2017 Mazda CX-3 vs 2019

What's the difference?

It might be among the smallest of the growing mini-SUV crowd, but the CX-3 is a very strong contender. While the diesel edition might be priced close-ish to the petrol-powered Countryman and Q2, those cars can't match the Akari's safety package and overall feature set. The devil might be in the detail, but the CX-3 has a long spec list.

Unless you need the extra space of its rivals from Nissan and Honda, the CX-3 remains the best of the segment. The Akari might only make up one in 10 CX-3 sales, and the diesel a small chunk of that, but it's a terrific car. I'm just not entirely sure about the price...

This is the good-looking alternative to a sporty city-based hatch that so many people are apparently lusting after.

There are cheaper, roomier and more practical compact SUVs on the market – like the Mitsubishi ASX and Honda HR-V – and there are even very capable purpose-built small 4WDs, such as the Suzuki Jimny, but the CX-3 straddles the great divide between city and country pretty well. 

Sure, in a CX-3, you should avoid anything more challenging than well-maintained gravel or dirt roads but you can still have plenty of adventures in something like this, even a front-wheel drive version.

And the Akari LE gives you the opportunity to tackle off-bitumen trips on the way to your favourite campsite with a real sense of confidence, style and more than a little of substance.

While only two years old, the CX-3 is still fresh. It looks terrific on the road, hugging close to the deck, and the 18-inch wheels are attractive units. The LED lighting also distinguishes the Akari from lesser spec cars.

Inside, it's all very much a lift from the Mazda2 this car is based on, with the same excellent design of the interior to maximise what little space is available. The materials are all quite dark, with rich red flashes thrown in to help lift the mood a little. The leather-like material seems pretty hardy and the fake suede very comfortable and especially warm in winter, while not butt-searing in summer.

The CX-3 does also suffer the silly instrument pack from the 2, but it has been fixed up a bit with clearer dials. The head-up display is much better, too, with high-res graphics that are much easier on the eye.

CX-3s don’t get by on their looks alone but that’s why a lot of people seem to buy them and, for good reason, because they are very easy on the eyes, no doubt about that.

Inside is suitably plush – with a clear, clean lay-out and a real prestige look and feel about the entire interior. 

Fit and finish is impressive, nice and solid, and there are plenty of soft-touch surfaces.

There were nice white leather sections in our tester – the alternative is Dark Russet nappa leather in the Akari LE – but good luck keeping those bits clean if you plan on doing any adventuring outside of the city limits.

The CX-3 is not the biggest car in the segment and that's reflected in the rear-seat space and the small boot. If you're over 152cm (five foot) you're in strife in the back, with further drama if you want a drink, because there's no armrest or cupholders. Or vents. Having said that, it's comfortable, and the cabin is small enough for the air-conditioning to quickly sort out the temperature. And there are bottle holders in the doors.

Front passengers enjoy the use of a pair of cupholders and bottle holders in the doors as well.

The boot is the smallest in class at 264 litres, which is just a bit more than the Mazda2 it's sitting on. There is a clever false floor for hiding valuables or expanding space and with the 60/40 split fold seats down, the boot expands to 1174 litres.

It’s on the right side of practical but it’s on the wrong side of tight. Stay with me here.

Fair enough, the driver and front passenger get room enough – head, shoulders, legs – but over the back things get a bit squeezier.

Legroom in the back seat is okay for an adult, but not great – you feel cocooned in here rather than cosy. Throw your two kids in here – or one of your vertically-challenged mates – break up the travel time into two-hour chunks, and it’ll be fine. 

There are several storage spaces around the small cabin: glovebox, bits-and-pieces receptacle in front of the shifter, two cupholders between driver and passenger, as well as two in the back-seat’s centre fold-down armrest, single-bottle holders in all doors, and seat-back map pockets. 

Boot space is 264 litres with the seats up, so that means you’ll have to pack creatively – read: don’t take much – if there are four of you.

That cargo space grows to 1164 litres with the seats down so the Akari is a more appealing packing proposition if it’s two mates or a kid-free couple.

The Akari LE Front Wheel Drive is $35,500 (manufacturer suggested retail price).

