Mazda CX-3

CX-3 Overview

One of the much-acclaimed crossovers in Mazda’s lineup, CX-3 has been successful in the market for quite a long time. The car takes many of its traits from its existing siblings, Mazda2, Mazda3, and Mazda CX-5. The car was introduced for the first time at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show and since then it is seen making appearances at different locations over the period of time. The car made its first ASEAN debut in Thailand and it made its first appearance in the local market in 2016. 

The CX-3 is available in three different variants – Pro, Sport, and Activ, each of which comes with a single powertrain option of a petrol engine mated to an automatic gearbox. The color options available for the Mazda CX-3 are Ceramic, Eternal Blue, Jet Black, Machine Grey, Snowflake White Pearl, Soul Red, and Titanium Flash.

Mazda CX-3 Interior & Features

Mazda's innovations and technologies are famous in the entire automotive industry, and the same treatment is carried over to CX-3. The interior much like the exterior evokes motion and design, giving an expression of unique character. The comfortable seats, plush and bold dashboard, handcrafted detailing, and the points concerning reasonable traits are efficient enough making it a perfect buying option. As for Mazda CX-3, the car adopts the company's HMI designing interface that is based on the Heads-up Cockpit concept. Taking about the driver arena, one can see half leather seat, new meter cluster, active driving display, tachometer with digital speedometer, and three-dimensional dial face. The front seats are supportive and can hold the occupant firmly from all three sides, making it suitable to drive for longer durations. The dashboard holds an unconventional design language with circular single-zone air-vents and MZD Connect seven-inch display. At the rear, the people with long height can also sit comfortably without any dearth of head and legroom. The center tunnel is equipped with commander control that provides accurate and intuitive blind operation.

The comfort level given to the CX-3 is borrowed from a class above. The reasonable amount of holes and pockets are planted inside the cabin which can store a lot of minor stuff like the charger, phone, glasses, etc. The circular AC vents are placed in sequential order on the dashboard that looks both great and maintains an adequate temperature inside. The assembly of touch screen infotainment system, push-button start, steering design, and controls mounted over it has become a signature style of Mazda's new-generation vehicles. At the rear, half leather foldable seats are comforting and give a good chance to expand the boot space.

Mazda CX-3 has an ample amount of space inside, proving a decent leg and headroom. It accommodates 350-litre of luggage with seats up and boot space further increases with seats down (60:40 split rear seat).

The music player follows the designing traits of Mazda's new sculpture; it has a nice looking seven-inch MZD-Connect touch screen panel which looks like a plane surface when the ignition is off, and the minute ignition starts, it displays a vivid menu and number of options to deal with. The touch screen has many options which the driver can access through the audio controls planted on the steering wheel alongside Bluetooth, hands-free calling, and cruise control functionalities. The music player supports input from CD/DVD, USB, AUX, FM radio, and Bluetooth. There are a total of six speakers that are mounted all over, giving you the best music experience.

CX-3 Exterior

Mazda is known for its stylish and powerful products that are built under its KODO: Soul Of Motion Design Language. Each of Mazda's next generation car is designed in a way that perfectly reflects its customers individuality and personality. As for the CX-3, it too withholds KODO design DNA that is very well displayed through its bold new face. Starting from its front fascia, the car showcase smooth bonnet with bold contour lines that are followed by its standard grille design. The grille connects smoothly to its sharp LED lamp that mimics the eyes of a wild animal. As for the fog lamps they sit in a well-crafted case and are integrated with turn-signal lamps. On to the side, one can see body-colored door handles, a change from the chrome ones seen in the market and black cladding running through the entire car length. Its prominent wheel arches now house 18-inch aluminum wheels that are crafted with three-dimensionally contoured spokes giving a twisted look, wrapped with 215/50 R18 tires. The rear end comes equipped with LED taillights, rear fog lamp with halogen bulb, and rear spoiler integrated with stop lamps. Also, present are powered sunroof and shark fin antenna. The car is available in five color choices – Soul Red Metallic, Crystal White Pearl, Meteor Grey, Jet Black and Deep Crystal Blue.

Mazda CX-3 counts its compact dimensions with 4257 mm of length, 1765 mm of width and 1535 mm of height. The 2570 mm of wheelbase makes it look good while making it spacious at the same time. This B-segment crossover underpins the same SkyActiv chassis as the one used in Mazda 2 and has a kerb weight of 1211 kg.

The robustness of a crossover SUV gets highlighted to a great extent, by the way its wheels are designed. Mazda CX-3 runs on 18-inch five spoke aluminum wheel which is wrapped with 215/50 R18 tires for optimum road grip.

Mazda CX-3 Ride & Handling

Mazda CX-3 is integrated with McPherson Strut suspension on the front axle while the rear axle is connected with Torsion Beam, both helping the car to deliver a smooth ride. 

It also gets the famous G-Vectoring control, which ensures that the car remains sure-footed and planted on each and every driving condition. The Mazda CX-3 has got a small turning radius of 5.3m, making it quite easy to handle in tight city traffic conditions. The ground clearance of 155mm is not too big to take it around for off-roading, however, it does give it extra height to overcome bigger potholes and rough patches.

CX-3 Engine & Fuel Consumption

This car is available with Mazda's SkyActiv-G technology boasted into the 2.0L DOHC, 4-cylinder 16 valve gasoline engine with direct fuel injection. It has made milestones with the earlier versions and has been on the top of the list of petrol engines available in the category. This engine churns out 154 hp of maximum power at 6000 rpm and 204 Nm of torque at 2800 rpm. It is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, helping it to deliver good performance figures. 

In the CX-3, the said engine returns 14.88 kmpl of mileage on highways and 12.33 kmpl on the city road. Thus, giving a combined fuel economy of 13.18 kmpl. CX-3 is potentially fit enough to get the 100 kmph mark in just 8.6 seconds while it can attain the top speed close to 200 kmph. 

The 2.0-litre SkyActiv-G 4-CYL DOHC engine is a proven machine and is shared with the Mazda 3 and Mazda CX-5. In the CX-3, the said engine returns 14.88 kmpl of mileage on highways and 12.33 kmpl on the city road. Thus, giving a combined fuel economy of 13.18 kmpl.

Mazda CX-3 Braking & Safety

The car ranks high on safety and security front, Mazda has employed a number of latest features, ensuring a safe ride for the occupants. The dual airbags protect the passengers on the front seats from front and sides; at the rear, curtain airbags perform their duties to keep the travelers safe. The Dynamic Stability Control with Traction Control System is a new thing for the category that electronically controls the braking force applied to each wheel, preventing the car from losing control on slippery control. Along with this, the adaptive Front-Lighting System predicts the shape of the road and directs the beam in the same direction. In addition, the car is built with ultra-high tensile steel that is both low on weight and high on strength, protecting the occupants in case of a collision. 

As for the braking system, the car comes fitted with Ventilated Disc brakes and Solid Disc at the front and rear end respectively. The braking system is further supported by antilock braking systems and electronic brake force distribution, improving CX-3 handling.