[bluecx]

The wife was looking for a compact SUV which had good side visibility and sat her up higher than her Elantra.

We have and had Hyundai's and Kia's in the past but never a Mazda but when I checked out the CX3 on line, it appealed to me has maybe the perfect fit for the wife.

Test drove a 2018 Sport model and a 2017 Touring model at the dealer this past Saturday and drove home in the Touring model.

Other than no center console for "stuff" and the cup holders that sit back to far, so far it seems like a good fit.

Oh, we are from South Carolina...... The dealer gave us good money for the '16 Elantra and I paid what I had in my mind going in for the CX3. No back and forth to the podium BS.

 

[DJ9999]

You made a great choice! I'm on my 6th Mazda - they're great vehicles.

Welcome to the forum. Please include your location in your profile, thanks!

 

[Padmapada]

The wife was looking for a compact SUV which had good side visibility and sat her up higher than her Elantra.

We have and had Hyundai's and Kia's in the past but never a Mazda but when I checked out the CX3 on line, it appealed to me has maybe the perfect fit for the wife.

Test drove a 2018 Sport model and a 2017 Touring model at the dealer this past Saturday and drove home in the Touring model.

Other than no center console for "stuff" and the cup holders that sit back to far, so far it seems like a good fit.

Oh, we are from South Carolina...... The dealer gave us good money for the '16 Elantra and I paid what I had in my mind going in for the CX3. No back and forth to the podium BS.

I thought it would be a good fit for me, too, but it is not. I have to pull the seat forward because I am 5 feet tall, and that means that for me the 'cup holders' are in the back seat. Useless--I'd have to reach back behind my body to get anything. The lack of a center console (I had one in my last car, a Subaru WRX, and it is shocking to have absolutely nowhere to put anything.) The ability to raise the front seat is overcome by the high belt line (side windows begin above my shoulders), the tiny back window, and the disappearing hood, which cannot be seen no matter what you do, so parallel parking is a crap shoot. The giant clunky outside mirrors make left turns a lesson in blind driving. I thought I would be getting good visibility, but not.

 

[tontogreenberg24]

I thought it would be a good fit for me, too, but it is not. I have to pull the seat forward because I am 5 feet tall, and that means that for me the 'cup holders' are in the back seat. Useless--I'd have to reach back behind my body to get anything. The lack of a center console (I had one in my last car, a Subaru WRX, and it is shocking to have absolutely nowhere to put anything.) The ability to raise the front seat is overcome by the high belt line (side windows begin above my shoulders), the tiny back window, and the disappearing hood, which cannot be seen no matter what you do, so parallel parking is a crap shoot. The giant clunky outside mirrors make left turns a lesson in blind driving. I thought I would be getting good visibility, but not.

Did you test drive the car before you bought it?

 

[Jroper]

I thought it would be a good fit for me, too, but it is not. I have to pull the seat forward because I am 5 feet tall, and that means that for me the 'cup holders' are in the back seat. Useless--I'd have to reach back behind my body to get anything. The lack of a center console (I had one in my last car, a Subaru WRX, and it is shocking to have absolutely nowhere to put anything.) The ability to raise the front seat is overcome by the high belt line (side windows begin above my shoulders), the tiny back window, and the disappearing hood, which cannot be seen no matter what you do, so parallel parking is a crap shoot. The giant clunky outside mirrors make left turns a lesson in blind driving. I thought I would be getting good visibility, but not.

You should call up Mazda USA and give them the name of the dealership that sold you the car.

Let them know that the dealer did not let you test drive the car or even sit in it before they forced you to buy it. That is so wrong!

 

[PandaG]

I thought it would be a good fit for me, too, but it is not. I have to pull the seat forward because I am 5 feet tall, and that means that for me the 'cup holders' are in the back seat. Useless--I'd have to reach back behind my body to get anything. The lack of a center console (I had one in my last car, a Subaru WRX, and it is shocking to have absolutely nowhere to put anything.) The ability to raise the front seat is overcome by the high belt line (side windows begin above my shoulders), the tiny back window, and the disappearing hood, which cannot be seen no matter what you do, so parallel parking is a crap shoot. The giant clunky outside mirrors make left turns a lesson in blind driving. I thought I would be getting good visibility, but not.

There are some things with vehicles that irritate everyone in some form or another. But not to the point where you’re just bashing the entire car.
In a way, part of the fun is figuring out how to overcome those things. It almost makes it satisfyingly personal.

For you, I’m not sure why you bought the car in the first place. The storage issues, sure, it’s generally agreed that it’s annoying.
But the tiny back window, disappearing hood, chunky mirrors making it hard to turn, and high belt line? Not to forget the trunk release from your other post? It almost seems like you test drove it after you bought it lmao. Or you got the CX3 but meant to get a CX5?, CX9?....Dodge Ram 1500?

I do have a solution for the trunk release...get a Compustar G15 remote starter. Dealership provides either a Mazda (Compustar) one-way or a Compustar G15 2-way. I took the G15. On the fob there is also a button for remote trunk release! Hurrah!

As for the other issues and the way you describe it, maybe trade it in for something more suitable to you as the CX3 seems to be bordering safety issues to you and others.

 

[bluecx]

I thought it would be a good fit for me, too, but it is not. I have to pull the seat forward because I am 5 feet tall, and that means that for me the 'cup holders' are in the back seat. Useless--I'd have to reach back behind my body to get anything. The lack of a center console (I had one in my last car, a Subaru WRX, and it is shocking to have absolutely nowhere to put anything.) The ability to raise the front seat is overcome by the high belt line (side windows begin above my shoulders), the tiny back window, and the disappearing hood, which cannot be seen no matter what you do, so parallel parking is a crap shoot. The giant clunky outside mirrors make left turns a lesson in blind driving. I thought I would be getting good visibility, but not.

My wife is also 5' and except for the no center console, she's very happy with the seating position and visibility. The gap between the outside mirrors and the A-pillars makes a big difference in visibility while making turns compared to other vehicles. The CX3 is a small vehicle and to fit all of the necessary equipment and function buttons inside, the cup holder location and lack of the center storage console took a hit. My wife also drove two CX3 at the dealership for a good distance to make sure the seating positions and outside visibility were comfortable for her.