Road Test: new fuel-efficient Mazda3

Mazda, the car company known for its "zoom-zoom" marketing campaign, is selling fuel efficiency now, too.

Mazda doesn't have a fuel-sipping, 2012 gasoline-electric hybrid or all-electric vehicle. But for 2012 it's applying SkyActiv, the company's package of fuel-saving equipment and upgrades, to the Mazda3 sedan and five-door hatchback.

It's the first rollout of SkyActiv, but it won't be the last. Already, Mazda officials have announced a SkyActiv version of the CX-5 sport utility vehicle will be out in Japan this year.

Fuel mileage numbers for the Mazda3 SkyActiv from the federal government are noteworthy: 33 miles per gallon in city driving and 40 mpg on the highway for the sedan. That's the first 40-mpg rating for a Mazda since the U.S. government began rating vehicles.

The 2-liter, double overhead cam, direct gasoline injection four cylinder that has the SkyActiv label on it produces 7 more horsepower than last year's four banger.

The technology isn't new. European car companies have had direct-injection engines for years, but Mazda engineers did more, though it's not necessarily visible. Bumpers are more streamlined aerodynamically now. The Mazda3 body structure was revamped and dropped 220 pounds.

The test Mazda3 hatchback, which didn't quite weigh 3,000 pounds, retained the capable handling and good road feel that Mazdas are known for.

Less than 15 feet, from end to end, the car nimbly wound through constrained parking garages, held its line and composure in sweeping curves and slipped into parallel parking spots easily.

Torque peaks at 148 foot-pounds at 4,100 rpm now compared with 135 foot-pounds at 4,500 rpm in last year's four cylinder. It doesn't push a driver's back hard into the seat back, but it's not wimpy, either.

Fit and finish on the tester was excellent, inside and out. The Grand Touring test model came well appointed with heated front seats, eight-way power driver seat, moonroof, leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather-trimmed seats, four-wheel disc brakes and Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity all standard.

The Mazda3 sedan and hatchback earned four out of five stars in an overall crash-test rating from the federal government.

2012 Mazda3

Base price: $15,995

Price as tested: $23,400

Engine: four-cylinder, double overhead cam engine with SkyActivcq direct-gasoline injection

Power: 155 horsepower

EPA fuel economy rating: 33 city/40 highway

Length: 177.4 inches

Width: 69.1 inches

Height: 57.9 inches

Wheelbase: 103.9 inches

Curb weight: 3,048 pounds

Bottom line: First Mazda sedan to get a 40-mpg fuel economy rating, and power hasn't been sacrificed.