Mazda has used the 2 supermini as the basis for its first ever compact crossover, called the CX-3. This car has to deal with, among many other rivals, the popular Nissan Juke in its attempt to attract the attention of UK buyers.
The CX-3 comes in a wide enough variety to suit many tastes. You can have a petrol or a diesel engine, manual or automatic transmission and front or four-wheel drive, according to your requirements, and there are several trim levels.
Taking the last of these first, the test car was a Sport Nav, which means it had 18-inch wheels, satellite navigation, part-leather upholstery, a head-up speed display and a Bose audio system. These all feature in addition to the DAB digital radio, Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control, tyre pressure monitor and seven-inch colour touchscreen-based multimedia system fitted to all other CX-3s.
The Bose audio is a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it sounds great. On the negative, its subwoofer takes up space normally reserved for underfloor luggage space in the boot, and therefore reduces its capacity from the usual 350 litres to a more modest 287 litres. If you want practicality, this is not the CX-3 to pick.
In other ways it has a lot of appeal. Its engine produces a maximum of 118bhp, and while that's not a great deal these days from a 2.0-litre unit, it's not bad for a non-performance car with a kerbweight of just 1,230kg. The car never really feels slow, and when pushed hard it can accelerate from zero to 62mph in nine seconds and continue to a top speed of 119mph, making a pleasantly rorty sound while doing so.
Official figures of 47.9mpg for combined fuel economy and 137g/km for CO2 emissions aren't bad, though if running costs are an issue you'd be much better off with the front-wheel drive diesel manual, which achieves 70.6mpg and 105g/km.
Most of the time, it's great to drive, too. It struggles over mild bumps taken at moderate speed, but rides quite well if pushed hard over rougher tarmac, and handles splendidly on better-surfaced country roads. Excellent steering and a decent gear change contribute to a generally fine driving experience in town, and the nearly 800 motorway miles covered during this test were eaten up without any trouble whatever. The CX-3 did not, of course, feel like a luxury car, but nor was it tiring.
Despite its high level of equipment as CX-3s go, the 2.0 118bhp Sport Nav is roughly in the middle range in terms of pricing, with a list price of £20,495. The plain fact is that you can get a range-topping Juke with similar power for rather less than that. But for me the CX-3 is better-looking and much better to drive, so its price alone would not necessarily be enough for me to avoid my local Mazda dealer.
Thinking of buying the Mazda CX-3? Why not check out our video review of the car:
