I've been trying to track down a good review of the new Mazda 3, but I've mostly found "first drives" and such. This review seemed more thorough, so I though I'd share. Review: 2014 Mazda 3 Grand Touring

I think this is the next car for me. I've been looking for a highly-refined, sporting car with good fuel economy. Test drove the Honda Civic and it was loud and tinny. Nissan Sentra was loathsome with its CVT, even though the dealer seemed to think he had a hot car.

 

I just bought one yesterday. So far great! Awesome handling, smooth ride. Fit and finish is phenomenal. Mine has the basic stereo and even so it sounds incredible. Bluetooth works great too. I love it.

 

I'm on my 2nd Mazda 3 iTouring. I too like the basic stereo but noticed that the specs for the 2014 iTouring lists a 4 speaker vice 6 speaker system like I have in my 2012 iTouring. Did they drop the separate tweeters? Downgrade from previous basic stereo?

 

Ya know actually it is a 6 speaker. I dunno why some things say 4 speaker. It has the grilles in the dash (not the pillar pods actually) and I leaned forward to check and I can hear the high frequencies bouncing off the windshield. It sounds great

 

That's good to know.

 

Just got this reply to my 4 vs 6 speaker audio for 2014 iTouring Sedan:

Thank you for contacting Mazda. We appreciate your interest in the 2014 Mazda3.

To answer your question with regard to the speaker configuration on the 2014 Mazda3, the iTouring sedan does come standard with 4 speakers.

Sincerely,

Jose D.
Representative, Customer Experience
800.222.5500
Ext. 1166

 

Yes I take back what I said about the 6 speaker. Joe is right. I took a closer look. The tweeter grilles are empty. But the cool think is when I want to install components the car is already prefab'd for them