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2019 Mazda3 priced from $21,000, AWD models start at $24,000

The hatchback comes in at $23,600, and you can only get a manual transmission on the $27,500 Premium-trim hatchback.

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
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Steven Ewing
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Mazda

The redesigned redesigned Mazda3 made its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, bringing sharper styling and all-wheel drive to the Japanese automaker's compact car package. The 2019 models go on sale this March, and announced Wednesday that the sedan and hatchback variants will be priced at $21,000 and $23,600, respectively, excluding $895 for destination.

The Mazda3 is a bit more expensive; the new sedan costs $2,905 more than a 2018 model, while the hatchback commands an additional $4,255 over its predecessor. Sedan models can be had in base, Select, Preferred and Premium trims, while the hatchback is only available in base, Preferred and Premium guises.

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Every Mazda3 is powered by a naturally aspirated, 2.5-liter I4 engine, with 186 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission is standard, though a six-speed manual transmission is available. Sadly, the stick-shift option can only be had on the $27,500 Mazda3 Premium hatchback with front-wheel drive. All sedan and all-wheel-drive models are automatic-only affairs.

Speaking of all-wheel drive, the cheapest way to get this option is on the $24,000 Mazda3 select sedan. The most expensive Premium AWD sedan and hatchback variants cost $27,900 and $28,900, respectively. The is the only other compact car in this class that offers all-wheel drive.

Mazda's new Skyactiv-X powertrain, which we previewed in depth last year, is expected to join the Mazda3 lineup in late 2019.

The Mazda3 sedan comes standard with 16-inch alloy wheels and cloth seats, while the hatchback gets 18-inch rollers and leatherette seating. All Mazda3s get LED headlights and taillights, a 7-inch TFT gauge cluster display and pushbutton start. An 8-inch infotainment display is also standard, and higher trim levels get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

We'll be getting our first drive of the new Mazda3 in the very near future, and we're interested to see if it can hold onto its crown as the best-driving car in the compact class. The 2019 model certainly looks to be as compelling as ever from a design and packaging standpoint, even if it does cost a bit more than before.

Watch this: 2019 Mazda3 debuts new design, Skyactiv-X