2019 Mazda CX-3 GT AWD

 
 

For this week’s review we’ve gotten our hands on the 2019 Mazda CX-3 in North America. With it’s eye-catching style refresh of the new grill, new LED taillights, and new 18-inch wheel design.

Disclosure: Mazda Canada provided me with the 2019 Mazda CX-3 for a week to test drive, and photograph. All photos in this blog post was taken by me. #MazdaCX3

ACCELERATION: 7.5/10

  • 2.0L DOHC I4 - 148HP @ 6000 & 146 lb-ft @ 2800

  • 6-Speed Automatic Transmission

  • 8.5 second 0-100 km/hr

BRAKING: 8/10

  • Short stopping distance thanks to its low curb weight

HANDLING: 9.5/10

  • Overall handling feel is the best in this segment.

RIDE: 6.5/10

  • Suspensions are a bit firm, so being rougher road can be punishing on long drives.

ECONOMY: 9/10

  • 29/34/31- City/Highway/Combined FWD

  • 27/32/29- City/Highway/Combined AWD

CABIN NOISE: 7.5/10

  • One of the louder vehicles due to its rev happy engine.

  • Most of the noise comes from the engine, rather than wind.

EXTERIOR: 9/10

  • Looks very sharp and premium. The best looking vehicle in this segment

INTERIOR FOR DRIVER: 8.5/10

  • Love the premium look and design of the interior with tactile knobs and buttons

  • Has power seat adjustments with lumbar support

  • Has tilt/telescopic steering column

  • 2 position seat memory

  • Good driver visibility

INTERIOR FOR PASSENGERS: 6/10

  • Although the length of the car is comparable to the rest of the vehicles in the segment, it’s engine design makes the hood longer and this severely affects the legroom in the rear seats. Most passengers will not fit comfortably in the rear for long trips

  • The strange thing, on paper the Kona has lower legroom numbers but the CX-3 actually felt more cramp..

Combined Legroom:

  • 80.5 - HR-V

  • 79.6 Eco Sport

  • 76.7 CX-3

  • 76.5 Trax

  • 76.1 - Kona

  • 75.2 - C-HR

Combined Headroom:

  • 40.5 Renegade

  • 39.0 CX-5

  • 38.8 Trax

  • 38.3 HR-V & CH-R

  • 37.8 Kona

  • 37.2 CX-3

INTERIOR STORAGE: 6.5/10

  • 12.4 Cu Ft of storage

  • Smaller than what you’ll find in the competition

  • It’s about half the space of what you’ll find in the Honda HR-V and Kia Soul

  • It has a spare tire!

INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM: 8.25/10

  • Finally has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay! Interestly only cars produced after Sept 1 2018 have this. vehicles produced earlier will have to get their infotainment software updated!

  • Love the controller system near the shifter making it intuitive to use. The screen is also a touchscreen so users can interact with it however they prefer. Personally I like the knob control system. It reminds me of BMW iDrive system.

OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE 2019 mazda cx-3 gt:

While I love the styling, agile handling and rev happy engine of CX-3, when we look at the practicality of the vehicle that’s where it starts to shine less due it’s cramp rear seats, and limited cargo capacity. If you rarely need to use the rear passenger seats, or transport lots of cargo this would be my pick. The CX-3 is genuinely fun to drive, and the most attractive in the segment.

I wish Mazda offers the CX-3 with a more powerful engine option in the future. For now if you’re looking to have a bit more power, I would recommend checking out the Mazda CX-5 or Hyundai Kona. The Hyundai has a turbo engine and you’ll see a huge improvement in acceleration. It’s also worth noting the Kona also handles better than the CX-3 although I still feel the CX-3 has a better overall feel. I picked the CX-5 as an option to check out because the leg & head room numbers are similar to the top vehicles in this compact CUV segment and it has a turbo engine option!

 
 
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