Driving matters to Mazda. So much so, in fact, that the long-loved Miata has been one of the best selling—if not the best selling roadster on the market for over 15 years. But we’re not here to talk about the Miata, we’re here to talk about something even more important.

“More important than the Miata?!” you ask worryingly. Yes, the Mazda CX-3 is the car that has been slated to be the next big thing for the Japanese marque. Considering the CUV segment has been the fastest growing corner of the market and shows now signs of letting up, we can’t fault that logic. Truthfully, we can’t find much to fault in the CX-3 either. 

SUV Body, Miata Soul If it looks like an SUV, and smells like an SUV, it must drive like an SUV, right? Actually, no. One of the key differences between the Mazda CX-3 and the competition is in the way it drives. To use an automotive PR keyword, it’s very dynamic. Truth be told, that shouldn’t really shock anyone familiar with this new vehicle. Its base is a Mazda 2, a car that’s pretty dynamic in its own right. The only immediate difference from the CX-3 and the Mazda 2 is the obvious ride height difference, and the easily distinguishable Kodo design cues.

With the front-wheel-drive version (as tested), it never felt overly unruly. Surprisingly, the CX-3 is one of the few vehicles in the segment that doesn’t put to use torque vectoring on its front-wheel-drive version—but you’d never be able to tell. The body is composed, and lacks any sort of roll you’d ...