Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport 2019 review: snapshot

EXPERT RATING
7.0

Likes

Design
Interior feel
Fun to drive

Dislikes

Small boot
CarPlay still not fixed (it's coming)
Engine can sound like it's working hard
Stephen Corby

Contributing Journalist

1 min read

The spunky little CX-3 range has sexed up its names slightly, so the base model is now a Neo Sport, rather than just a plain old Neo.

This entry car is available as front-wheel-drive only and comes with a choice of either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic paired with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making 110kW/195Nm and producing fuel economy of 6.3 litres per 100km (or 6.5L/100km for the manual).

Standard kit for your $23,990 drive-away price (that's manual, auto adds another $2000) includes 16-inch steel wheels, body-coloured powered mirrors, black cloth front seats with height adjustment, electric parking brake, a 7.0-inch full-colour 'MZD Connect' touch screen to control your audio system with DAB, Bluetooth and six speakers, and a multi-function 'Command Control', plus keyless start, rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and 'Smart City Brake Support', which works in both forward and reverse. 

It's a (very) good-looking package at a tempting price. Apple CarPlay is not yet available, but it's coming soon, and a kit to retrofit it will be available at Mazda dealers in the near future.

Read the full 2019 Mazda CX-3 review

Mazda CX-3 2019: Neo Sport (Fwd)

Engine Type Inline 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency 6.6L/100km (combined)
Seating 5
Price From $12,980 - $17,270
Safety Rating

Pricing Guides

$21,412
Based on 188 cars listed for sale in the last 6 months.
LOWEST PRICE
$10,990
HIGHEST PRICE
$26,990
Stephen Corby

Contributing Journalist

Stephen Corby stumbled into writing about cars after being knocked off the motorcycle he’d been writing about by a mob of angry and malicious kangaroos. Or that’s what he says, anyway. Back in the early 1990s, Stephen was working at The Canberra Times, writing about everything from politics to exciting Canberra night life, but for fun he wrote about motorcycles. After crashing a bike he’d borrowed, he made up a colourful series of excuses, which got the attention of the motoring editor, who went on to encourage him to write about cars instead. The rest, as they say, is his story. Reviewing and occasionally poo-pooing cars has taken him around the world and into such unexpected jobs as editing TopGear Australia magazine and then the very venerable Wheels magazine, albeit briefly. When that mag moved to Melbourne and Stephen refused to leave Sydney he became a freelancer, and has stayed that way ever since, which allows him to contribute, happily, to CarsGuide. Note: The author, Stephen Corby, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
About Author
Disclaimer: The pricing information shown in the editorial content (Review Prices) is to be used as a guide only and is based on information provided to Carsguide Autotrader Media Solutions Pty Ltd (Carsguide) both by third party sources and the car manufacturer at the time of publication. The Review Prices were correct at the time of publication. Carsguide does not warrant or represent that the information is accurate, reliable, complete, current or suitable for any particular purpose. You should not use or rely upon this information without conducting an independent assessment and valuation of the vehicle.
Pricing Guide
$10,990
Lowest price, based on CarsGuide listings over the last 6 months.
For more information on
2019 Mazda CX‑3
See Pricing & Specs

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