The IT Nerd

The interior of the Mazda CX-3 GT has a very impressive interior. Let me detail what you get at this trim level:

The seats are covered in a combination of leather and cloth. It’s very classy looking and functional as it keeps you solid if you choose to have some “spirited” fun on a back road. Though some extra bolstering would be welcome. The seats are heated.

Here’s the controls for the windows and door locks along with the side mirrors. If you look closely, you’ll see the faux carbon fiber trim.

The doors have a mix of leather, suede, and plastic that looks very classy.

Sound is provided by Bose in the GT trim level of the CX-3.

From the top down you get the controls for various electronic overseers as well as the accelerator and brake pedals. Note the dead pedal to the left which is handy for long drives.

The steering wheel is leather wrapped and has redundant controls for the infotainment system as well as controls for the cruse control. There are also paddle shifters on the rear. It felt good in my hands.

The instrument panel is straight out of the Mazda3 and it looks very good. It can be customized on the right side to show the info that you’re interested in. One handy feature is that it can be switched easily from KM/H to MPH. Handy to have if you cross the border frequently.

This is the Mazda Active Driving Display which puts relevant info right in your line of vision. I’ll talk more about this tomorrow when I look at the technology in the Mazda CX-3.

Here you can see the center console which includes the 7″ touchscreen, HVAC controls and the transmission.

Underneath the HVAC controls is a space with a CD player, a couple of USB ports, 1/8″ audio jack, and 12V outlet. One thing I really liked was the color scheme of the interior along with the stitching and faux carbon fiber trim was very well done and easily rivaled some luxury cars that I’ve tested.

Here’s a closer look at the shifter and just below it is the sport switch that allows you to have some extra fun.

Here’s a look at the cupholders and some limited storage behind the cupholders. There’s no armrest which I wasn’t used to when I first started driving the CX-3. Nor is there a storage area. So storage space is at a bit of a premium. You also see the HMI (Human Machine Interface) Commander Switch that controls the infotainment system.

The cupholders fit my Venti Starbucks coffee. However the cupholders are not deep. So I have to wonder what happens to that coffee if you make an evasive maneuver of some sort.

Since storage is at a premium, it’s a good thing that you get a good sized glove compartment.

The power moonroof doesn’t cut into the headroom that the CX-3 provides. That’s a good thing if you’re tall like me.

The back seats will seat two for sure. Three in the back may be possible for short trips but the person in the middle has to deal with the protrusion for the rear driveshaft. Seeing as I am exactly six feet tail, I set the drivers seat up for myself and got into the back seat expecting not to fit. But I did fit and I was able to get in and out with ease along with feeling comfortable while I was there. Thus, if you have to haul around four (not five) people on a regular basis and the people up front are six feet tall or less, the CX-3 can handle that.

The cargo area has a handy privacy cover and actually has a fair amount of space. Plus it has one extra trick.

You get underfloor storage which given that this is a vehicle that has limited storage space is a very welcome addition. The section that I am lifting up is removable as well if you simply want some extra depth to the cargo area. But if you want a flat storage area when you have the seats down, you need to have this in place.

Grocery shopping was more than doable in the CX-3. As you can see here, we had no trouble getting our shopping into the CX-3 and we had room to spare. I should note that if you need extra space, the rear seats fold down in a 60/40 split.

Here you can see the handle on the rear hatch that will help you to keep your hands clean.

Overall, the only thing that I can really complain about is the fact that storage space is at a premium. Other than that, the interior is well executed and well put together. Mazda really did a great job putting the interior together. I should also note that sight lines in a 360 degree view are great. I had no issues seeing anything that was around me while I was driving.

Tomorrow, I will be taking a look at the technology in the CX-3 which is very extensive. Stay tuned.

This entry was posted on June 10, 2015 at 6:04 am and is filed under Products with tags Mazda. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.