I had a Mazda 3 as my first car between 2006-2009... Didn't love it (but I love the aesthetics, haha). I'm contemplating getting a CX-3... DH prefers the Honda HRV (he is a die-hard Honda fan) though. Any positive or negative to say?
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We have a Mazda (the CX-9) and love it! Is the CX3 a new kind? I don't remember seeing that one before. I like it!
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I have a CX-5 and before that I had a 3. I've loved both of them! I haven't seen the CX-3.
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@ValentineMommy: Yeah, it's a smaller CX-5 pretty much. How long did you have the CX-9 for? Any issues? Good in snow?
@Mrs. Pickle: Awesome! I think CX-3 is just a small version of the 5!
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DH has and likes the cx-5. We've had it for three years and haven't had any issues yet. The gas mileage is pretty good.
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@snowjewelz: We've had the cx-9 for 3 years. We love it and have had no problems with it at all!
ETA: We haven't had any problems in the snow.
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I had a 91 mazda protege. loved that car. I like to rock the vintage. lol
I have nothing of use to contribute here.
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@.twist.: you just want to show off
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I think DH has the CX-5? I like it and it's a comfortable ride. He's noticed his gas mileage is better in traffic/daily commute conditions than it is on the highway thought...which is odd.
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@MaryM: That would actually work in my favor since my commute is local!
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I love my cx-9! Spacious but not too big and still drives like a car. Great gas mileage and granted we don't get tons of snow, but it does well in what we have had.
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@snowjewelz: DH does mostly too. He was tracking it when we drove down to NC one weekend and it seemed to not be doing as well. It was also super windy (so that didn't help) but it was odd how it seemed to be worse than his daily driving.
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@ snowjewelz: What is the primary purpose? Who/what do you plan to transport (car seats, # people, etc.)?
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@ReadItMama: Replacing my car... Mainly for my commute. Probably won't use it to transport kids; our carseat is in DH's car and the other one my mom's car. I never do drop-off/pick-up. I drive a Mini Cooper now, and my only requirement for a new car is that it's AWD.
DH wants me to get the HR-V; they really come head to head with each other!
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@snowjewelz: My husband got the CX-3 shortly after it came out (previously drove the MX-5, gen. 2 and Honda Fit) - local commute or solo trips. He seems to like it (=no complaints; he's out-of-town or I'd ask him). He enjoys comparing cars so I'll have to put the HRV vs. CX-3 question to him!
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@ReadItMama: Yeah! Ask him! My DH previously owned a Fit too. Everything I've read put these 2 pretty equally so really just comes down to preference!
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@snowjewelz: I do know that when DH was looking at the Fits (fall '15) the only reason he didn't get one is that the only one's available were out of Mexico and there had been quality control issues and he was looking for Japanese-made Fits - he really liked it (small and sporty, but flexible space). I will follow up with him.
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@ReadItMama: The Fit was ok.. We ended up selling it and getting a CRV since we needed AWD!
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We have a CX5 and it's AWESOME. The CX3 is gorgeous but the boot space was just too small for us.
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@jaguar: How did you like the CX3 otherwise? I don't really need space since we have a CRV already.
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@snowjewelz: Yeah, it felt VERY similar! And zippy!
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We have a cx5 and LOVE it. We have a 50 lb dog and a baby and we can fit all our things for roadtrips comfortably.
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@snowjewelz: You should have seen the beast in all her rusty glory!
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I compared the HRV and the CX-3 and CX-5 and decided on the CX-5. At least here (in MD) the CXs are significantly cheaper and have better interior / creature comforts.
I've been an all-Honda girl most of my life (until we bought a Nissan Armada because Honda doesn't make a vehicle that large that isn't a mini van), so it's hard for me to think about buying a non-Honda, but Mazda definitely wins in the reviews, price, and creature comforts.
Honda has just out-priced itself in my opinion.
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@ballerinabee: What made you end up going for the bigger one?
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Nothing to contribute on the Mazda side of things, but my mom got an HR-V last summer, one of the first ones out. I've driven it also, and we agree that it is a great car but definitely feels underpowered for highway driving. I love Honda vehicles, but I knew this one wasn't for me. I'm looking at a Subaru Crosstrek instead.
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@snowjewelz: I'm always hesitant to buy the first iteration of a vehicle, because new vehicle models usually have some issues the first iteration or two. They get feedback from reviews and owners and then modify / correct in later model years. That said, it is smaller and cheaper, so for price conscious buyers it is a good buy. I'm just wary.
Here's a review I consulted in my review process:
http://www.autotrader.com/car-reviews/2016-mazda-cx-3-vs-2015-mazda-cx-5-whats-the-difference-233858And here's their summary, for those who don't want to read all the details:
Conclusions
You might think of the 2016 Mazda CX-3 as a smaller version of the CX-5. The styling, technology and equipment are all similar, and we suspect that the two crossovers will offer roughly the same level of sporty handling and steering. The CX-3 even uses the smaller, base-level engine from the CX-5.
As a result, we think that the CX-3 is for shoppers who want something bigger (and higher off the ground) than a Mazda3 but not quite as big as the CX-5. It's also a good choice for drivers on a budget who want to take advantage of the CX-5's many benefits without spending CX-5 money.
Also, here's the overall small SUV review that was the most helpful to me when narrowing my selections to go test drive:
http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/car-and-drivers-best-and-worst-compact-crossover-suvs.html/?a=viewall -
@ballerinabee: Thanks for the links! I had been reading like crazy, but you def make a really good point about brand new models. It just sucks that both of these are pretty new (I mean, HRV really just has a year under its belt) but these compact SUVs are exactly what I'm looking for!!
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