QOTD: Unlikely Wallflower?

I took a walk the other night, taking advantage of unseasonably mild temps to enjoy a little exercise and fresh air. One damp, gloomy block after another passed until I saw her. Under a streetlamp, in front of a drab walk-up. Beckoning to me without saying a word.

I stopped in my tracks and stared, mouth slightly agape ⁠— not unlike George Costanza in that episode with the producer’s 15-year-old daughter.

“Why aren’t you more popular?” I thought.

The arresting object under the streetlight was, in classic TTAC writer fashion, a base-model compact car. A Mazda 3 to be exact. Showroom new, by the looks of it, and outlined in perfect profile. Few automakers have mastered the art of lending RWD proportions to a FWD car quite like the folks at Mazda.

Its updated KODO design language is *chef’s kiss* ⁠— well, the sedan, anyway.

And what have you read about on these digital pages over the past several months? The shockingly steep descent of the Mazda 3, a vehicle Mazda actually spent a fair bit of time and money on to boost its appeal. I probably passed ten 2020 Toyota Corollas during that walk.

Up here in Canadialand, the Mazda 3 retains its base engine and broad manual transmission availability, making the entry-level model a better value than in the United States. Even the carryover 2.0-liter makes 155 hp and 150 lb-ft ⁠— a far cry better than the base Corolla L’s 139 hp and 126 lb-ft. Manuals can be had on both bases. After freight and a raft of government-imposed fees, the slinky Mazda comes out $926 cheaper, and does so with standard 16-inch wheels.

With the previously mentioned attributes and available all-wheel drive, not to mention the continued presence of a five-door model, Mazda 3 sales sank 20 percent in Canada in 2019. The Corolla? Down 2.5 percent. In the U.S., the gap was even wider.

There’s criticism to be levelled at the Mazda, what with its uplevel positioning in the States (a situation the automaker desperately wants to change), but few would disagree that, inside and out, the 3 is the looker the Corolla ain’t. And yet it suffers, standing ignored and tearful on the sidelines of the compact car dance as Ms. Sarah Plain and Tall takes off with the star quarterback. On his other arm? The Honda Civic.

Choice is something we enjoy in the Western world. And in a diverse marketplace like this, there’s always winners and losers.

What car or truck model surprises you with its (relative) unpopularity?