Mazda recently introduced its updated CX-3 subcompact crossover before journalists at the New York International Auto Show. The CX-3 looks just like the other Mazda CXs, only squashed into a much smaller package. I’m not saying it’s a bad look or that the 2019 CX-3 doesn’t work, it’s just that you can only smush something down so far. Other than that, the new Mazda CX-3 will work out quite well in urban environments.
Minor Upgrades
And that – urban environments – is what this is all about. Although you could nominally take a Mazda CX-3 off-pavement, you wouldn’t confuse it for a Jeep. And besides, 90 percent of CX-3 owners would never do that in the first place. The new CX-3?s interior has undergone a significant revamp with the most notable new bit being the electronic parking brake. Yes, that gives you more room and allows for a significant increase in storage space, but gone will be the joys of handbrake turns in snowy parking lots. Full-leather seating surfaces are now available and redesigned seats provide drivers a more comfortable position. The SKYACTIV-G 2.0-liter gasoline engine is said to be smoother, more efficient, and more refined. Also reduced, according to Mazda, are noise, vibration, and harshness characteristics.
2019 Mazda CX-3 on display at the 2018 New York International Auto Show. Photo: Mazda North American Operations.
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