Top Safety Pick +

2014 Mazda 3

small car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention built after October 2013

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system	Advanced

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection
Optional lane departure warning

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2014-18 models built after October 2013

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 3 i-Touring 4-door

The Mazda 3 was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Beginning with 2014 models built after October 2013, the front suspension was modified to improve occupant protection in small overlap frontal crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.) The small overlap frontal ratings apply to both the hatchback and sedan versions of the Mazda 3.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Forces on the right lower leg were just high enough to indicate a moderate risk of injury.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1346
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	12
Footrest (cm)	8
Left toepan (cm)	3
Brake pedal (cm)	5
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	1
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	4
Upper dash (cm)	7
Lower instrument panel (cm)	9

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1346
Head
HIC-15	210
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.5
Extension bending moment (Nm)	5
Maximum Nij	0.25
Chest maximum compression (mm)	24
Femur (kN)
Left	0.5
Right	0.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	1
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.46
Right	0.86
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.2
Right	1.5
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	50
Right	54

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 3 i-Touring 4-door

The Mazda 3 was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mazda. These ratings apply to both the sedan and hatchback versions of the Mazda 3.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1315
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	3
Left (cm)	7
Center (cm)	8
Right (cm)	2
Brake pedal (cm)	2
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	0
Right (cm)	-1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-4
Rearward (cm)	-5
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1315
Head
HIC-15	124
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm)	14
Maximum Nij	0.24
Chest maximum compression (mm)	35
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.5
Femur force - right (kN)	0.3
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	0
Maximum tibia index - left	0.41
Maximum tibia index - right	0.53
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.0
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	2.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	44
Right	64

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 3 i-Touring 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Mazda 3 was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Mazda. These ratings apply to both the sedan and hatchback versions of the Mazda 3.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1310
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-14.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1310
Head HIC-15	408
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.9
Compression (kN)	0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	32
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	32
Average deflection (mm)	29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.76
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.42
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.5
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.3
Combined force (kN)	2.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.9
L-M moment (Nm)	114
A-P moment (Nm)	138

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1310
Head HIC-15	113
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	48
Lateral force (kN)	1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	42
Average deflection (mm)	32
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.61
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.58
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.1
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.6
Combined force (kN)	1.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.1
L-M moment (Nm)	49
A-P moment (Nm)	158

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Mazda 3 i Touring 4-door

Rating applies to both the Mazda 3 hatchback (tested) and the structurally similar Mazda 3 sedan.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	2,866 lbs
Peak force	18,217 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	6.36

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm)	14
Distance below top of head (mm)	4
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	11.1
Head contact time (ms)	61
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	396

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Optional Smart City Brake Support

Package name

Optional Technology Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-16 models

Advanced

with optional equipment

This system does not meet the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow.

About the original front crash prevention test