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Mazda CX-3 vs Subaru Crosstrek

What's the difference?

VS
Mazda CX-3
Mazda CX-3

$24,888 - $44,066

2024 price

Subaru Crosstrek
Subaru Crosstrek

$29,905 - $47,990

2023 price

Summary

2024 Mazda CX-3
2023 Subaru Crosstrek
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Inline 4, 2.0L

Flat 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol

Unleaded Petrol/Electric
Fuel Efficiency
6.3L/100km (combined)

6.5L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Frustrating media interface
  • Raspy engine noise
  • Dated interior

  • Hybrid not quite efficient enough for cost
  • Spartan second row
  • Minor annoyances e.g. chimes and screen
2024 Mazda CX-3 Summary

Hard to believe Mazda’s diminutive CX-3 has been with us for close to a decade (it arrived in early 2015). But with successive upgrades, including a major model refresh in 2019, it remains a popular choice with ‘light’ SUV buyers, dominating the segment so far in 2023.

So, how does this evergreen campaigner manage to keep quality competitors like the Kia Stonic, Toyota Yaris Cross and VW T-Cross firmly in its rearview mirror?

We spent a week with the recently updated (yes, again) mid-spec G20 Evolve to see how it shapes up in the urban environment of 2023.

View full pricing & specs
2023 Subaru Crosstrek Summary

Things are going well for Subaru. In the first half of 2023, all of its models in Australia are outselling their figures for the same time last year by hundreds, some even by thousands.

Except for one model, the XV. In fact, sales have plummeted! So what happened to it? It was one of the brand’s top sellers, right?

Well, it’s still here, but now it’s called Crosstrek in Australia as it already is in the rest of the world. And maybe we lied a little - it’s selling very well. In June 2023 it outsold the Forester and Outback, both well established models in Subaru’s local history.

But the name isn’t all that’s new, because this Impreza-spinoff SUV now comes as a hybrid - available here as the Crosstrek Hybrid S.

Traditionally, Subaru has been pretty… traditional. So, will a step towards the future - electrification, that is - help or hinder the Crosstrek’s rise to mass popularity?

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2024 Mazda CX-3 2023 Subaru Crosstrek

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