Mazda CX 3 or CX5

Anyone own or have owned a Mazda CX3 or CX5. What has been your experience ? Can you compare to any other compact or sub-compact SUV's

I believe that you get less usable room in a CX3 than a Mazda 3 Sport, due to the external conformation of the body and less total cargo space.

CX-3 has 12.4 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row and 44.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.

The Mazda 3 has 47.1 cubic feet with seats down, looks nicer and has a 4WD option. I really don't see much advantage to a CX3 unless you specialize in driving over logs or something. 

But some people just have to have SUVs. Image or something?  If nothing but an SUV will do, check your cargo volume requirements. The CX-5 has 59.6 cubic feet and the CX-9 (which a friend owns and loves) has 71.2 cubic feet with seats folded down.

All are well built pretty reliable vehicles.

My wife has a 2017 CX-5 Grand Touring (with Tech Pkg) and absolutely loves it.  34K-ish largely trouble-free miles.  A couple of minor hiccups at the start with the adaptive headlights not adapting, but resolved under warranty.  We did also have one of the power hatch struts crap out (also solved under warranty), but there's a chance it got packed with body shop dust when a Tahoe decided to use her car as a stopping aid.  

Drives nice, gets good MPGs...it's quick but not fast.  Turbo motor in the new models could address that nicely, but haven't driven it yet.  Exterior and interior show as far more expensive than the car actually is.  For reference, we also test drove the equivalent trim CR-V and HR-V at the time.  She was a Honda fangurl and swore she would be getting a CR-V.  She came away unimpressed.

We test drove the CX-3 and it was a bit "meh".  Flintier ride, louder cabin noise, lacking in toys even on the upscale model.  Not sure how long the CX-3 will kick around with the new CX-30 introduced.

We'll probably hold onto the CX-5 for another few years and then I'll take that as my daily beater.  She's probably going to grab another CX-5...she's a convert now.

My $0.02....

Lifted off a Canuck website hence the liters...

My mom has a 17 cx5 GT.  It has been perfect, she loves it.  When I've driven it I have been pleasantly surprised by how good it is to drive.  Way better than a contemporary Forester, Escape or Santa Fe that I've been in

2019 CX-9 here.  Best thing since the 2005 MPV.  Drives very well for its size.  Perfect so far.

I had a 13 CX-5 manual transmission. Good on gas, handled well for an SUV, comfortable and ample cargo room. Mine was totaled @ 130k miles. I walked away without a scratch from a head on collision at 40 mph.

What about the CX-30? I've heard that it's a good bit nicer than the CX-3. My wife drives a 10YO CX-7 and the 30 has captured her fancy as her next ride.

Leased two Cx-5 trouble free, handles similar to the latest generation Mazda3. Great for a family of 4. I felt the Cx-3 space wise was closer to the Mazda3 hatchback (which I leased two of those), just not lifted with AWD. We will be a family of 5 soon, so will see if this can fit all the car seats. I liked the Cx-5 better then the Rav-4 and the Rogue.

Looking to buy used, possibly 2017.

I drove a CX-3 at work. I didn't quite get the point of it. Not much interior or storage space, and it doesn't sit that much higher than a Mazda3. The engine was also horrifically loud and buzzy. When I got back to the shop and put it on a lift, I had to check to make sure it didn't have a hole or crack in the exhaust somewhere, despite it only having 15k miles. That said, it was actually a pretty nimble little thing and surprisingly fun in the twisties. It just didn't make sense though.

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

What about the CX-30? I've heard that it's a good bit nicer than the CX-3. My wife drives a 10YO CX-7 and the 30 has captured her fancy as her next ride.

I got to test drive a CX-30 and came away very impressed.  I'm not much of a SUV person, but it is now on my shortlist for next daily drivers.  It is way nicer than it's price tag would have you believe, and drives very well.

CX3 is on the mazda2/fiesta platform. CX5 is on the mazda6 

CX30 is a bit a mystery but I'm going to assume its on the mazda3 platform? which also stems from the mazda6...

damn global production modularity! 

cx-5

the cx-3 is not a bad car. but they're TINY inside..

When I was helping my mom look at small suvs last year, we both thought the cx-3 was too small on the inside. We both liked the cx-5, and it was the best driving vehicle of all the ones she test drove. She would have bought one if she could have got the trim level she wanted in fwd. She determined not buy awd, and all the local dealers only had awd in the higher trim levels.

In reply to fidelity101 (Forum Supporter) :

The CX-30 is based on the new Mazda 3. My understanding is it's basically a lifted 3. The new 3 and CX-30 do not stem from the Mazda 6 any longer, whereas the previous gen 3 did.

The new 3/CX-30 has a torsion beam rear suspension, whereas the outgoing 3, and all CX-5s, which did stem from the 6, was a multi-link design.

Pirate, as others have said, the CX-3 is small (based on the outgoing 2, as has been mentioned). It will get better MPGs than the CX-5. How much better, I'm not exactly sure. If bigger size is a major factor for you, the CX-5 is the better bet. They will probably command a price premium though. 

I haven't owned either, but both drivetrains are stout and proven in other Mazda offerings. My dad has a '15 Mazda 3 with the 2.5 motor that is found in the CX-5. It's rock solid and has needed nothing besides oil changes so far. However, I would avoid the CX-5 with the cylinder deactivation if you can. I think CD was added in non-turbo models in '18, but I'm not totally sure. There were reports of low compression happening with the cylinders came back on line aggressively and caused rocker arms to snap, IIRC. Engines were replaced. Mazda made a software fix that was meant to keep the oil pressure up in those deactivated cylinders, but I don't like CD in any car, so I'd avoid it if possible.

We have a 2018 CX-5 Touring AWD with the Tech package (19" wheels, lane departure tech, radar cruise, etc). We LOVE that thing. It just hit 45k miles and has been great. It's a great highway cruiser and handles awesome for a crossover; you can tell it's a Mazda. I've gotten over 30mpg out of a tank on the highway, but we typically get 26-28mpg. Any time anyone asks me what CUV they should buy, this is the answer. Ours had the software reflash to stabilize the oil pressure as noted above. I wring it out every time I drive it, so it would have 100% exploded spectacularly if it was going to. I wouldn't worry about that too much. 

The CX-3 is a decent entry-level vehicle, but they are pretty small. I talked a coworker into getting one and she loves it so far. I saw a CX-30 up close last week at a dealer; looks nice but they are in the ballpark of the larger CX-5, so I'd just get one of those instead.