[Geezer]

2016 Mazda CX-3 | Reviews and Ratings from Consumer Reports

If you have a membership in Consumers Reports, go to the above link. If you don't have a membership, you will have to wait until CU publishes their review.

In summary, they gave the car a rating of 63 (not so great). It was downrated because of the cramped interior and the convoluted display panel. But otherwise they were very upbeat about how pleasant it was to drive. Many things are yet to be determined such as reliability, owner satisfaction, safety rating among others but I would imagine that a preliminary report will be forthcoming in the next issue.

 

[CX-ME]

Thanks I've got a subscription and just checked it out. In all bluntness, I can't argue _any_ of their points. Truly fun ride with some ill-considered designs and user-interface flaws.


This review is a to-do list for Hiroshima HQ to use in designing the 2018 or 2019 CX-3 (I assume the 2017's design is locked by now.).



One minor nit pick: They did underprice the AWD GT (USA) w/ i-Activsense package by a few thousand dollars for some odd reason.

 

[OpalJagger]

I've been waiting weeks for the full review, and I'm pretty let-down by the rating (especially because the CX-3 keeps coming out on top of other multi-CUV reviews).

I do agree with a lot of the points, especially about the cramped interior and the visibility, but the infotainment system doesn't take more than a few days to figure out if you take a minute to just sit down and play around with it.

One thing my girlfriend and I noticed about the review was them highlighting road noise. We did a 1000km road trip over a few days as soon as we go the car, and remarked on how quiet it was on the drive, especially on the highway. Not sure where the noisiness they experienced was coming from.

The more I have the CX-3 (it'll be two full weeks tomorrow), the more I wonder what an HR-V would've been like, especially since it scored just a tick higher than the CX-3 on Consumer Reports' scale (and I trust CR more than anything else out there).

 

[DJ9999]

I'm already 2 months into my CX3 so beyond the point of no return. CR's option is pointless to me

 

[MazdaFan]

I think a big part of the lower score vs HR-V is due to the fact that NHTSA has yet to perform crash tests on the CX-3.

 

[ohgeez]

I don't really care about Consumer Reports especially with a vehicle like this.

I want you guys to search all the reviews on You Tube and how the CX stacks up against its competitors. The CX3 is at the top of the list the majority of the time and its ALWAYS the same comments about how the HRV and others - they have slightly better cargo and rear seat room. I personally believe that Mazda knows they have the CX5 for that purpose but realized that there's a crowd out there who doesn't need a lot of cargo space and would rather trade that in for everything else that the CX3 has to offer.

* Good Looks - Almost every single review out there puts the CX at the top
* Handling - same as above
* Interior/craftsmanship - same as above
* Fun to drive - same as above
* Fuel Economy - same as above
* Safety - same as above
* Tech = same as above

If someone needs more cargo room and more headroom in the back seat and that's their priority, then head over to the competition.

This car fits my wife PERFECTLY. We had a Nissan Murano for 12 years and it served its purpose when we needed more space. Both my boys are grown up and have their own cars. If I need to lug around a couple of 6 footers, then I have my 2014 VW Passat which is plenty comfortable.

I will tell you that the more we/I drive this car, the more I like it. It just snowed over the weekend and the wife and I had a blast scooting around the city.

 

[DJ9999]

Well put, ohgeez. Tired of hearing about the lack of space behind the front seats. Its like complaining that you can't put a family of 5 in a Miata. If you need more space then buy a bigger vehicle and don't force your space needs on the rest of us.

 

[DebbieinNorCal]

Can someone copy and paste the review here? Thank you kindly!

 

[Cuzlarry]

Yes we have had our cx3 gt 2 months my wife loves it I'll think maybe 3 times we had 4 people in car,with no problems, yes my kids have own cars too,including a 2016 ,Mazda 6....awesome car...

 

[Smarties CX-3]

I don't really care about Consumer Reports especially with a vehicle like this.

I want you guys to search all the reviews on You Tube and how the CX stacks up against its competitors. The CX3 is at the top of the list the majority of the time and its ALWAYS the same comments about how the HRV and others - they have slightly better cargo and rear seat room. I personally believe that Mazda knows they have the CX5 for that purpose but realized that there's a crowd out there who doesn't need a lot of cargo space and would rather trade that in for everything else that the CX3 has to offer.

* Good Looks - Almost every single review out there puts the CX at the top
* Handling - same as above
* Interior/craftsmanship - same as above
* Fun to drive - same as above
* Fuel Economy - same as above
* Safety - same as above
* Tech = same as above

If someone needs more cargo room and more headroom in the back seat and that's their priority, then head over to the competition.

This car fits my wife PERFECTLY. We had a Nissan Murano for 12 years and it served its purpose when we needed more space. Both my boys are grown up and have their own cars. If I need to lug around a couple of 6 footers, then I have my 2014 VW Passat which is plenty comfortable.

I will tell you that the more we/I drive this car, the more I like it. It just snowed over the weekend and the wife and I had a blast scooting around the city.

Well said and just to add the marketing on CX3 is not catering for people that want to haul back seat passengers and large cargo all the time so it is silly people mark the car down on those issues. If you want back seat and cargo space Mazda has the CX5 for that.

I agree the car grows on you the more you drive it and yes if you are not familiar with how the tech works in the car it will take additional time to learn MZD connect features and additional systems the CX3 has. For me the tech in the CX3 represents the future which isn't well replicated in other cars just yet but is coming.

 

[anchorman]

Can someone copy and paste the review here? Thank you kindly!

