Mazda CX-3

The Mazda CX-3 impresses highly with its premium cabin layout, which carries a minimalist theme with the same understated elegance that is there on the exterior. The cabin of the Mazda CX-3 features an all-black theme, with premium quality leather for the seat and door panel upholstery and a soft-touch finish for the upper layer of the dashboard.

The driver’s cockpit of the Mazda CX-3 looks and feels sporty with the three-spoke steering wheel and a decently informative three-part instrument console with a centrally-placed tachometer with a digital speedometer within the same binnacle. The centre console looks neat and minimalist with a free-standing 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system at the top of the upper layer of the dashboard.

The middle layer of the dashboard, which has a slanted design, accommodates thin and sleek-looking AC vents laid horizontally. The lower centre console gets rounded auto AC buttons, with the transmission lever placed ahead of it also accompanied by the transmission lever and electronic parking brake switch. The other features which make the cabin of the Mazda CX-3 look rich and expensive include a 10-way powered driver’s seat, 7-speaker BOSE audio system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rear AC vents and 60:40 split rear seats.

The Mazda CX-3 might not be having an upright stance of a traditional SUV, but its curvaceous design language from front to rear makes it a highly aerodynamic-looking car. There are a lot of curves throughout the profile of the Mazda CX-3, which makes it look striking and very youthful.

The most recent facelift of the Mazda CX-3 gave it a fresher-looking fascia, which now comprises four horizontal slats within the grille, that have a chrome finish for the side and lower tapered edges. The side edges of the grille extend towards the trapezoidal headlamp clusters, which house LED projectors. The corners of the front bumper have wedge-shaped housings for the fog lamps, with the front splitter at the bottom of the front bumper also having chrome garnish strips at the lower corners.

The side profile of the Mazda CX-3 is characterized by a lot of curves, including the curves flowing over the bonnet and the swooping curves over the fenders and door panels. The Mazda CX-3 has huge rounded wheel arches, which along with the bottom of the door panels, come with thick body cladding. The Mazda CX-3 rides on 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, which along with the curved window waistline and door-mounted rearview mirrors, make the side profile look very attractive.

The rear profile of the Mazda CX-3 also carries an understated elegance which is visible in the front and side profiles of the crossover. Here, the Mazda CX-3 gets combination LED tail lamps, which are shaped like a bird’s wings, while the rest of the boot lid has a clean look with the license plate housing placed in the rear bumper that also has thick black cladding at the bottom.

With a functional suspension setup – Macpherson struts at the front and torsion beam axle at the rear, the Mazda CX-3 feels sure-footed for an SUV or a crossover, for the ride height isn’t too high. The precisely-tuned steering and suspension setups make the Mazda CX-3 a good handling crossover, while also offering a comfortable ride quality.

The single variant of the Mazda CX-3 on offer in the Philippines comes with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine under its hood. This engine is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission and generates a maximum power output of 150 PS and a maximum torque output of 195 Nm. For a large 3.0-litre engine, the performance numbers are not too enthusiastic, though the Mazda CX-3 impresses with its refinement levels.

Besides having blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert as its flagship safety feature, the Mazda CX-3 also comes with six airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, 360-degree parking camera, dynamic stability control, front and rear parking sensors and ISOFIX mounts for child seats.

With a very attractive and aerodynamic exterior design and premium fit and finish levels, the Mazda CX-3 exudes a great sense of quality and luxury, which ranks very high in the segment to which it belongs.