mazda cx-3

N

narmF

Veteran X
thinking about dropping the big suv and downsizing into one of these sub compacts. anyone have experience with one? i understand the cx-3 is the best all around but is really just a slightly more premium mazda 3 that stands slightly taller.

also considering compacts. the 2017 escape looks nice. and 2017 kia sportage redesign looks like a porsche mican kind of.

what other vehicles are worth looking at right now in 25-30k range?
 
get a 3 hatch, the cx3 is based on the mazda 2 and has less interior room / storage room than the 3

u can get the cx3 with awd which is ok i guess, its not exactly offroad oriented and snow tires will do the 3 fine in winter

if ur looking at the escape / sportage u should really be looking at the cx5, thats the mazda suv based on the 3

disclaimer, i have a mazda3 hatch and i love it
 
Kia does make badass cars and come w good warranty for 5/60. The 100k warranty is engine mechanicals, transmission, wheel bearings. Should be no problem to get 300k with reg maintenance.

Any car is pretty decent nowadays. Id get whatever one you think drives best.

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk
 
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antifreeze said:
mazda's rust within 5 years
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:lol: Maybe if you wash them with seawater or something.

I'd rate the reliability of anything out of Japan (or Korea) ahead of anything from North America or Europe for at least the last decade or even two.

CX-3 and anything else in that 'compact SUV' range at the moment is basically just a small hatchback on stilts. Depends on what you're looking for, really. If you're after something with a little off-road or rough terrain ability, you might want to look at something like the Nissan X-Trail or even a Rav4 instead.. they do still have a bit of focus on that, as opposed to the others which are 100% sealed road cars, even if the marketing still likes to play up to people's 'getting back to nature' dreams sometimes.

I drove both the Sportage and it's Hyundai sibling the ix-35 (think that sells as the 'Tucson' over there.) Both were great though I slightly preferred the Kia, personally. CX-5 was really nice too, though at the time (this was a few years back) not available in a diesel, which I was after... I know they're not real popular in the US though, so... :shrug:

(For reference, I wound up moving away from SUVs after putting some more thought into it and realising I really didn't have any sort of need for one... and buying a diesel Mazda 6 - absolutely fantastic car.)
 
The Japanese car I had was the worst in reliability of any car I've owned except for a Pontiac GTO (Holden Monaro). My German cars have all been rock solid.
 
Kia now offers 7 year warranty in Australia.

A Mitsubishi ASX is a compact, in that price range.

I tend to drive VW Golf's, but you are after a compact SUV. Personally I find the compact SUV's handle and feel like a car that is unnecessarily elevated... shit.
 
antifreeze said:
mazda's rust within 5 years
Click to expand...


MC Hamster said:
:lol: Maybe if you wash them with seawater or something.

I'd rate the reliability of anything out of Japan (or Korea) ahead of anything from North America or Europe for at least the last decade or even two.
)
Click to expand...

Maybe Mazdas in AUS are different, but here in Canada their smaller cars are notorious rust buckets. Google protege or mazda3 rust... I see them on the road all the time - the bodies are sub-par, absolutely no question about it. I can only hope they've addressed the issue for their newest cars because it's doing terrible things for the brand.
 
I have a cx-5 and I like it a lot. The 3 is ok but felt too small to me. If you are looking at that you should check out the scion ia, it is made by mazda and pretty much the same thing but cheaper
 
off road capability isn't too important but an extra inch or two of ground clearance will be nice. i'll look into how that compares with the mazda 3. i test drove the cx-5 and it felt sluggish, body roll was much more significant and the higher trim still left me wanting compared to the cx-3. the cx-3 just seems like a really nice package for the price, if a bit small.

will look into some of the suggestions here.

ty
 
After a bunch of research in the class and some test drives, the wife and I decided we liked the looks of the Hyundai Tuscon a little more (the huge sunroof is sweet). The interior feels nicer and its a quieter and more comfortable ride. The Mazda drives a little nicer though and definitely has some cool smart features that the Tuscon doesn't. Both are worthy imo. If we get one it won't be for several months, but we've definitely been doing our research.

We're also going to be driving the Subaru
 
amRam said:
Maybe Mazdas in AUS are different, but here in Canada their smaller cars are notorious rust buckets. Google protege or mazda3 rust... I see them on the road all the time - the bodies are sub-par, absolutely no question about it. I can only hope they've addressed the issue for their newest cars because it's doing terrible things for the brand.
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Mazda and Ford have a tight relationship, enough said.
 
afaik they are partnered with toyota now, and have not been partnered with ford for quite a few years
 
amRam said:
Maybe Mazdas in AUS are different, but here in Canada their smaller cars are notorious rust buckets. Google protege or mazda3 rust... I see them on the road all the time - the bodies are sub-par, absolutely no question about it. I can only hope they've addressed the issue for their newest cars because it's doing terrible things for the brand.
Click to expand...
Do you guys salt your snowy roads?
 
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