By: Jason Woosey
Ask anyone at Mazda and they'll tell you that the CX-3 is jam-packed with its 'Kodo' design flavour, but it doesn't really matter what you call it - few are likely to disagree that this is an extremely stylish new take on the Nissan Juke's compact crossover turf.
On the outside this little Mazda seems to blend the best attributes of the latest Mazda2 hatch and the larger CX-5 crossover and the cabin appears to have been lifted straight from the former - which is really not a bad thing at all.
As you'd expect, beneath it skin the new CX-3 is packed with the usual entourage of lightweight and fuel-saving Skyactiv structural and powertrain technologies and the latest i-Activsense active safety gadgets.
Though it's certainly a softroader the CX-3 is not a total city slicker as Mazda will be offering both all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive configurations.
European buyers have a choice between a 2-litre Skyactiv-G petrol motor in two states of tune and a 1.5-litre Skyactive-D turbodiesel. Mazda remains secretive about outputs but based on what these engines offer in other models, we'd guesstimate that the 2.0 offers 88kW and 122kW options and the diesel should be good for 77kW.
Mazda SA has yet to announce any local plans for the CX-3 but they'd be silly not to bring it here so watch this space in 2015.