2023 Subaru WRX vs 2023 Mazda MAZDA3

With the ubiquitous growth of the small SUV—including the Mazda3’s corporate cousin, the Mazda CX-30 subcompact crossover—the compact car segment might get overlooked when shopping for your next new car. But small cars can do many of the things that are asked of a small SUV—especially if that car is a hatchback. The 2023 Mazda3 is a stark reminder of just how great hatchbacks can be for everyday life.

Mazda’s approach with its vehicles has been simple, yet ambitious: to “deliver luxury-level performance and cabin quality without the luxury price,” according to the company. The Mazda3 is no different. It punches well above its weight and raises the bar for what a small car can be. The Mazda3 hatchback even offers SUV-like versatility thanks to added cargo space and a rear liftgate. But does the Mazda3 have the features and attributes that will have you reconsidering cars over crossovers?

Subaru's image is centred around rugged station wagons, outdoor activities, and cute dogs, but the automaker also has a sporty side—exemplified by the 2023 Subaru WRX.

The WRX first appeared in the 1990s as a homologation special for the World Rally Championship (WRC), which at the time required cars to be closely related to production models. Subaru viewed rallying as the perfect way to show off its all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicles so, after a trial with the Legacy midsize sedan, it launched the Impreza-based WRX with the goal of becoming more competitive. It worked: Subaru has won multiple rally championships and the WRX has endeared it to car enthusiasts.

Subaru didn't begin selling the WRX in North America until the 2002 model year, but it's remained a fixture of the automaker's lineup ever since, competing against other sporty compact cars like the Honda Civic Si, Hyundai Elantra N, Volkswagen Golf GTI and Jetta GLI, and other derivatives of those models.

The current, fourth-generation WRX was introduced for the 2022 model year, so there are no changes to report for 2023. The lineup in Canada includes base, Sport, and Sport-Tech trims. For this review, we drove the U.S. WRX GT trim, which is closest to Canada’s top Sport-Tech grade.