CX-3 (New for 2016) Overview: Mazda's junior wagon pushes all the right style buttons and looks every inch the brand's practical and sporty image builder.
CX-3 (New for 2016)
Overview: Mazda's junior wagon pushes all the right style buttons and looks every inch the brand's practical and sporty image builder.
Drivetrain: A spunky and thrifty four-cylinder engine is mated to a six-speed automatic (no manual gearboxes here).
Small boxes that offer all-wheel-drive are being direct toward singles, young couples and empty nesters alike, and for the same reasons. They're relatively inexpensive, a breeze to maneuver in congested urban and extra-urban environs, can navigate poor weather/ roads and can carry more gear than similarly sized small sedans or hatchbacks. And don't forget they can be nattily attired in fancy accoutrements plus the latest in crash-mitigating safety technologies. As a companion to the CX-5 small wagon, the CX-3 is about 25 centimetres shorter, eight centimetres narrower and has 13 centimetres less distance between the front and rear wheels. It's also at least 180 kilograms more svelte than the 1,455-kilogram base CX-5. The CX-3's cabin purposely exudes an MX-5 (Miata) sports-car-like feel that's interrupted only by a pop-up-style touch-screen display. The straightforward control-panel layout includes a trio of oversized knobs and a dashboard gauge pod flanked by twin info screens. There's not an excess of leg or headroom in back for adult-sized passengers, although the doors are at least wide enough for easy entry and exit. For storage, the CX-3 is about as spacious as most of its peers, whether the split-fold back seat is upright or flattened. A 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine delivers 146 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of torque. It's uncommon for a non-turbocharged powerplant to produce that much twisting force, relative to horsepower, but Mazda's high-piston-compression "SkyActiv" design makes this possible. The sole available transmission is a six-speed automatic with optional paddle shifters. The on-demand all-wheel-drive system that's available in all trim levels is linked to the vehicle's anti-lock brakes, stability control and on-board ambient thermometer. It's designed to "predict" front-wheel slippage and divert power to the rear wheels. Note that due to the space needed for the rear differential, AWD models lose some of their stowage capacity.
Base Price (including destination): $22,700
Type: Four-door sub-compact wagon
Base engine (hp): 2.0-litre DOHC I4 (146)
Layout: Front-engine, front- /all-wheel-drive
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
l/100 km (city/highway): 8.2/6.7 (FWD)
Weight (kg): 1,270
For more information go to:
www.landmarkmazda.com
