Mazda CX-3 Akari 2WD petrol auto 2016 review: Top 5 reasons to buy video

Mazda’s CX-3 is the smallest SUV in the brand’s line-up and first went on sale in 2015.

Mazda already had a large SUV (the CX-9) and a medium sized one (the CX-5) and came up with the CX-3 to take on small SUV rivals such as the Mitsubishi ASX, Honda HR-V and Nissan Qashqai.

The four-spec CX-3 range starts at $19,990 for the front-wheel drive petrol Neo and tops out at $37,690 for the all-wheel drive diesel Akari. We’ve chosen to focus on the petrol front-wheel drive version of the Akari here – it’s $33,290 and these are the top five reasons to buy it.

#1 Great Styling

The CX-3 looks great. It’s a small SUV yet it has a refined and tough appearance with a solid stance. There’s the muscular wheel arches, sculptured and sharp lines, sleek headlights and a big, bold grille.

There had never been a CX-3 before and the vehicle’s chief designer Youichi Matsuda said he didn’t want to create an SUV that just followed the current trend.

“I repeatedly said to the design team: ‘let’s make it futuristic’,” Matsuda said.

“I’d say adopting this viewpoint is what allowed us to create a crossover design that is stylish and uniquely new in appearance.”

#2 Fun to drive

Every chance Mazda gets the company makes it known that one of its core principles is building cars that are enjoyable to drive. And most Mazdas are pretty engaging, some - such as the MX-5 roadster - more so than others.

Now the CX-3 is no MX-5 but a bit of that fun-to-drive quality has found its way in. The 109kW/192Nm 2.0-litre engine is the same four-cylinder that’s in the MX-5 and provides good grunt. The seating position is great, the balance of the car is good, visibility is excellent, there’s suspension that gives the car a pretty comfortable ride and decent handling, and the steering is accurate.

Most people don’t break all of all these elements down like that but it's the experience that the sum total equals that's important and it's a car that’s easy and fun to drive – it’s all about the good connection that the driver feels with the vehicle.

#3 Safety Features

The top-of-the-range Akari gets higher-end touches but it’s the extra safety equipment that comes standard in this trim level which is impressive.

There’s advanced blind spot monitoring which uses radar to detect cars behind or to the side of the vehicle up to 45m away.  High beam control, which automatically switches from high to low beam when a car up ahead is detected to stop the driver being dazzled. There’s lane departure warning which alerts the driver when they are drifting out of their lane. Rear Cross Traffic Alert warns the driver when reversing out of a car space or driveway of approaching vehicles. The Smart City Brake Support monitors the road ahead and will apply the brakes if it sees that a collision may be about to take place.

#4 Cool cabin

The CX-3’s cabin is cool. The build quality of the interior is excellent and the Akari trim brings an even more premium feel with leather seats and sunroof.

It’s a stylish cockpit with its circular air vents, stitched dashboard, head-up display and touch screen.

The front seats are comfortable and supportive, while the rear pew isn’t bad with adequate legroom given it’s a small car.

#5 City Friendly

A major appeal of SUVs is the extra height they offer which improves visibility and adds a sense of security. The higher ground clearance also helps on rougher roads and loading kids and gear in and out is easier too with less bending down.

A drawback of large SUVs is their hulk-like size and this is why small ones have been such a hit. The CX-3 is like a small hatch on stilts.

The CX-3 is based on Mazda’s smallest car, the Mazda2 and it has the same wheel-base length but the SUV is 215mm longer from end-to-end (4275mm overall), wider by 75mm (1765mm) and it has a ground clearance of 155mm – 30mm higher than the Mazda 2.

That’s still little enough to fit into small car spaces, and steer easily through traffic and narrow city streets.

You can get an all-wheel drive version of the Akari, but ours was a front-wheel drive and it’s a realistic choice for those that keep to the city given that this SUV. With only the front wheels doing less petrol is used, too. Mazda says you’ll use 6.1L/100km with the six-speed automatic transmission.

Drawbacks

Mazda’s CX-3 in Akari spec is a great package – it looks great inside and out, it has excellent advanced safety features, it’s fun to drive and it suits city living because of its size and being front-wheel drive.  It’s not perfect, though. The boot is tiny – smaller than many of its rivals. The CarsGuide pram we use in our tests could fit into the boot of a Honda HR-V, but not into that of the CX-3.

Also we know the CX-3 is the smallest and most affordable Mazda SUV but it could do with a more comfortable ride.

How do you think the Mazda CX-3 compares to its small SUV rivals? Tell us in the comments below.

Click here to see more 2016 Mazda CX-3 pricing and spec info.

You'll find anything CX-3-related at our CX-3 hub.

Related: Check out our buying guide for small SUVs here.

Plus: find all our SUVs under $40k here.