Mazda CX-3

Car and Driver

Tested: two thousand sixteen Mazda CX-3 Touring AWD

2017 Mazda CX-3

• Sep 2016
• By JOSEPH CAPPARELLA
• Photography By CHRIS DOANE AUTOMOTIVE

Overview: Anxious to capitalize on an expanding trend, Mazda added a third crossover to its lineup for two thousand sixteen called the CX-3. Smaller than the compact CX-5 and the three-row CX-9, this newest entry has a name that might suggest that it’s a high-riding version of the Mazda three compact. But that’s not exactly the case; the CX-3 is more closely related to the subcompact Mazda two hatchback. In fact, it has become the de facto replacement for the two in the United States, as Mazda’s smallest hatch is no longer sold here, due to the CX-3’s greater potential for sales and profitability. Plastic bod cladding and optional all-wheel drive ($1250) are meant to lure SUV-leaning buyers, but the CX-3’s carlike driving practice and acute interior design are the elements that helped it earn a comparison-test victory against other puny crossovers, including the Jeep Renegade and Honda HR-V.

What’s Fresh: Not much. For its 2nd model year, the two thousand seventeen CX-3 benefits from just a few minor trim and equipment switches. There’s been some fancy-wheel democratization, as the mid-level Touring trim now receives the snazzy 18-inch wheels that were previously included with only the top Grand Touring model. Active safety technology became a bit more accessible, too, as Mazda dropped the cost of the i-Activsense package suggested on the Grand Touring (adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, automated emergency braking, and more); it now costs $1170, $750 less than before.

What We Like: As with the beautiful MX-5 Miata roadster and the acute CX-9, the CX-3 shows Mazda is on a roll design-wise, with its sharply creased sheetmetal, taut proportions, and upscale detailing. Inwards and out, it looks much more expensive than it is, providing off a sort of budget Porsche Macan vibe. That descriptor also could be applied to its driving dynamics, as the CX-3 combines tautly managed assets motions, precise and ideally weighted steering, and a responsive powertrain to make for class-leading treating.

The foot Two.0-liter four-cylinder engine makes one hundred forty six horsepower, enough to motor the CX-3 to sixty mph in a reasonably quick 8.1 seconds. (That’s with all-wheel drive; a lighter front-wheel-drive CX-3 might be a bit quicker, but we’ve yet to test one of those.) Combined with the CX3’s relatively low curb weight, this engine also earns competitive EPA fuel-economy numbers of 29/34 mpg city/highway with front-wheel drive, or 27/32 mpg with all-wheel drive.

What We Don’t Like: Also like the (far more expensive and larger) Porsche Macan, the CX-3 sacrifices some function for its appealing compact form. Packaging an all-wheel-drive system into such a brief platform impinges on the space available for cargo: The high floor can make it difficult to blast strong items, and, with the seats up, its 12-cubic-foot capacity (Ten with the Bose stereo) is less than you’ll find in the trunks of many compact sedans. The rear seat is taut for two and awkward for three, while the swoopy styling makes for puny windows that may induce a bit of claustrophobia among some back-seat passengers.

The CX-3 also can get pricey. Grand Touring models with AWD begin north of $27,000, at which point a nicely tooled Mazda three hatchback—more spacious, more fuel efficient, and available with a manual transmission—strikes us as a much smarter buy. And if you need all-wheel drive and have the cash, it seems worth it to pay a few thousand more dollars for the fatter CX-5 crossover, which offers much more usable space inwards than the cramped CX-3.

Verdict: Tops in its segment, but the CX-3’s strongest competitors come from within the Mazda lineup.

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