Above and beyond the rest of the range’s lists of standard features, the LE has a stack of gear befitting a top-spec model including Nappa leather seats, 18-inch allow wheels, a power sliding-and-tilt sunroof, heated front seats with 10-way power adjustment and memory settings, 360-degree view monitor, adaptive LED headlights, lane-departure warning and more. 

Apple CarPlay is not onboard yet, but Mazda owners will soon get the option to have kits installed at an expected cost of $500.

It has a five-star ANCAP rating and safety gear includes Mazda’s Smart City Brake Support (an AEB equivalent), blind spot monitoring, and as already mentioned lane departure warning.

The Akari's diesel engine is Mazda's own 1.5-litre 'SkyActiv-D'. Available only with a six-speed automatic but with a choice of front- or AWD, the four-cylinder turbo unit delivers 77kW and a more impressive 270Nm (considerably more than the petrol).

The 2017 iteration of this engine has had a thorough re-working to improve responsiveness and refinement. Successfully, as it happens.

The CX-3 can tow 1200kg braked and 800kg unbraked.

The Akari has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine – producing 110kW at 6000rpm and 195Nm at 2800rpm – and a six-speed automatic transmission. 

It’s a mostly workable pairing although the CX-3 tends to hold gears for too long and it’s a much better drive if you cycle through the transmission in manual mode.

Mazda claims the diesel AWD returns 5.1L/100km, 0.3L/100km higher than the front-wheel drive. I got 5.9L/100km in a mix of high-speed highway running and bashing about in suburban and urban traffic; a pretty good effort.

Best fuel consumption is listed as 6.3L/100km (combined). We recorded 8.1L/100km on test after more than 400km of driving and that included on plenty of gravel roads. The Akari has a 48-litre fuel tank.

As is Mazda's wont, the changes for 2017 are tweaks. The CX-3 was already a good machine, but had a couple of refinement issues, including road noise. In the case of the diesel, it was a bit clattery and not exactly the smoothest engine available.

Both of those have been attended to, which is pretty good going given the CX-3's relative youth. It's still not as quiet as a Nissan Qashqai, nor as stable on the rough stuff (the CX-3 makes do with cheaper torsion beam rear suspension) but it more than makes up for it with a tauter, more interesting chassis and better steering. The steering is further improved - although not as obviously as in the bigger 3 - with Mazda's 'G-Vectoring' tech, which helps the car feel more planted in the corners.

Part of the noise abatement is down to thicker glass and more under-carpet insulation, but the engine itself is far better than I remember. With a plucky 77kW, it's much more responsive to a floored throttle, but it's still no rocket off the line. 

The 270Nm of torque makes it a very relaxed highway cruiser, sailing along in sixth gear, barely above idle, and overtaking is as impressive as ever.

The bottom line is, it's still plenty of fun and will compare well with more expensive European rivals while showing most of its Japanese competition the way.

At 4275mm long (with a 2570mm wheelbase), 1765mm wide, 1535mm high, and with a kerb weight of 1309kg, the Akari is a light, compact vehicle and feels balanced and responsive when on the move.

It’s nice to drive: the tilt-and-telescopic-adjustable steering is pretty precise on all surfaces, vision is good all round, and that engine and auto work well together. Mostly. It tends to hold gears for too long – especially on long, gradual uphills – and, as mentioned, is much more lively a drive if you’re in manual mode.

It does, however, sit nicely on the road – squat and settled and composed – and its suspension is alright on bitumen, and even gravel roads, although it can be firm, even quite harsh, when driven through surface irregularities that are particularly sharp or deep. 

With a 10.6m turning circle, the Akari is an easy turner in the city or on a tight bush track.

The Akari has a five-star ANCAP rating. It has, among other things, six airbags, Mazda’s AEB system, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, reversing camera, two ISOFIX points, three top tether points and that handy 360-view monitoring system. 

The CX-3 is offered with Mazda's three-year/100,000km warranty package with optional roadside assist at $68.10 per year.

Service pricing is capped and you're expected to visit every 12 months or 10,000km.

The CX-3 range has a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

Servicing is scheduled for every 10,000km/12 months and costs $289, $317, $289, $317 and $289.