Hyundai Kona vs Mazda CX-3

What's the difference?

Can Hyundai disrupt Toyota's hybrid dominance? You bet it can, with the Kona a small on the outside, big on the inside, hyper-efficient hybrid which will tick plenty of boxes.

The Mazda CX-3 Maxx Sport FWD is an excellent car for the city, thanks to its small size, ease of driving and safety tech. New additions for the 2021 update, such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, will also help drivers keep their eyes on the road and hands off their phones.

The petrol engine is thirsty and in 2021 it’s disappointing that there isn’t a hybrid or EV version of the CX-3.

Other downsides include limited interior space and a small boot.

Design is subjective, I know. But this subject reckons the Kona looks fantastic. Mostly because it doesn't look like it's trying too hard.

Sure, the light bar at the front and rear are stand-outs, but beyond them, you've got a pretty understated and stylish SUV.

Even the cheapest Kona's carry a certain design flair, owing mostly to those twin light bars and 18-inch alloys, and there's clever EV-led cooling up front, with the plastic covers that sit where a slatted grille might usually open automatically when the engine bay needs extra cooling. So EV looks with ICE functionality. Clever.

Inside, design cues meet practicality perks in a cabin that leans a little too hard into hard plastics in places. The centre console, for example, is free of a traditional gear selector, with that function moved to a stalk behind the steering wheel, which does free up a heap of space between the front-seat riders.

Elsewhere, the twin-screen setup of the Kona Premium looks the business, and I'm always grateful for physical buttons or dials to control the twin-zone climate and other core functions.

The CX-3 is smaller than small, it’s tiny or ‘light’ as it’s officially categorised by the car industry. This could be ideal if you live in the city and need a car that will fit into tight spaces and be easy to pilot around car parks and narrow streets.

I know it seems like an obvious thing to say, but keep in mind that tiny cars tend to have not much space inside – you can read about that in the practicality section below.

For now, let’s look at the dimensions. The CX-3 is 4275mm long, 1765mm wide and 1535mm tall. 

This new Kona is 30mm taller and 145mm longer than the model it has replaced – now just over 4.3m long, 1.8m wide and close to 1.6m tall – with the packaging improvements felt most in the backseat.

I'm 175cm tall, and I have absolutely no problem sitting behind my own driving position, with ample legroom and headroom. Sure, three adults across the back won't be overly fun, but the Kona stretches the definition of "small SUV", and so this is about as good as you're going to find in this segment.

Elsewhere in the back, there are twin cupholders in the pull-down seat divider, bottle holders in each door, and big central air vents.

Connectivity is another Kona perk, with twin USB points in the rear, more connection points up front (including one that you can direct to Apple CarPlay, or just to charge, so your passenger can plug in without having their phone pop up on the central screen).

The boot opens to reveal 407 litres of storage space, growing to 1241 litres with the rear seats folded flats. Plus you can tailor the space with an adjustable floor height and shopping-bag hooks.

Oh, it’s small inside. I mean, up front is fine, even for me at 191cm tall and a two-metre wingspan, and the new seats, which are bigger and wider, are so much better than the narrower ones in the previous version.

But think of the CX-3 as a two seater with three seats in the back for a rainy day – literally a rainy day, when it’s pouring so hard that you can’t let your friends walk home. Also, if you’re thinking about buying the CX-3 as an Uber I’m warning you now, I will cancel the trip before you arrive because sitting in the back for me is painful, given the limited rear legroom and my almost unlimited legs.

A test that almost broke both my will to live was a trip to the Royal Easter Show with my wife, our six year old and my parents. No, we didn’t all try to fit into the CX-3, that would have been be silly. Instead, we did something else silly and took two cars, with me picking up my parents in the CX-3. Thing is, Dad had to sit in the front because he’s fallen off too many motorbikes, so Mum sat in the back behind me, but her ancestors were Vikings, so she’s tall, with red hair, and yells a lot.

There’s no wireless phone charging and one USB port in the dash.

The CX-3’s boot cargo capacity is small for the class, at 264 litres. That’s not big enough to fit the CarsGuide pram or my mother, but the large suitcase we use for testing will go in. If you have kids, and I know from experience, you’ll be asking too much from the CX-3’s boot to fit all of their stuff all of the time. So, if you will be using the boot to carry a lot, then the slightly larger Mazda CX-30 is a better choice.   

I live in the city, or eight kilometres from the CBD, and I can tell you that urban folk have kids and heaps of stuff, too. The CX-3 seems to be designed for people without kids or stuff.

I want to give you some advice – don’t get the top of the range CX-3, get this one – the Maxx Sport. The top grade CX-3 lists for almost $38K and you could get a CX-5 Maxx Sport for that money, with change.

