I have driven many cars in my 26 years of driving (did I just date myself?), and I can tell you this for certain – this Mazda3 is one sexy ass machine. Sliding into this car made me instantly feel like I was 10 years younger and ready to take on the town. I probably should mention I had the pleasure of driving the Mazda3 in Las Vegas for CES. I still close my eyes and can remember how it felt to slide into the bucket seats and drive on the open roads. Heaven!

There are over 100,000 people that come to CES in Las Vegas every year. This year, I was able to fly on a private jet to Vegas (you should read how that happened). I was then blessed to test drive the 2016 Mazda3. I was a little bummed that this trip kept me bound in the city and that I couldn’t do a full on road trip in this car. It just begged for me to drive it across the country!

After a few days being around all of those people at CES, I needed some solo time. I’m an outgoing introvert and I had hit my limit to how long I could be around people. I knew I needed a nature break. I jumped into the Mazda3 and set the navigation to go out to the Red Rocks, which was about 30 minutes away from my hotel.

One thing that I did was notice was the Active Driving Display, as I had not seen this before in any other car. It has the speed and even the directions pop up there. My only issue was that I am short, like really short, so I had a hard time seeing it over the steering wheel. Don’t even suggest a booster seat!

I love it when all the controls are on the steering wheel. This car was made for style and comfort – everything just seemed to flow beautifully together. My only complaint was that I couldn’t change from radio to media or to Sirius unless the car was parked. I’m not sure if that was an error on my part or if the display doesn’t allow for usage while the car was moving.

I love driving a manual car, but not too many people know how to these days. The Mazda3 wasn’t manual, but the gear shift made me feel like I was in one of my family’s racecars. It is a small feature, but I loved it!

I drove out to Red Rock in time to catch the sunset, which I knew would be spectacular. While driving through the Vegas freeways, I let the car move. Really move. This car was fast! Did I mention I come from a family of racecar drivers? In love, I was! The Mazda3 skated around the turns, hugging the road, making driving feel so effortless.

I wanted to try out the Mazda Radar Cruise Control with Close Proximity too. You have to preset the speed you want to cruise at and the Mazda Radar Cruise Control helps you to maintain a safe distance between you and the car in front of you. So if you are day dreaming for a bit you won’t all of a sudden come up too quickly on someone. Excellent safety feature!

 

Thank you @MazdaUSA for this beautiful and teched out #Mazda3 to use while at #CES2016. Drove it out to the Red Rocks to watch the sunset. ♡ #Mazda #DriveMazda #ces #roadtrip #travel #travelwriter #solotravel #cars #sporty #drive #travelblogger #traveling #cartech #letsdrive #drivetime #fastcars #sunset #redrocks #carreview #drivingmatters @MazdaUSA

A photo posted by Kristi Trimmer (@kristitrimmer) on Jan 9, 2016 at 5:10pm PST

A great sunset right with the sexy ass 2016 Mazda3? I thought so too! I stayed out there and hiked the hills and got back into the Mazda and promptly put on the heated seats. I just sat there enjoying the sunset and loving the feel of this car. 

The next day I took my friends Jana and Kimberly to the airport. We were able to get five huge suitcases in the trunk! I couldn’t believe it – we all fit! And yes that is a Darth Vader suitcase. I know, I want one too!

  After I dropped them off, I drove around Las Vegas a bit more. I wanted to drive the Mazda3 as much as possible. I felt I didn’t get enough driving time in as I was in conferences all day. If I could, I would definitely drive this car across the country or up to Alaska. It is sexy as hell from the gentle curves to the outstanding tech that made my tech heart sing.

My last night with this sultry Mazda3… I’m going to miss this beauty and how smoothly it drives. ♡ #DriveMazda #Mazda #Mazda3 #carreview #cars #beautifulcars #vroomvroom #letsdrive #roadtrip #travel #traveling #traveltime #solotravel #ces2016 #solotraveler #travelblogger #travelblog #sunset #drivingmatters @MazdaUSA A photo posted by Kristi Trimmer (@kristitrimmer) on Jan 13, 2016 at 5:30pm PST

MSRP: From $17,845
MPG: Up to 30 city, 41 highway
Horsepower: 155 to 184 hp
Fuel tank capacity: 13.2 gal
Engine: 2.0 L 4-cylinder, 2.5 L 4-cylinder