Used 2017 Mazda CX-3 SUV Consumer Reviews
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solid tank of a car
Gene O, 07/05/2017
updated 01/07/2021
2017 Mazda CX-3 Sport 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
71 of 72 people found this review helpful
This car feels like a hybrid of a small tank and a porsche. The car handles excellently and because of the way this car handled and steered on a test drive, I picked the CX3 over a subaru crosstrek - an uninspired driving disappointment, by comparison. The CX3 is not quite a utility vehicle. It's more like a station wagon that's a little jacked up higher off the ground and has AWD. It feels powerful with a 2L engine and has good acceleration if you drop the pedal. In the snow, it bites and drives great. Bad weather is no match - snow, ice, rain - it can handle any of that stuff. Several inches of wet snow and going uphill - barely a slip. It's a little beast. On the highway its smooth sailing and very good MPG. You don't get a huge gas tank - max range is about 295-300 miles. Comfortable interior and lots of USB ports and stuff for phones and other junk you want to plug in. the touch screen has good visibility and all the functions work well - good ergonomics with the console dial, voice control, rear camera and steering wheel buttons. The inside climate control is a little wonky - it's not easy to get it just right for some reason. either you get ice cold air or something that doesn't defrost your glass or something that's hot....odd. Sometimes my kid likes to sit in the middle of the back seat when I drive and he's very close to me there - like a parrot on my shoulder - which I'm not crazy about. The back seats are not huge. He says they're comfortable. A USB port or two back there would be cool instead on me having to run a wire from the front. the cargo area is big enough for me to carry 2 hockey equipment bags for both my kids and most other bulky stuff but it's not huge, either, which is something I happily accept for what the car is. It has a small sub-section under the floor so you can make it a little bigger, if you want. Stereo may sometimes have a little buzz if you set the bass all the way up to max. My pet peeve with the CX3 is that the outside back of the car gets FILTHY with road stuff and spray. I suppose a set of mudflaps would fix that. If you're driving on wet and salted roads, the back of the car is coming home covered in a filthy grime of road salt. Not nearly as bad in summer when roads are cleaner. Even a good car wash has trouble eliminating all that filthy grime off the back so there's the Achilles's heel of the CX3. - update - at 40,000 miles needed new tires and new brakes. Mazda just rolled out Android auto and upgraded USB ports for this car at a cost- will update that too. I added Michelin Defender tires to the car and that cut down significant road noise. Car itself is on the noisy side. If you're in the car during a rainstorm, it sounds like you're in a tin can. The handling and performance of the car remains excellent. With top of the line tires on the car, it excels in bad weather handling and is superior on dry roads. Interior holding up well. Stereo buzz was a faulty speaker that Mazda fixed for free so, no more buzz. Update at 65,000mi - cars back brakes will wear out before front brakes, which seemed unusual but that's what happens. Car is on 2nd set of tires - michelin defenders -which are excellent. First set wore out around 35k, Mechanically, the car has been very sound and the handling, traction in snow with AWD and overall engine performance are still top notch. All regular maintenance has been done at correct intervals. Added the carplay/android auto update when it was available about 2 years ago which brought the car up to a modern convenience. Fuel efficiency is excellent. Overall. still solid tank of a car and has been a fun to drive reliable workhorse for our family that we have no plans to change out.
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AWD GT with i-active sense package
kobelco, 12/28/2016
updated 07/12/2019
2017 Mazda CX-3 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
94 of 101 people found this review helpful
I live in Minneapolis and wanted a small vehicle with AWD. Choices were between this CX-3 and Subaru Impreza. Bought this car five days ago. I'm writing about initial impressions, will update (if I can) later with more extensive use. Absolutely love this car! Great acceleration, great handling, great mpg. Looks and feels just right. Interior space is an issue though, obviously not the most important factor as I would not have bought the car if it was. With the car seat in the back, there is space for one other person comfortably. Trunk space is the least I've seen in almost any car I can recall. But this is meant to be my commuter car, primarily to be driven around the city. Entertainment screen and control is mostly intuitive, though I had to fiddle around a bit to learn all the aspects that you can control. Interior is snazzy with two-tone stitched leather. Got the remote starter and all weather floor mats from the dealership as well. The price I have mentioned is the walk-out price, including TTL. Update 2017-06-29: It's been now over 6 months and I love this car even more. Getting around 30 mpg, combined. On certain trips I've averaged 40 mpg!! The iActiveSense features are really useful: The adaptive cruise control is something that I don't think I'll drive without in any car. Auto brakes are cool. Lane departure warning is a pain and I've turned that feature off. Update 2018-01-11: After over a year of ownership, I still can't help but smile every time I get behind the wheels of my CX-3, especially after a vacation where I've not driven my car for a few days. Still averaging 30.4 mpg today. Update 2019-07-12: Still loving this after 2 and half years of ownership.
