The Mazda 3 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The K4 doesn’t offer knee airbags.
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 K4 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Mazda 3 offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The K4 doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The Mazda 3’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The K4 doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
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 K4’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. Only the K4 LXS/EX/GT-Line offers Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning.
The Mazda 3 has standard E911 Automatic Emergency Notification, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The K4 doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Mazda 3 and the K4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mazda 3 Sedan is safer than the K4:
|
Mazda 3 |
K4 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Structure |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
122 |
253 |
Neck Tension |
245 lbs. |
335 lbs. |
Torso |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
156 |
187 |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.87 in |
2.01 in |
Shoulder Force |
268 lbs. |
357 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.87 in |
1.34 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
335 lbs. |
669 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Mazda 3 Sedan has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 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 K4 has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.