Drove a Mazda CX-3 2.0 6-speed M/T, Fiat 500X 6-speed M/T and Hyundai Kona A/T

[cawimmer430]

Drove to the shoot in an Audi Q2 30 TDI, left with a Mazda CX-3 2.0 6-speed manual. 





Long story short, this was a shoot for a magazine. They had only three (and during the shoot only two!) drivers available, so one of the cars was dropped off at my place (the Audi). Depending on which car was trashed off-road, I had to move my gear from car to car. In the end it ended all up in the Mazda, so I drove home with this car (about 50 km).

I have no idea which version of the Skyactiv motor was under the hood. The only thing I could read from the car papers was an engine capacity of 1998cc, and based on the performance I am guessing this may have been the peppy 150-horsepower motor.


Some thoughts on the Mazda...


POSITIVE

+ Very sporty handling, suspension but still comfortable
+ Excellent steering and brake feedback
+ Excellent quality interior, nice cabin design
+ Agile and responsive and smooth engine
+ Drives almost like a sports car, very sporty and FUN!
+ Lively acceleration
+ Crisp 6-speed manual transmission and clutch


NEGATIVE

- Surprisingly small trunk, my equipment barely fit and half of it had to be stowed on the rear seats (this was not the case with the Audi)
- Cramped cabin for rear occupants
- As good as the engine was, it was also very noisy after only 120 km/h - in 6th gear!
- The HUD display is only clearly readable if your head and gaze were at a certain angle
- Button to turn off Start-Stop (looks like Mazda calls it "i-Stop") was nowhere to be found for those of us who hate this feature...



Overall, a very fun little SUV. It felt more expensive than the Fiat and Hyundai. From this quartet, the Audi felt the most expensive and premium closely followed by the Mazda. In terms of driving enjoyment the Mazda would be my pick. It's an addicting little SUV. I was almost sad to see it go when it was later picked up from my place.



UNEDITED STRAIGHT-OUT-OF-CAMERA-RAW-SHOT of the Audi Q2 30 TDI...




UNEDITED STRAIGHT-OUT-OF-CAMERA-SHOT of the Mazda CX-3...























Also shot and driven (but only on the location), Fiat 500X 6-speed M/T and Hyundai Kona A/T. No idea what specific engine models they had, but they were both gasoline. I averaged with the Fiat maybe 3 km of driving, and with the Hyundai a few hundred meters (there was only me and the two employees of the magazine so I had to help drive one car out of the location to a meeting place, and that would be the Fiat).

Some thoughts. Both the Fiat and Hyundai felt cheaper than the Mazda and Audi in terms of interior materials and feel. Both had very refined engines with good NVH. Impressive how far 4-cylinders have come. The Fiat felt more lively, had a decent 6-speed manual transmission, clutch felt a little weird (it would enable movement once it was released about 70% of the way instead of earlier on pretty much all manual cars) but you quickly got used to it. The Fiat was agile and zippy, so was the Hyundai, it's A/T was smooth. But overall these cars feel cheaper than the Audi and Mazda.

[Laconian]

The Mazda HUD is a little touchy but you can adjust the angle via the infotainment settings so that it's not an issue.

Agreed on the trunk and back seat. I sat in one in at the car show and was pretty alarmed by how cramped it is on the inside. The Mazda3 hatch is better in every way, and it has less cladding, too!

[2o6]

These are sharp driving cars!

With zero interior space.

[HurricaneSteve]

The CX-3 is based on the Mazda 2 so I'm not surprised that you found it a bit cramped (or loud at that speed). The next CX-3 is supposed to be based on the Mazda 3 so it'll be larger, and with their refinement kick, should be quieter. I will say I do like the tidy exterior dimensions of the CX-3 and if one lives in the city, inches matter.

[93JC]

人馬一体! 

[Laconian]

Ren Ma Yi Ti, doesn't sound as good in Chinese

[veeman]

Mazda makes the best red color. 

[cawimmer430]

The Mazda HUD is a little touchy but you can adjust the angle via the infotainment settings so that it's not an issue.

Agreed on the trunk and back seat. I sat in one in at the car show and was pretty alarmed by how cramped it is on the inside. The Mazda3 hatch is better in every way, and it has less cladding, too!

Nonetheless the way the car drove was really impressive. If a little Mazda SUV can drive like that, then the 3 Hatchback/Sedan must be even better!

[cawimmer430]

These are sharp driving cars!

With zero interior space.

That should have been my review: sharp to drive, horrible rear/trunk space.

[cawimmer430]

The CX-3 is based on the Mazda 2 so I'm not surprised that you found it a bit cramped (or loud at that speed). The next CX-3 is supposed to be based on the Mazda 3 so it'll be larger, and with their refinement kick, should be quieter. I will say I do like the tidy exterior dimensions of the CX-3 and if one lives in the city, inches matter.

For a small family with two young kids I suppose it will be just fine. If I owned one I wouldn't really complain about rear space since I tend to drive alone most of the time. But the trunk was also very, very small and "useless" for my needs.

[Raza]

The CX-3 looks so good. Mazda makes some really sharp looking cars.

[12,000 RPM]

The 6 is lustworthy, especially inside

[HurricaneSteve]

The wife thought it felt like a luxury car on the inside but unfortunately it's just too big of a car for our needs.

The 6 is lustworthy, especially inside