Top Safety PickTop Safety Pick criteria

2018 Mazda 3

small car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with specific headlights

2018 Mazda 3 4-door sedan
2017 Mazda 3 shown

Crashworthiness

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

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system
Superior
Standard system
Advanced

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Optional lane departure warning
  • Optional lane departure prevention

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.

Overall evaluation
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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

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

Driver injury measures

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.

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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

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

Driver injury measures

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.

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

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

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.

Driver injury measures

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

Passenger injury measures

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 weight2,866 lbs
Peak force18,217 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio6.36

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.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • Grand Touring trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?Yes
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves, fair on the sharp left curve and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair in all 4 tests.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and on both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • Grand Touring trim
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2017-18 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 109.3 m None
Straightaway left edge 47.3 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 78.3 m 1.7%
250m radius left curve, left edge 46.6 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 65.1 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 46.8 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 150.7 m
Straightaway left edge 132.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 70.1 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 68.6 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 58.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 58.3 m

Trim level(s)

  • Sport trim
  • Touring trim
Low-beam headlight typeHalogen projector
High-beam headlight typeHalogen reflector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was fair on the gradual right curve and inadequate on the sharp right and both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair on the gradual right and gradual left curves and inadequate on the sharp right and sharp left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • Sport trim
  • Touring trim
Low-beam headlight type Halogen projector
High-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2017-18 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 81.5 m None
Straightaway left edge 53.1 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 56.2 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 45.0 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 44.9 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 38.1 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 146.0 m
Straightaway left edge 126.1 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 73.7 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 68.9 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 53.4 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 51.8 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

Ratings are given for 2 different trim variations available on this vehicle.

System details

  • Optional Smart Brake Support
  • standard Smart City Brake Support

Package name

  • Optional Premium Equipment Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2018 models

Superior
Superior
with optional equipment
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

System details

  • Standard Smart City Brake Support

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2018 models

Advanced
Advanced
  • 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

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2016-18 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimi Touring
Seat type cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimi Touring
Seat type cloth
1 2 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 4-6
Force (lbs) 14
Clearance angle (degrees) 65
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 4-6
Force (lbs) 15
Clearance angle (degrees) 66
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 4-6
Force (lbs) 13
Clearance angle (degrees) 68
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 4-6
Force (lbs) 15
Clearance angle (degrees) 67
Tether anchor
Location Rear deck
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 No
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation