SUV Review: 2021 Mazda CX-3

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I like Mazdas. At least I thought I did. After a pleasant experience in the Mazda6 and the CX-9, I tried on Mazda’s smallest ute for size. I was expecting the CX-3 to be fun, nimble, and refined in that quintessential Mazda way. I was very wrong.

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The disappointment set in less than 100 feet from where I started driving it. The engine was noisy, and not in a fun MX-5 way. More in a “is a door not fully closed?” kind of way. And with a naturally-aspirated 2.0L engine, I didn’t expect it to be fast, but it was surprisingly slow.

With just 148 hp to be poured through an AWD system, I guess it shouldn’t be surprised, but I’m used to the athletic feel of Mazda’s 3 and larger CUVs. Once you’re up to highway speeds, the engine spins faster than most competitors at around 2,500 rpm. It makes for more noise from the engine on the highway.

Things weren’t much better out back. The cargo area has a high load floor, and with all the seats up, there’s just 504 litres of cargo space on offer. And before you think I’m just being unnecessarily mean to a small vehicle, Mazda’s own Mazda3 has 62 more litres of space, at 566 with all seats up. Mazda’s confusingly-named but similarly-sized CX-30 boasts 572L of storage. There just isn’t much room back there!

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Okay, so I wasn’t salty about the entire experience. Mazda magic is present in the CX-3’s good ride quality and agile handling. It strikes a great balance between highway ride comfort and back-road enjoyment. It’s a very well-tuned chassis. The driving position is also excellent, and drivers of basically any shape can feel comfortable behind the wheel in minutes. The location of all the driving controls is simply ideal.

The CX-3 starts at $23,531, which is just $50 more than a Mazda3. It’s also $3,250 less than a CX-30. The CX-3 is available in GX, GS, and GT trim levels, with GT being the most expensive. All-wheel-drive is optional on GX and GS, but standard on our GT tester. The GT model comes with a power front driver seat, Bose premium audio, wireless Apple CarPlay, and advanced keyless entry. Now this last feature was a bit of a headache and seemed to only work half of the time. The idea is that with the key in my pocket, it can sense my approach to the vehicle and unlock the doors by the time I get there. I found it sometimes worked, and sometimes didn’t, and I often had to manually click the unlock button to enter the vehicle. (So much work, right?) It’s worth noting that the Bose system delivers excellent sound quality for the price.

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And now it’s time for my regularly scheduled complaint about the lack of paint and interior color options on modern vehicles. The only interior color offered on the Mazda is black, and some lighter colors would really brighten up the inside of the CX-3. And Mazda offers just two non-greyscale hues for the outside: a navy blue and the lovely Soul Red. Of the seven colors offered, five are greyscale shades. I miss colours!

The source of a lot of the things I don’t like about the CX-3 is simply because it’s an older product. This generation of CX-3 debuted in 2015, and was refreshed in 2018. That’s a long time for a product to stay around in the highly competitive CUV world. The U.S. has even discontinued the CX-3 for 2022.

Had I not driven Mazda’s other models recently and loved them, the CX-3 would have received much kinder words from me. It’s not a bad car, but it’s got strong company in the Mazda lineup, and next to those other vehicles, it can’t compare. And if the CX-3 feels a little long in the tooth for you, Mazda has you covered with the very new and very stylish CX-30. Or you could save $50 and pick up a Mazda3.