How the 2014 Mazda3 earned a Ward's 10 Best Interiors spot

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How did the Mazda3 earn a place on a list with cars costing ten times its price?

The 2014 Mazda3 has earned a place on the Ward’s 10 Best Interiors listing. The Mazda3 joins Rolls-Royce, the 2014 Corvette Stingray, and the 2014 Mercedes S-Class on this distinguished list of exceptionally well done interiors. Ward’s looked closely at the interiors of model year 2014 vehicles to find those that stood out as exceptional.

The 2014 Mazda3 might seem an odd choice for a list that has cars costing up to $377,000. However, the truth is that it does not cost a company more to develop and deliver an outstanding interior. WardsAuto World Editor-in-Chief, Drew Winter, commented on the fact that the very affordable Kia Rio, the Mazda3 and some other noteworthy interiors seem to prove that a high price is no guarantee of a well done interior. “This year’s list is the most diverse we’ve ever had, from affordable compacts to ultra-luxury cars such as the Rolls-Royce Wraith.”

The 2014 Mazda3 comes in a variety of flavors. As many of our readers point out, any interior that cannot come with a manual stick shift brings frowns to some. The Mazda3 can be had in some trims with a manual 6-speed. The man-machine-interface is also something many key in on. Mazda’s was thought to be exceptional by the judges. The folks at Ward’s called the infotainment controller in the Mazda3 “…a sophisticated central controller that resembles that of an Audi...”

Ward’s also looks for content in its wining cars. Noting that the 2014 Mazda3 had many features commonly found in much more expensive models the group said the 3 had “advanced safety features such as radar-based adaptive cruise control, forward-obstruction warning and lane-departure warning.”

Just this week the Mazda3 also found itself an Automobile Magazine All-Star." Torque News is scheduled to begin a formal test of the 2014 Mazda3 next week. Our expectations are high for this vehicle. We will bring your honest impressions of the Mazda3 interior shortly.