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2017 Mazda CX-3 for sale near you
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- Sport 4dr SUVMSRP: $9,95087 mi away
- Grand Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $14,638462 mi away
- Touring 4dr SUVMSRP: $13,010448 mi away
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Love my CX3
Julie mikula, 06/20/2017
2017 Mazda CX-3 Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
19 of 25 people found this review helpful
This car is amazing. The feel is perfect and the look just as great. I love driving is car all over. It's such a comfort and pleasure. Thanks Mazda.
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Perfect vehicle if you don't use the backseat
Rob F, 04/22/2021
2017 Mazda CX-3 Grand Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I purchased my AWD 2017 Grand Touring CX-3 a little over a month ago now at 44k miles. After a month and 1k miles of my own put on it, I'm absolutely in love with this car. For starters, I'm a single guy at 6'2" so to clear up the sizing stuff - Headspace and legroom are excellent for me, neither an issue at all. The front seat is great, but where it would be an issue is if you're more of a football player build with broad shoulders. I'm about 190 and it fits me perfectly, but if you're 215+ or broad shoulders, front seat might be cramped width wise. Definitely not the car to get if you're hauling around a family - I have kept my backseats folded down (which allows tons of trunk room, has fit everything I needed to so far) except 1 time I had a couple 6ft buddies in the back seat and they were not exactly happy campers for the hour drive, but it was doable. Those two common complaints are certainly real, but if neither is an issue for you - this car is incredible. Interior is awesome, everything looks high quality and smooth. The tech is impressive, I haven't had a car with all that before, outside of having to pay Mazda for that software upgrade (50 bucks, no biggie) it all makes perfect sense. The exterior is awesome, mine is black on black wheels and the car looks great, excited to see the shine after I wax it this weekend for the first time. Best part about it is the driving. For comparison, my other car is an '06 Chrysler Crossfire 2 seater convertible with a Mercedes engine, and I'm not exaggerating when I say this CX-3's handling is similar to that. I live in Denver so take it up to the mountains every weekend so far, throwing it in Sport mode and attacking those winding mountain roads is so much fun, literally handles them as good as the Crossfire, it's wild. Going from an old Forester to this is a whole new world for my main car. The ride is also incredibly smooth and very quiet if you aren't performance driving and just want to cruise along. Gas mileage is 30+ even with AWD, sunroof is awesome, and the Bose sound system BUMPS. The heads up display thing took a bit to get used to, but I really like it now. Overall, an incredible machine. So long as the two big concerns don't apply to you, I can't recommend this enough. Drove a '17 Tiguan base model listed same price as this puppy and it was an absolute night and day difference. 10/10 recommend this car.
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Great little vehicle
EDDIE MIXER 41, 02/06/2020
2017 Mazda CX-3 Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
The MAZDA CX-3 is small in size a true 4 seater small trunk but super fun to drive. It handles like a sport vehicle and agile in my opinion. Would had kept it if not for the small size. So in honor to that experienc, I opted for moving to a bigger size with the new MAZDA CX-5. I hope this vehicle give me a similar experience as the cx-3 did for me.
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Every thing I wanted it to be.
frederic28, 04/06/2022
updated 07/25/2022
2017 Mazda CX-3 Sport 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Fun to drive, 28-30mph, AWD
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Fun ride!
Rick, 09/23/2019
2017 Mazda CX-3 Sport 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Just bought with only 8850 actual miles. Car is like brand new! Peppy, corners well, brakes very well, great fuel economy, engine is very quiet, great sounding stereo, sporty looking with cast aluminum wheels, nice red interior accents, love the SkyActiv Technology!
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Perfect little SUV....
Roger Rabbit, 08/01/2020
updated 02/07/2023
2017 Mazda CX-3 Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Been driving mine for 2 years now and I have no complaints at all! My 110 pound dog is comfortable in the back (seats down).. It handles nicely on the highway and on side streets alike and the interior is very nice looking and comfortable... If you want all wheel drive, seating for 4/5 and only need a little storage space this is perfect.
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Fantastic car
Wade, 04/06/2022
2017 Mazda CX-3 Grand Touring 4dr SUV (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
My CX-3 GT is 6 years old now and I love it since the day I bought it. No issues driving in snow with a good set of snow tires. This car has cost me nothing. Looking forward to the next 6 years. I usually buy and drive into the ground but it is going to last a while yet. 60000 miles so far. Best commuter car I have ever had. Fantastic fuel economy and fun to drive.
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Poor Suspension
Tren, 09/26/2023
2017 Mazda CX-3 Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl 6A)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Owned it for 20k miles now. The suspension is not firm in a sporty or beneficial sort of way, but rather feels blown out and nearly dysfunctional. This in addition to the buzzy engine noise that makes it sound like its trying too hard makes the overall feel of the car very cheap. It is also deceptively small.
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