MAZDA3 bested CIVIC, ELANTRA, CRUZE, FOCUS

[lamborghinione]

The Mazda 3 skyactive version bested all 2012 versions of the honda civic, hyundai elantra, ford focus, chevrolet cruze in the compact car comparison by motor trend.

40 mpg compact sedan comparison - Yahoo! Autos

1st Place: Mazda3

Theoretical mileage: 50.9 mpg
Actual mileage: 38.4 mpg
Percent lower: 25
Fuel cost/mile: 9.9c

Cars with day-glo "Eco" or "mpg'"badges slapped on their fenders are as often as not automotive empty suits: little more than a tall top gear ratio sitting on a set of skinny tires.

But in the case of the Mazda3's Skyactiv engine technology, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Its 2.0-liter inline-4 is a state-of-the-argument case for advanced-technology gasoline engines, a Bach fugue of interweaving smart ideas with its engineering keystone being an eyebrow-raising 12.0:1 compression ratio. High compression ratios like this are good for efficiency, but bad for knock.

To make it work, the Mazda3's compressed intake charge is cooled by 3000psi, six-hole, direct fuel injection. The next heat countermeasure is that the ensuing combustion is contained by a small cavity at its top to the piston, and finally, long exhaust headers help prevent exhaust heat back-washing into other cylinders. As a kicker, friction has been reduced by 30 percent. Mazda has done its homework, and it showed on the road as the '3 returned better mileage than the both the Elantra and Focus.

That said, it was also the car that most caused us to glance around the room during our deliberations and silently concur that it was the one we could most enjoy driving every day. Let's listen in on the conversation: Evans: "Great-handling car, very tossable with quick steering and very good feedback. The Mazda3 is easily the most fun vehicle to drive at the Proving Ground. Digging the big seat bolsters." Martinez: "A few hundred feet into the heart of downtown Tehachapi, I could already tell it was a solid car."

Naturally, there were a few dings, too: Evans: "The transmission is a bit stingy with downshifts, and that navigation screen is just too small to be so high up and far away on the dash." But Markus summed it up perfectly: "Bottom line, this car's a sacrifice that drives like a splurge."

The question we started with was "Is there actually a '40-mpg' car that you'd want to own?" Indeed, there is -- the Mazda3.