2010 Mazda3 Interior Spied

by Justin Berkowitz

Published: October 10th, 2008

I dig it. I reckon some folks won’t like the Civic-style dual cowl, but I appreciate the return of driver-oriented dashboards.

Picture is courtesy Speigel.de.

Justin Berkowitz

Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.

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2 of 31 comments

Ed S. on Oct 14, 2008

I think we should reserve judgment until we see an image from the driver's perspective. There is really no way to tell how well the whole things works (split displays) until you try it while driving. I could see the split display being a benefit for an experienced user (owner) since the majority of the radio buttons appear to surround a central knob/button/thingy. This would seem to facilitate no-look control while keeping the eyes much closer the road. Definitely not a fan of the bulge-out rounds...way too late-90's Pontiac for my tastes. There needs to be a cell phone + iPod bin und the HVAC controls...always. Don't know what those two controls are that are there in the image but I'm sure they could be located elsewhere (right side of the shifter) and still maintain usability. Finally, the cup holders and the e-brake need to change positions, with the later be recessed somewhat when in the down position.

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Harminov on Nov 13, 2008

Being a former CX-7 owner, I rather liked the display being up under the "cowl". It really keeps your focus on the road. What's better about the CX-7 though, is that you can easily access the controls while resting your arm on the arm rest and gear shifter. The size of the 3 doesn't warrant a high enough center console to accommodate that luxury however.

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