HR-V will attract people looking for practicality. CX-3 will attract people who want a fun driving car. This is one of the best reviews I've seen from a dealer. Good job!
I bought the cx-3 last year just because firstable it is made in japan, built in quality and stitching is there. Then there is the 2.0 Liter Skyactive engine with 6 speed triptonic with Sport Mode on. Mine is a Touring one, it doesnt come with paddle shifter however you can shift it up and down. Engine is peppy, rev up to 6,5k rpm with Sports mode on. Overall in terms of a blasting drive, CX-3 beats Honda HRV with its crappy tranny.
been very satisfied with mazda 2019 cx3 so far..been 3 months since i got it and i couldnt get enough of it..so fun and great to drive esp in sports mode with awesome interior!
In other words, the Mazda CX-3 is for a single guy or a young married couple, and the Honda HR-V is for a young family. Great review, it really helped me to narrow down my choice.
Sagitarius82 No one is buying a car just for looks, but the design is important. We would have a lot more Aztek looking cars on the road, and I'm not sure not many people want those.
My choice out of no bad choices is the CX 3. I will never have any other passengers. Just a single driver car. With the back seats down, I have MORE than enough storage space. I want the driving fun and am going with manual transmission.
great review, but let's be honest...the cx-3 interior is an amazing design, but the crammed interior space is horrible! no storage options and the center arm rest is a total joke.
Tried both yesterday, HR-V feels horrible to drive, extremely assisted steering makes you feel insecure, feels extremely sluggish, looks horrible inside and out. CX-3 drives beautiful, steering gives you a lot of feedback, feels sporty, feels like braking is better and acceleration too. The only thing it has going for it is it has more space than the Mazda, if that’s what you’re looking for then go for it, Mazda looks miles better and drives better, it honestly feels a class above the Honda
I test drove both of these, The Fit and the Juke.........the Juke was sooooooooo small inside, and teeny windows, I felt claustrophobic....the Fit was roomy & very noisy but a fun car...like a little sports car....but if you want a quiet ride the HR-V is perfect. And love all the space....I did like the look of the Mazda, but if you have friends you want in your car, forget about leg room in the back seat...they will be cramped whereas the HR-V is soooooooooo comfy in the back. Ended up with the HR-V. have had for a full year now and LOVE it! Keep the Eco button on all the time and the gas mileage is GREAT! At first I didn't see many around, but now I'm seeing more....the Deep Ocean Pearl, you don't see many....really nice beautiful car! Happy with my purchase! (plus you can put a small house in the back with the space and magic seats!!!) But the Hr-v Is FUN TOO....no complaints on power at all! I can keep up with the best of them on the Beltway!
it would have been more helpful to have actual details, instead of just saying "fun to drive" over and over. How do the two cars handle? Turning radius? Speeds when entering traffic on ramps? Road noise? Basic things like showing the cargo areas with seats up and down would have been helpful.
Great video and your comparison between the two is exactly what I have seen while you are driving these two beautiful compact SUV. It's confusing to choose between them but I might sacrifice the space with elegant looking Mazda.
I'm about to upgrade from a 2nd Gen Fit Sport MT to either this CX3, HRV, or Subaru Crosstrek. More practical space, ground clearance and better predicted reliability and resale favor the Honda and Subaru, but I'm so drawn to the looks and far better handling of the Mazda. Well since the whole point of getting a crossover is more practical space and light off road capabilities, I guess I'm favoring the Subaru, since it can be had with AWD and MT... I'm gonna miss those honda "magic seats" though.
you missed one key point between the the two. Mazda cx-3 GT has led projection head lights that turn with your steering wheel and led rear tail lights where the Honda only has standard halogen head lights
After looking a lot of vehicles (Mini Cooper Countryman, Nissan Juke, etc) I've narrowed it down to these two. I like the CX3, but that stupid LCD sticking out of the dash just kills it for me, it's bound to get broken sooner or later! HRV wins IMHO.
I have mazda 3 2016 for over a year and love it, its very ergonomic, why would it get broken? The decision between 2016 civic or 3 came to Mazda's favor for me.
