SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


We unleash the 2016 Mazda CX-3’s alter ego

Way too cool for Mom

Posted: 4 March 2016

The numbers
Price: R325 900
Engine: 1998 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, inline four cylinder
Power: 115 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 204 Nm at 2800 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.5 seconds
Maximum speed: 187 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.4 l/100 km
Tank: 48 litres
Luggage: 264 – 1174 litres
Warranty, roadside assistance and service plan: 3 years / unlimited km, with servicing at 15 000 km intervals

It’s a pity the Mazda fleet manager couldn’t bring us a cheaper version of the CX-3; one with manual transmission. As it was, he brought a top-of-range 2.0 Individual with six-speed automatic (the only choice), sunroof, part-leather upholstery, the fancier seven-speaker Bose® sound system, integrated navigation, backing-up camera, 18” wheels instead of 16-inch, DSC, heads-up display and LED headlamps. He was only following instructions, of course, because the press office decides who gets what.

Trouble is, the automatic box turns Mazda’s perky little compact SUV with sporty intentions into something Mom might buy - provided she could see past the cues. Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom philosophy and sporting history is one. A big central analogue tachometer, with digital speedo relegated to a secondary window in its bottom right hand corner, is another. Then there’s its firm but supple ride. Its aggressive and youthful stance should be the kicker.

Five versions, all with the 2.0-litre SkyActiv engine, are on offer here: Active, with manual and automatic transmissions, is the base model with fabric upholstery; four-speaker radio and CD with Bluetooth; cruise control; hill holder; manual air conditioning; powered, folding mirrors; 16” alloys; seat height adjuster for the driver and halogen headlights. Automatic versions gain DSC and iStop automatic stop-and-start.

Moving up, Dynamic models score a neater music centre with two more speakers and touch screen; automatic headlamps; single channel climate control; fog lamps in front; leather trim for steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake; iStop with both transmissions; Mazda Connect with commander (the computer controller); rear parking sensors; automatic wipers and a sunspecs box. DSC is still only for automatics. As mentioned earlier, top-spec’ Individual comes only with automatic transmission.

Practical issues: The hatch opens down to dining table height (75 cm) and its loading lip is only 13 centimetres deep. Four lashing rings, rearward-aimed safety lamps and an internal light look after comfort. The jack is behind a clip-off panel on the right. Tools share space under the board with a steel spare (185/60 R16) and the big Bose® amplifier.

Sixty-forty split seatbacks can be folded down while standing behind the car and there’s a right-handed closing bar. Back seat space is marginal for passengers six-foot and taller, but there’s a full set of head restraints and belts. Exit is fairly comfortable, even for tall ones, thanks to wide door openings. It’s a small SUV intended for young families and couples, after all. Storage for bottles and cups is adequate.

In keeping with its image and market positioning, the body is light and rigid to improve handling, while its suspension has been tuned for high speed stability and comfort; with firmer suspension bushings and specialised tuning for springs and shocks. Front and rear disc brakes are set up to provide precise control in car parks and city streets; with firm stopping power at high speeds and on winding roads.

Mazda’s SkyActiv automatic transmission is punted as combining the best aspects of torque converter, CVT and twin-clutch into one do-all solution. In practice it does a good job while trundling gently through traffic and behaving decorously on the open road. When challenged, however, it does slip and flare – not as badly as some, but noticeable in today’s world of exceptional boxes. To illustrate, here are some numbers gleaned from overseas sources:                                                                                                                                  Zero to 100 km/h - 9.0 secs (m), 9.9 secs (a),                                                               Maximum speed - 192 km/h (m), 187 km/h (a).

Once off the freeway and onto winding country roads we selected manual override and provoked the car into giving us a taste of the excitement for which it’s designed. Using the stick, both feet and enough revs to make its heart sing, we successfully unleashed CX’s inner X-Man. It was fun.

Verdict: It’s ‘way too cool for Mom, and a damn’ fine little hooligan car if given half a chance.  Now that, Mr Mazda, is why we’d forego a little luxury to discover this car’s true inner self.

Test car from Mazda SA press fleet

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

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