CX-3 underpowered?

Bear in mind that the CX-3 is based on the Mazda 2, which is a smaller chassis than the 3, and only has a 1.5 engine.

True, but for 20% smaller engine (2.0L vs 2.5L on Mazda 3) you'd expect more than 6.3% less fuel consumption per 100km (I'm at 7.4L vs 7.9 on Mazda 3)
as it struggles with more than 2 pax in the car.

I find the 2.0L has plenty of power for all my needs. It only needs a single downshift to maintain speeds uphill and with the AWD on mine there's likely to be less hp on tap than the FWD models. The AWD models also have higher fuel consumption, but this is not a concern to me because driving in the snow with the AWD activated is pure pleasure.

I owned a 2004 Mazda3 Sport and once picked up a performance award for 63 km over the posted 80 km limit. Zoom Zoom. (Settled for 40 km over in court). I'm sure my CX3 could also pull that off, but I'm not going to attempt it with the new laws here in Ontario Canada that have the power of a roadside impoundment when charged with anything over 50 km of the posted limit.

Comments from the others are accurate.
I have the first generation of CX-3, straight up skyactiv engine manual, to me it's the best of both worlds , fuel economy (5.8L with in speed limits max 120km/h to 7.2L/100km when the speed limit is not kept) and power 121kw. But I've also driven the 2022 Cx-3 Skyactive-G, and I can say there I do feel a difference in the drive , seems that the G version is under tuned. Same engine but not the same performance. Even the technical specifications have different figures. So no I didnt trade my 2016 for a newer model. Will keep it and just jump straight to the CX5 maybe cx30 - 2.0L.

It's funny to me that people buy a hatchback (economy) and then expect the performance of a Lamborghini... For us the 2.0l is fine; performance is good and fuel economy also, even with AWD. Big plus is without the complexity of a turbo. Just my 2 cents.

Not everyone can afford a Lamborghini. We like getting from point A to point B quickly and on a budget. There are plenty of other cars with way more power and slightly worse mpg so it's not an (economy) issue we need a better car for the price

My 2.0 cx3 runs good enough for me anymore power and you lose reliability and damage something that would cost you.

The Mercedes m139 has a stock 2.0l inline 4 cylinder that makes 416hp reliably. We need a better car