Rabid49Panda I know, I have 2 mazda 3s 2016s, both are great, and yes, they are made in mexico. Hated cx-3 when test drove it, felt smaller than my cat's litter box
Question: What didn't you like about Juke? It appears to have the most for the money, based on the specs. I am talking about the 1.6T with a Manual transm. Thanks.
The front drive version of the HR-V gets 35 mpg highway, instead of 32 like the AWD version has. The LX base version has a radio with a volume knob, and knobs instead of a touch-pad for the HVAC controls. But still; the HR-V really is DOG SLOW due to that CVT sucking the fun out of the vehicle.
i was choosing between these exact 2 cars few days ago. I ended up buying the HRV because of the feature of u able to lift up the seats which no other cars can do, also which u didnt mention in this video. If u r planning of getting the CX-3, do urself a favor and look into the Mazda 3 hatchback, it has more room than CX-3 but same features and still fun to drive. I chose HRV simply because i like the storage features.
One thing you have to consider is that the Mazda 3 hatchback has a much lower ground clearance compared to the CX-3. Also the CX-3 does look more stylish in and out.
another car to put in the comparison can be the subaru XV (think its named Crosstrek in the US?) spiffier engine than the HR-V and more room than the CX-3, also looks good and drives really well, better AWD system too.
For me the XV feels more premium on the inside than the HR-V does, and especially if you want some power to pull a trailer you will need the diesel of the HR-V, then the noise level in the honda is substantially worse. CX-3 is a great little car, but for my use, it was just too small unfortunately, thats why the XV was the car for me :)
no doubt... CX-3 it is... i don’t mind to sacrifice small space to get this car.... i have the cx-9 AWD GT black/black anyway 🤫 so use the big one if going somewhere really far with more cargo.. then this one is for work and errands for my wife 😍
Test driven both for a long time and I purchased the HRV in a heartbeat. The HRV is tons bigger than the CX3, has more standard soft touch areas, solid center where the right knee leans(i forgot what its called) - the CX3 is flumsy, plastiky and try to push it several times and it moves easily. lol and more.
A few months ago I test drove a 2016 HR-V; nice vehicle, but not enough horse power. It needs at least 170hp. Also, for even its top of the line it does not have power driver and/or passenger seats. Yes, one could argue if it did then the price would be more. But really, how much more? ....$800 ...maybe. I had to take it out of consideration for being just a bit shy of what I feel it could be. Maybe for ....oh their 2018 model year they'll up the power and tweaks some features.
Equanimity Denied no mazda3 for me then, it fucken really sucks how the japanese are doing their cars on Mexico, it's really fucken stupid, it's like I give my child to other people to take care of him
We are so ready to buy the 2018 HR-V but when we did the road test, my enthusiasm went downhill. The humming noise that sounds like a house aircon was a big letdown. Plus, you can hear all the noises from the outside! We left without buying the car 🚗.. my big advice, yes make sure you do the road test always!
HR-V would sell better if it offers a more power engine, I mean come on ppl looking for compact suv also want a little more power for little more fun. A physical volume bottom (not being picky but a lot of ppl wanted this as well.) and better facelift would certainly push the sell further as well.
cx3 win widely, led headlight with projector, led fog light led lights tracers inner more beautiful better finished sport more technology sport shift HRV looks current and cheap. cx3 wins by great advantage.
Motor City Man I was just teasing you, not coming onto you. Good review and information. I haven't seen one negative view on the CX-3. I've been waiting for the Toyota C-HR to hit the showrooms, but I fear that there is unavoidable leather. If that's the case, the CX-3 will most likely be my choice.
its a 1.5 with 130 HP, rev happy little engine but it does not fit a crossover like the HR-V, I agree. Also talking longevity, the car is made in mexico, the mazda is made in Japan.
3698s Join a Honda Forum and you'll find people with Accords Civics and CRVS complaining about shuddering, slow take off, vibration, hesitation and other issues with their CVTs. My new 2016 CX5 tranny shifts like butter, very smooth and responsive. It's a regular geared transmission.
Don't listen to this guy. I've driven both the CX3 and the HR-V. The CX3 drives like a SNAIL compared to the HR-V. There's almost no comparison, that's how big the difference is.