2021 Mazda 3 vs Volkswagen Golf

What's the difference?

FEW cars have been as complicated or controversial as this current-generation Mazda3.

Launched in early 2019, it would have garnered stellar reviews if Mazda hadn’t decided to ditch the base Neo and kick things off instead with the mid-spec Pure. Consequently, the price of entry jumped by $4500, with predictably many buyers feeling abandoned by the brand. Sales have since declined, but that’s the general small-car trend anyway as the SUV’s stranglehold tightens.

Some enthusiasts weren’t too keen on the rear suspension’s switch from a sophisticated multi-link to a simple torsion beam either, claiming it didn’t align with Mazda’s sporting reputation.

Then the long-awaited, much vaunted Skyactiv-X models arrived in mid-2020 – a compression-ignition supercharged eco model promising diesel-like petrol economy without the noxious fumes and with improved performance and refinement to boot. Years in the making, the hype had perhaps been overblown because what eventuated wasn’t a Prius-rivalling yet GTI-like saviour, but something altogether… more nuanced. 

Now, as the dust settles, we take another look at the Skyactiv-X-equipped 3 (X20) in flagship Astina auto guise, to see if the mainstream small car has evolved as much as Mazda has us hoping.

And, more importantly, whether the Mazda3 can cut it as a premium proposition.

The GTI badge has been in existence almost as long as the venerable Volkswagen Golf itself and despite having started its life as a skunkworks project, the iconic performance variant has managed to outlive countless rivals to become inseparable from the phrase "hot hatch."

Now in its Mark 8 form, the GTI itself has long since been usurped by faster, more powerful hatchbacks - like the Golf R and Mercedes-AMG A45 - becoming the more approachable sporty example in Volkswagen's range.

After all these years, has it faded to become  a shadow of its former self, or should it still be the default choice for anyone wanting a taste of power without spending serious performance money? We've taken the new one for a spin, both on and off the track, to find out.