Used 2016 Mazda CX-3 Consumer Reviews
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nigel and i are in love <3
I just bought this car today and named it Nigel. It's so cute and sporty!! I shopped around for other crossover styled cars and this is by far the most stylish and the best car for the money. I love the back up camera feature, and the display screen which pretty much has all the cars coolest feature. space wise, it does run small. however, for a girl like me with a small dog and not a lot of cargo, this will work just fine. Its a step up from the mazda 2 I owned. I'm so happy with my car. Comfy, cute, stylish and has all that I need!! great gas mileage as well!
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Fun to Drive, Not to Own
I have owned my Mazda CX-3 for a little over three years and have driven approximately 57,000 miles. When I first purchased the car I was driving approximately 40 miles a day, all highway. With that being said, I haven't needed to replace any tires yet and only had to replace my break pads (which weren't even ready for replacement) at around 54,000 miles. That is some solid value right there. Word to the wise - do not buy the navigation system from the dealership, you can easily get an SD card off Amazon (for $99) and have a fully equipped navigation system for a fraction of the price. All of Mazda's cars have the built in programming / setup for the navigation system. The car is small. Fuel tank is 10 gallons or so but there is a reserve gallon so I am constantly filling up, averaging 30 mpg (highway and city driving) but only having 9 gallons in the car is pretty tight. Plus side is that every time I fill my tank it only costs around $25. Further in regards to the car being so small, the only comfortable seats are the driver and passenger. The back seat feels like the 3rd row of a much larger vehicle and is fit for a small child. Going on a shopping spree? Trunk barely fits a carry-on suitcase. However, if you lay down the back seats, there's a little bit more room. My Hyundai Elantra or Civic had more trunk / passenger space than this "Crossover SUV". There isn't even a center console, just an arm rest that sits above the cupholders so if you have a beverage, you cannot rest your arm. As far as reliability, I do not commend Mazda on this. The A/C on my car went at around 25,000 miles (thankfully it was still covered under its warranty) and took at least 2 weeks to fix because the parts were not in. Around 14 months after, the A/C went again, this time not covered under warranty and was an almost $800 fix during the middle of a heatwave in August. There was a "Lift-Gate" recall on this car which Mazda fixed, free of charge, of course. However, after they fixed this there have been issues of water sitting in the door of the trunk which flooded the license plate lamp and blew it out. The lamp seems to be glued shut and neither myself or my body-shop/mechanic was able to replace, when mentioned to my local dealer, they just shrugged it off. There was issues with the condensation in the headlamps and most recently, engine issues, which is covered under PowerTrain Warranty, however, Mazda does not have the time or availability of rental cars to fix the engine in a timely manner. Driving this car is fun, but in terms of "big fixes," and cost of ownership, it's just not worth it. Maybe I got a lemon but it seems that for a new car there's been quite a few big problems and I could only imagine what would be coming down the pipeline the older the car gets. I am going to be trading it in for something more reliable and I'd recommend only getting this car if you are leasing it.
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- Sport 4dr SUVMSRP: $14,150249 mi away
- Grand Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $14,077495 mi away
- Sport 4dr SUVMSRP: $16,998388 mi away
The perfect car.
I've had this car for three weeks and I love it, traded from a 2011 Mazda 3 Grand Touring Hatchback. The technology is amazing in this car. The power is great for a car in this class, it handles beautiful around the bends thanks with the help of the AWD system, paddle shifters and sport mode. The cargo space is a little small then expected, can't fit no more than three people, which doesn't bother me. They do need to make the gas tank bigger. 11.9 gallons is very small for a crossover with an AWD system. It should a 14 gallon tank. I get an average of 32 MPG. They also need to fix the heads up display. It will only display how fast you are going and the cruise control speed. In order for the navigation directions to show up, you need to add the i-active package which is another $2,500 bucks, and surpsingly enough, there's no power seats. Which is a bit of a downer. Other then that, its a great car.
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Cute car but not for us
If this car would have been less noisy inside and without blind spots I would have bought it. It’s a such a good looking little car with great features. It was fun to drive and it gets good gas mileage too. It is probably a great car for a single person but considering the kids in back seat plus blind spots, it seemed like a poor choice. I also wished Mazda made the next trim level up that has blind spot monitoring with fabric seats. We ended up getting next the size up cx-5 and are loving it so far.
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Somewhat Disappointed
Purchased this car in Fall of 2015. Was persuaded by all the great reviews about the handling and "funness" to drive. It is fun to drive and gets pretty good milage for an AWD (I'm getting about 32mpg on the highway). It is easy to see out of and steers very well. I also like that you can kick it into a manual shift mode, which is great for hilly areas or if you need some extra accelleration. Being small, its also pretty easy to park, especially with the back up camera. There are a few things though that have been annoying. 1. Reliability - after 2 1/2 years of ownership I am now on my second AC repair. 2. Electronics are hard to use. It doesn't seem very intuitive. I can never tell if I have my music on shuffle play or not. There is no indication to let you know. I still struggle with making phone calls from the car via the bluetooth connection. Overall the car seems OK, but if the AC goes again next year it will be at my expense and it will probably be the last Mazda I will ever own. Update 11/10/19: I have had no further issues with the AC so far. Not sure if they improved the AC unit or if it helped that I wire tied a gutter cover I picked up from Home Depot to the lower front grill to prevent the unit from getting pelted with road salt and debris. Not sure this car is built to withstand upstate NY winters. Aside from that all is still going well, and it is still more fun to drive than most other cars I have owned. I'm still undecided as to whether my replacement for this will be another Mazda or possibly a Subaru Crosstrek. I expect to find out in a couple years, depending on how well the AC unit holds up. Update 03/01/21: Decided to add 1 star since AC has been stable for several years now. There are still some minor annoying things like gas gauge goes blank when temperature gets down to about 0 deg F. Also heads up display often fails to come up on the first attempt in cold weather. So far I have been able to get it to work if I pull over after the car warms up, then turn it off and on again. Still more fun to drive than most cars I have owned. Update 9/2/21- Decided to trade it in for Subaru Crosstrek. Update 3/2/22 - Since you asked for an update, still liking the Crosstrek! Not as "fun to drive" but more comfortable on long trips, more cargo space, and better milage.
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