New Mazda CX-3 2020 to go up in price and equipment

The Mazda CX-3 crossover is likely to receive a lift in price and specification in line with its mechanically related Mazda2 light car sibling, which now kicks off at $20,990 before on-road costs.

The update could come as soon as next year, which would mean the CX-3 gains an Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible multimedia system as standard, while advanced safety systems such as a blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist and autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection.

Don’t expect the lifted equipment to come without a cost though, as the base Mazda2 has jumped up in price across the range by as much as $2660 compared with equivalent variants.

This would mean the opening CX-3 could start around the $25,000 mark, positioned closer to larger CX-30 and CX-5 that open at $29,990 and $30,880 respectively.

When asked by CarsGuide on whether a CX-3 update is incoming to keep it aligned with the Mazda2, Mazda Australia marketing boss Alastair Doak said the brand will try to keep model lines consistent.

“We try to be as consistent as possible across our car lines, and I think that’s only fair to our customers” he said.

“We’ve been on the forefront of introducing safety stuff, for example, we were the first ones to offer six airbags and DSC, which seems ridiculous in 2019 to be talking about it, but that was in the early 2000s when Mazda2 first came around.

“We’ve been there for a long time, so I think there’s no reason to suggest we would do any different or leave any model out.”

Moving the CX-3 upstream would also be in line with Mazda Australia’s plans to shift upmarket, which started with the introduction of the new Mazda3 earlier this year that kicks off at $24,990.