It's not really something that can be shown in that way. Did you try clicking the link in the first post?

Here it is again

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/mazda-cx-3.htm

 

[DebbieinNorCal]

It's not really something that can be shown in that way. Did you try clicking the link in the first post?

Here it is again

2016 Mazda CX-3 | Reviews and Ratings from Consumer Reports

Yes, but you have to subscribe. I'm not going to subscribe to read one article.

 

[anchorman]

Yes, but you have to subscribe. I'm not going to subscribe to read one article.

Oh yes, they do. Somebody else wants to screw us for money. There's enough available free to satisfy my curiosity. Often consumer reports are done by the same people that test washing machines like "Which?" Over here.

 

[inflex]

CR noted that the cabin noise was quite high - which I completely disagree with. The CX-3 is one of the quietest vehicles around in the compact crossover and compact sedan segments. This was one of the biggest selling points for me. It's so remarkably quiet, that I find the noise comparable to luxury vehicles.

The CX-3 also lost marks for cabin comfort in general, including uncomfortable seats. Aside from the lack of lumbar support, I think the seats are actually quite comfortable. CR did note that it was the larger drivers who found the seat uncomfortable, so maybe that's the crux of the issue.

They also reported a significantly slower 0-60mph time than what others are reporting (9.6s vs 8.1s to 8.5s), which is odd. There's is an interesting feature with Mazda that requires a harder push on the accelerator pedal to achieve full throttle. The driver has to push past a "click," which apparently is intended as a downshift switch.

 

[DJ9999]

^^Yes, its called a kick down switch to enable WOT acceleration. I guess they didn't read the manual.

 

[Volta]

I see the first drive review here without subscription.

2016 Mazda CX-3 SUV First Drive - Consumer Reports

I know there is some trick with Google News that lets you bypass subscription walls. You could look into that.

 

[Pendleton]

I haven't read the review yet, but the overall score makes sense from a CR perspective. The CX-3 is great to drive but has very limited space, and the HRV has a ton of space but is a disaster to drive (IMHO), so they get about the same score. The only subcompact CUV that scored above the mid-60s is the Subaru XV at 74, which I thought was perfectly fine in every category but not outstanding in any one. So it makes sense it would average out ahead of the others. I got a CX-3 because it was by far the best in the categories I cared about, but the XV was the obvious second choice.

 

[remorej]

My opinion

So I've driven the cx3 GS for the past 3 months... (purchased Aug 31, 2015) and so far these are my pros and cons.

Cons:
Weird/awkward placement of the cup holders.
No standard arm rest.....
slight noise when accelerating from stop (though noise decreases a lot when cruising)

Pros:
Back up camera
zippy, peppy drive
modern exterior/interior look
able to fit into small PARKING SPOTS (a big one for me)
fuel efficient ($35 for a 1.5 week of normal city driving)
student/user friendly
blue tooth capabilities
text reader
HEATED SEATS (THIS IS A MUST WHEN LIVING IN CANADA)

Overall, its an excellent first car. I especially love fitting in small parking spots when parallel parking (with the added back up camera... really helps a lot)

I don't care what consumer report etc etc says, this car is very user friendly and caters to those who have no kids/students (although families can also purchase this if they're not extremely bothered by the tight space, but then you should've gotten a bigger vehicle)

So there's my take. I'm a student and do no plan on having any kids in the coming years so this is the right fit for me.

 

[Geezer]

Aside from CU, I just heard that the Mazda CX3 was named the best new small SUV under $35,000 by Ajac (Canadian Journalists Association of Canada).

Way to go Mazda!

 

[Adam Redman]

I have had mine for about a week. sTouring, FWD, Petrol Auto.

The sTouring is second highest in the range under the Akira. There is a massive difference in interior fit-out and features between the sTouring and the model(s) below but negligible (in my mind) between the sTouring and the AKira - For the big jump in price to the Akira it just seemed overly indulgent given my budget.

Some reviews complain about road noise in the cabin. I disagree, its no more obtrusive than any other car I have driven in this price rang - either in city commuting or on the highway.

Yes the back seat is not as roomy as others but you wouldn't buy this car if that was an issue to you. Having said that I am 179cm/71kg and it is no more squeezy than an economy class seat on a plane. Not somewhere you want to sit for hours, but OK.

In our case it's for my wife and I and we have a young baby. The baby seat fits fine in the back seat. The front seats are extremely comfortable. Seat/Steering Wheel adjustment is very easy and presents no dramas to me or my wife and we are built very differently.

The navigation system/entertainment system is not that hard to work out but requires a bit of investment to become fluent. The nav system is accurate. Given that the system looks like an iPad mini stuck into the dash (not itself unpleasing to me) it made me wonder why manufacturers don't provide a screen customisation and app adding option like, for example, an android tablet. I am sure that will be the way of the future. Anyway, I digress.

The car is a delight to drive. The sound of the 2.0l petrol engine is completely satisfying. Zoom Zoom indeed!

Turning is sharp and responsive. The ride is smoother than expected with 18inch wheels although the front suspension is tight. In peak hour traffic where you stop start stop start etc the iStop function becomes very annoying and I wonder if this can be tuned/refined - perhaps it can but you can turn it off easily in any case.

The controls are all intuitively placed. Have no issue with where the cup holders are.

My only criticism of this machine is that visibility for blind spots in lane changing is an issue. You have to re-learn this skill and I can see lot's of incidents occurring for new owners because of this. I don't know how that compares to competitor vehicles.

This is a beautifully made car and I am delighted with it. When I park it I stand and simply admire it.