Mazda CX-3 review

While the CX-3 isn't the biggest small SUV out there, tall drivers will be pleased to find that there’s a decent amount of room in the front seats, both for their head and legs.

Plus, there are plenty of storage places for all your odds and sods, with door bins that can hold small drinks bottles, two cupholders, a good-sized glovebox and some other storage trays dotted about.

It’s with regard to rear room that the CX-3 really suffers when compared to its rivals. You can only really fit two adults on board, and even then they will be quite cramped.

There’s little leg room, particularly if the front seats are slid back, and taller passengers will find their heads brushing the roof. As such, the CX-3 doesn’t even match a regular family hatchback for practicality and interior space, let alone SUV rivals such as the Arona.

There’s not a great deal to mention here. The CX-3’s rear seats split and fold in a conventional 60/40 fashion but don’t slide back and forth like they do in some of its rivals, including the Captur. This is a great feature that means you can prioritise boot or rear leg room as needs be.

The front passenger's seat of the CX-3 does get height adjustment, at least.

If you pop the standard adjustable boot floor up to its higher setting, it creates a separate underfloor storage area that’s useful for stowing those delicate or valuable items.

In its upper position, it has other advantages, reducing the load lip – therefore making it easier to lift heavy items in and out – and removing the awkward step between the boot floor and the rear seats when they’re folded down.

Drop the floor to its lower setting and you get a deeper space that's good enough for three or four carry-on suitcases. But even then the boot isn't as big as those of rivals such as the Captur and Arona.