The Mazda3 moved to a torsion beam rear suspension in 2019 to improve NVH, handling behavior, and trunk room, and has retained it since.
When Mazda debuted the compact Mazda3 in the early 2000s as a replacement for the Protege, the car quickly earned praise for being one of the best-handling, most driver-focused cars in its class, and by most accounts, that’s still the case today. Mazda may have discontinued the Mazda6 sedan as part of its pivot toward SUVs, but the Mazda3 continues to keep Mazda’s compact car roots alive.
This doesn’t mean, however, that the Mazda3 has remained the same over its long lifespan. One of the bigger changes to the Mazda3 happened for the 2019 model year, when the car moved from a multi-link rear suspension setup to a simpler torsion beam rear suspension. Given that Mazda’s entire brand image, including that of the Mazda3, is focused on handling and driver enjoyment, wouldn’t this be a serious downgrade? And why would the automaker do it in the first place?
According to Mazda, the decision to change the Mazda3’s rear suspension wasn’t made as a cost-cutting measure. Instead, it adopted a torsion beam suspension to improve noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH), increase interior space, and make handling more predictable. And the good news is that the change hardly impacted the Mazda3’s reputation for being one of the funnest, best-handling compact cars in its class.