The CX-3 Maxx Sport is good value at $26,890 and comes with a 7.0-inch screen with Apple Car Play and Android Auto (new with the 2021 update), there’s push-button start, a six-speaker stereo, auto headlights, climate control, sat nav and 16-inch alloy wheels. Those last four items are the features that separate it from the entry grade. Those and some great safety tech, which you can read about below.  

Hybrids don’t take much explaining these days, and this one pairs a 1.6-litre petrol engine with a front-motor and a 1.32kWh battery to deliver a total 104kW and 265Nm, which is channeled through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic and sent to the front wheels.

The same 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine is in all CX-3s and it makes 110kW/195Nm.

It’s a pretty big engine for a tiny car and those output figures are nothing to laugh at. I’ve driven larger SUVs with less grunt.

The transmission is a six-speed auto, which is becoming rarer these days as many car makers switch to CVTs or dual-clutch autos. The benefit of a regular auto like the one in the CX-3 is smother low speed driving. The negatives? Slower gear changes and higher fuel economy.

The Maxx Sport I tested was the front-wheel-drive version. There’s an all-wheel drive, too, but it’s not at all vital in the city.

The magic of any hybrid is in its fuel use, and this one promises fuel use of just 3.9L/100km. That’s better than the Corolla Cross, by the way, which is more like 4.3L/100km.

That means not only is its 38-litre tank pretty cheap to fill, it should get you almost 1000kms, provided you are gentle with it.

You’d think a tiny car’s fuel economy would be really good, but the CX-3 is thirstier than you might expect.

Mazda says that the CX-3’s mileage on a combination of open and urban roads is 6.3L/100km. City-only driving will use more fuel and Mazda says the urban fuel economy is 7.7L/100km, which is close to the 7.9L/100km the trip computer was reporting back to me after a week together.

Much like the petrol-powered Konas we've already driven, this hybrid-equipped model is a bit of a treat from behind the wheel.

The real skill, I reckon, isn't necessarily making a car feel sporty, or soft, or super sharp. It's in making a car feel fit for purpose, whether it's a sports car, a family hauler, or a small electrified SUV.

And the Kona fits the bill on that score, with steering that is direct without being too sharp, a ride that's supple enough to be comfy while still inspiring confidence, and NVH levels that are solid when up to speed, too.

In short, it does pretty much exactly what you want a car in this segment to do.

There is clever stuff afoot, though. The flappy paddles behind the steering wheel don't just control regenerative braking levels, but – when Sport mode is engaged – also the gear shifts, allowing you to make the most of that six-speed DCT automatic. That's one of the benefits of having a six-speed 'box, rather than a CVT.

It also might be one of the smoothest-transitioning hybrids I've driven, with no clunky, thrumming engine startup, just seamless shifting between the two power sources.

Downsides? It's really not the most powerful vehicle out there. You don't notice in the city, where there's enough grunt on offer to keep you moving easily enough. But you do notice when you go to overtake on a country road, where you kind of have to take a run up to get the move done quickly.

It also lacks a little bit of refinement from take off, when, if you're too heavy with the accelerator, you can definitely hear the engine and gearbox working hard.

The CX-3 is easy and fun to drive. This is thanks to an engine that has plenty of grunt, a torque-convertor transmission, which sends that drive well to the front wheels, good body control and dynamics, plus a fairly comfy ride.

Yes, the wing mirrors seems to be overly magnified, and the reversing camera’s picture isn’t great, but these are minor issues when weighed up with the upsides to the driving experience.

The CX-3’s tiny size makes it ideal for fitting into parking spots many cars can’t, piloting through laneways and conquering other urban challenges.

What were you doing in 2015? It’s a pretty long time ago now, especially if you’re a car, but the CX-3 was awarded the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating that year.

While the rules to get five stars have now become stricter, the CX-3 is still well equipped with advanced safety tech, and most of it has a strong urban focus.

All CX-3s have AEB with pedestrian detection and it works forwards at speeds from 4km/h to 80km/h and in reverse at 2km/h-8km/h, but stepping up to the Maxx Sport adds rear-cross traffic alert and blind-spot warning.

The headlights are halogen, which is not good for dark country roads but fine for well-lit city streets.

Rear parking sensors are standard, but you’ll have to go a grade higher to score the front parking sensors, along with lane-departure warning and traffic-sign recognition.

For child seats there are three top-tether points and two ISOFIX mounts across the second row.

A space saver spare is under the boot floor.

Expect Hyundai's five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty here, with service intervals pegged at 12 months or 15,000kms. The brand's capped-price service schedule limits your maintenance costs to $399 per service for the first five years.

The CX-3 is covered by Mazda’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended annually or every 10,000km, with the first service capped at $331, then $391, then back to $331, alternating like that all the way through to the fifth.

Every new Mazda is also covered by five years roadside assistance if you ever get a flat battery, run out of fuel, get a flat tyre, lock your keys in the car, or accidentally get married. Ok, maybe not the last one.