Early Observations

[Handy Andy]

Hi peeps,

Well I have had the car now since the 24th November although I didn’t post any pictures until last weekend.

It is difficult not to compare a new car to the outgoing one but here are a few of my observations of likes, dislikes, wishes. It would be interesting to hear from others if they agree or disagree with my thoughts.

I came from a 200 p.s. 2 litre turbocharged car which was a lot bigger. The reason for the CX-3 was mainly its size.

Likes:

Considering it only has 120 p.s. it is really quite nippy.
The Dynamic Blue colour looks really good against the pale ceramic leather.
The road-holding is great.
The seats are very comfortable although it took quite a while fiddling with the settings to get it right for both me and my wife. At least with the memory function we now have got them saved to suit us both.
The infotainment system for both the Sat Nav and music (Bose) is easily as good as my old car.
The auto box is silky smooth as was the DSG in the old car.
It is far more relaxing at speed than I expected.
The spare wheel although expensive, I mean out outrageous compared to other manufacturers gives me some comfort having had a puncture on a Cornish country lane late one night where there was no moblie signal, so for me, no spare = no driving.
Parking is a dream compared to the old bus, I can now fit into bays and still be able to get out.
The LED headlights are brilliant for the counrty lanes I find myself driving.

Dislikes:

The switches on the doors do not have any lights in them, except a tiny faint line on the drivers window switch – cost cutting at its extreme.
No backlighting on the interior door handles, mailnly for rear passengers who are not familiar with the car, fumbling around in the dark trying to find them. It should not be necessary to turn on the interior light so people car see there exit. I think this is a bad omission especially in an accident.
Lack of storage for little items to place them out of sight.
No ambience floor lighting – I really liked this on the old car, it took the harshness off the dash lighting.
Boot lid struts very light, when half way down there is virtually no weight being supported by the struts, must mind the dogs tail !

Wishes:

Larger fuel tank.
Heated windscreen.
Sunroof – standard in the US, why not here even as an option.
Auto locking doors when moving. This is available in other markets but not the UK. My five year old car had them as does my wifes new Mini.

cheers for reading.

[1Monty]

Agree about the cost of a space saver wheel kit and the fuel tank. My wife's Renault Cleo has a bigger tank. I have recently done a fairly long run and although good mpg it almost drained the tank.

I would have liked more height adjustment on the drivers seat as I like to see over the bonnet.

[Peter55]

Once again I’ll add my name to the lack of “drive away auto locking”

An unbelievable omission and Mazda saying it’s not wanted is rubbish

Doubt they’re listening though

[Deleted User 406]

I have posted on Mazda's Facebook posts as well as emailing their customer services etc regarding drive away auto locking & lack of sunroof, both of which standard on Colonial models.

[Beachman]

re boot struts check if you have the latest type, mine were replaced on a recall.
I'm sure jt will know whereto find it.
and yes it is a great little car

[jtonline]

re boot struts check if you have the latest type, mine were replaced on a recall.
I'm sure jt will know whereto find it...

You are referring to safety recall R/2017/163 that affects VIN range JMZDK******100043 to JMZDK******143515 (Build date 10/02/2015 to 26/12/2015) where the tailgate struts could corrode, causing them to fail.

[Beachman]

thanks jt

[Handy Andy]

My car is only a few weeks old, had to wait for a factory build. There just seems very little effort to pull the tailgate down. Once the bottom edge is at eye level there is no support from the struts to keep it up, it will drop with no effort.

[1Monty]

My car is only a few weeks old, had to wait for a factory build. There just seems very little effort to pull the tailgate down. Once the bottom edge is at eye level there is no support from the struts to keep it up, it will drop with no effort.

If in doubt get you dealer to check it out.

[1Monty]

A small thing, but I like the quality, feel and operation of the heater control dials.