In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Mazda 3 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The A3 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Mazda 3 has standard Whiplash Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The A3 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
With its standard Smart Brake Support, the Mazda 3 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Audi A3, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
|
Mazda 3 |
A3 |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
| 12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
| 25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-19 MPH |
|
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
| 12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
| 12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
| 25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
| 25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-11 MPH |
|
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
| 25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-4 MPH |
| 25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-8 MPH |
| 37 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-14 MPH |
| Warning Issued-Brights |
2.4 sec |
1.5 sec |
| 37 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-1 MPH |
| Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.7 sec |
.3 sec |
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Mazda 3 Turbo Premium Plus has standard Smart Brake Support that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The A3 doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
The Mazda 3 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360-Degree Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The A3 only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The Mazda 3 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the A3’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Mazda 3 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Braking on the Turbo Premium Plus automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Audi charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Assist on the A3.
The Mazda 3’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The A3 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Mazda 3 and the A3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.
The Mazda 3 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The A3 is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.