They settled with the CX-3. Size and price was what made it appealing. Small is what they wanted and the key deciding factor for a daily commuter. They have a van and pickup available to use should they need something big. But to go back and forth the CX-5 was too big. I personally liked the CX-5 better myself and to be quite frank, Mazda could eventually win me over from Ford, if and when I move on from my fleet of P71's. I was that impressed. All of Mazda's tech the ford used was always rock solid.
I really liked the Mazda design, fitment, engineering, and the build quality. While GM / Ford / FCA are all about adding an extra entertainment options and more bling at the cost of decontenting a powertrain or important option is beyond me. Honda ruined all their vehicles the moment they went to a CVT transmission. Toyotas in NE states rot away before the powertrains break in, not to mention are priced 20% or more than their competitors!
My only single concern is that we first looked at a 2017 Mazda CX-3 at a local dealer, and it did have more corrosion and rust than it should have for its year. Digging into the carfax it was based out of a salty area, but in 3 yrs it should not have looked that bad. I wonder why it rusted that bad? All the black subframes were orange rust peel, exhaust was nasty, struts were very rusty but not rotted out yet, and all the aluminum on the engine was white crystals. The vehicle they ended up purchasing is mint in every way and I hope it does not end up that way in 3 yrs. We have terrible winters here and we use rock salt and grit.
I really liked the Mazda design, fitment, engineering, and the build quality. While GM / Ford / FCA are all about adding an extra entertainment options and more bling at the cost of decontenting a powertrain or important option is beyond me. Honda ruined all their vehicles the moment they went to a CVT transmission. Toyotas in NE states rot away before the powertrains break in, not to mention are priced 20% or more than their competitors!
My only single concern is that we first looked at a 2017 Mazda CX-3 at a local dealer, and it did have more corrosion and rust than it should have for its year. Digging into the carfax it was based out of a salty area, but in 3 yrs it should not have looked that bad. I wonder why it rusted that bad? All the black subframes were orange rust peel, exhaust was nasty, struts were very rusty but not rotted out yet, and all the aluminum on the engine was white crystals. The vehicle they ended up purchasing is mint in every way and I hope it does not end up that way in 3 yrs. We have terrible winters here and we use rock salt and grit.
