use of foam, carpets and other clever bits and pieces are a big part of the improvement, as well as stiffer bits and pieces.

The sedan is a bit easier to get around in as the vision over your shoulder is a bit better, unencumbered as it is by that slab of metal that is the hatch's C-pillar. 

Mazda's (very welcome) preoccupation with safety continues. The new 3 has seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward and reverse AEB, lane keep assist, reverse cross traffic alert, forward collision warning and a blind spot monitor.

Out back are three top-tether anchors and two ISOFIX points.

The new 3 scored a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in May 2019.

The Ford Focus Active is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, with servicing required every 15,000kms or 12 months.

Service pricing is capped for the first four years, too, with each service costing a maximum $299 for the first four years or 60,000km.

Mazda offers a five year/unlimited kilometre warranty which, like the clutch of advanced safety gear, is very welcome indeed.

Since the start of April 2019, you also get five years of roadside assist. In the past, you had to pay for that.

The company continues with the weird 12 months/10,000km service intervals, so clearly it doesn't seem to bother its customers too much.

The 'Service Select' program lists the price of each service up to the fifth. Total cost over five services is $1581 at an average of $316 per service (you'll pay either $299 or $342, plus extra items listed on the website).