You would think that Mazda CX 3 is a kind of slightly taller Mazda 3, and you would be wrong. But you know who didn't make a mistake in return? Mazda, because they launched this money-making car. Or Romeo Cobzaru, because he chose to create the song of the millennium, a Carolina jambala.
Even if in reality it's Built on the Mazda 2 platform, the Mazda CX 3 was an instant success. Perhaps one reason was that people thought that the Mazda CX 3 was a Mazda 3 with long legs, to be made in the industry. T-Roc is a Polo with long legs, Captur is a Clio with long legs or how Andrei Velcu is an Adrian Simionescu with long legs. So you would think that the Mazda CX 3 is a Mazda 3 with legs. But it's not, because we're in Mazda's world and things here don't necessarily have to be logical.
So the first issue you take is that the space inside is Mazda 2, not Mazda 3. The second point is that... actually you don't really have the second point, because this is where the good things start.
First of all, the Mazda CX 3 looks good and is a small cross-over, so that even the weakest girl can drive something. And if she still has so many plastics on the outside, now that girl can drive with a certain degree of confidence and she can park without closing her eyes that she will hit the curb.
Then you had the choice of engines, more precisely 2 petrol and one diesel in most markets, with an 1.8 diesel available in Japan number one, steady hand. Yes, the diesel engine makes as much sense on a city car as the logic "I'm going to his funeral, you know how it is, if you don't go you don't feel like it" makes sense. But you had those 2 delicious SkyActive-G engines, among the last naturally aspirated engines on the market. Engines that somewhat sacrifice performance, for consumption economy. So the 1.5 petrol engine was enough for you and you didn't even look for accommodation in the gas station area.
What is most interesting instead is that the Mazda CX 3 came optionally with an all-wheel drive system, being the only car in its class that offered such a thing. Why would you opt for a 4×4 system on a Mazda 2? I don't know. Anyway, it's a system that only helps you in the snow, and if you want to go to Nea Marin... you want a Mazda 2, it means that you live somewhere in the city, where realistically you only have 4-5 days of nasty snow around the city and where you really need 4 ×4, because otherwise it falls apart. But it's good to know that you had this option.
Petrol
1.5 SkyActiv-G F-P5 of 114 horses - Honestly, you don't even need more for the Mazda CX 3. The idea is that if you want to keep the price at a civilized level and related to its class of car, the 1.5 petrol engine and a manual gearbox and front wheel drive should be all you configure. Plus I don't think you need that 4×4 system. Otherwise you end up with supernatural prices with American eights and horizontal figures.
2.0 SkyActiv-G Skyactiv-G PE-VPS of 120 horses - Of course, everyone talks about this engine, as if it were a combination of Romeo Cobzaru and Anca Turcasiu. Indeed, it's a good, reliable, economical engine, but when you put it on the Mazda CX 3, it ends up costing so much that you'd rather look at a CX 5 directly and you're done. One more time. Try everything until you die! It's your turn!
Diesel
1.5 SkyActiv-D S5-DPTS/S5-DPTR of 105 horsepower – Not. In addition to the fact that it has the same problems with the injectors and the particle filter as the older brother 2.2, the engine is rarer than the moments when fuel prices drop.
1.8 SkyActiv-D S5-DPTS/S5-DPTR of 115 horsepower -
Since it's based on the Mazda 2, The problems with the air conditioning and especially the compressors, as with the Mazda 2. You could say it's a cool car, but only in terms of appearance, because inside you'll sit like a bus. Or like in a club, barricaded by girls with vertical engines and American eighties with paranormal figures.
I continue with the idea that the Mazda CX 3 is more cramped inside than it seems, and I'm going to take the trunk which is placed in a cool place. And the space in the back is really cool. And if you opt for the 4×4 system, you can only fit a CD with Paul Surugiu's music in the trunk.
The paint is exfoliated with 1/4 moisturizing cream, just like the rest of the cars in the Mazda range, from the Mazda 2 to the CX 5.
The Mazda CX 3 was clearly a success, a success far beyond the Mazda 2 on which it is based. The question is the following. All the SUV hysteria started in the 90s with the Mercedes ML. Then in 2005 we decided that we could go one step lower, and so we dropped to the BMW X3, Audi Q5, Toyota Rav4 and so on. Then we thought that a Q5 was too big, and we switched to the Tiguan, which was a kind of Golf with big legs. And the Mazda CX 3 took another small step and now people are interested in buying even something like that, just like the Captur caught on with the public. What's next, to appear a car like Toyota Aygo Cross? oh wait…
In any case, the Mazda CX 3 on gasoline is an excellent car, even if it is slightly expensive for what it offers.
What engines do I recommend? 1.5 114 hp petrol, front wheel drive and manual gearbox. It's all the CX 3 you'll ever need.