I’m torn. On one hand I do enjoy bass. Sir Mix-a-lot just isn’t the same without a kickin’ subwoofer, he falls flatter than the butts he does not like. On the other hand, that extra clearance would have come in really handy for us. It just so happens that a carry-on bag stood vertically will fit with the floor lowered, but not with it in its normal, higher position. Mr. Yarkony also had dramas with his children’s bikes and his own rollerblades. An extra two inches of height in the back would have made life just that little bit easier.
One of our forum members pointed out the lack of adjustment in the passenger seat and I must admit I found it frustrating that I couldn’t adjust the seat height on the right-hand side of the car. The onset of summer illuminated another problem for our young family – no rear air-conditioning vents. This means my daughter gets no instant relief when we climb into a hot car, and I’ve taken to pre-cooling the car, which is bad for the environment and fuel economy.
On that front, we’re still sitting at an average of 8.2 L/100 km as per the trip computer, which aligns with my hand-tested calculations. That’s pretty solid given our mix of about 80 percent city driving. The official NRCan ratings are 8.8 city and 7.3 highway. Using the neat little “fuel economy monitor” app in the infotainment screen I’ve seen as low as 5.9 on one hour-long trip out to the outer suburbs of the GTA and back.
But even with strong fuel economy the fuel tank is too small for this car, it limits range and makes long trips frustrating. It might not be the fuel tank, which is 45 L in size according to the spec sheet, so much as the reserve light programming. I filled up with “0 km” range showing in the trip meter and only put 38 L in it. An extra 10L would give the extra 120-odd km of range that means you can fill up at the end of the weekend, instead of at the beginning.
It also means 120 km more driving without stopping, and 120 km more driving without looking for a service station. All of which I want because the more time I spend driving this CX-3, the more I like it. Now I’m off to look at Thule boxes…
Pricing: 2016 Mazda CX-3 GT with Technology Package
Base Price (GX): $20,695
Base Price (GT): $28,995
Options: $1,500 (Techology Package: Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Lane Departure Warning and satellite radio)
A/C Tax: $100
Freight and PDI: $1,895
Price as Tested: $32,490
