The subcompact crossover class is relatively new compared to larger compact, mid-size and full-size SUVs, and it’s growing exponentially.

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This year alone four models have been added to a segment that still only holds nine competitors combined, although it’s seen attrition too. Remember the wacky Nissan Cube?

I happened to like its ovoid second-gen styling, but I was obviously outnumbered by those who were either appalled or simply not interested and therefore the Cube died a quiet death a couple of years ago. Nissan’s unorthodox Juke continues on, and is actually more of a true SUV than the taller wagon-like crossover as it offers optional all-wheel drive, which is why it’s probably best to leave the funky Kia Soul and even more oddball Scion xB out of this conversation too.

This

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tiny segment isn’t as niche as it used to be either, at least not for smaller brands. The CX-3 currently places third out of eight Mazda models in 2015 calendar year-to-date sales, whereas Mitsubishi’s much more conventional RVR has done quite well by outselling its larger Outlander brother last year and getting pretty close to the number one Lancer. Likewise, the near-premium Buick Encore version of the similar Chevrolet Trax has pushed itself into runner-up status within its own brand, and the Mini Cooper Countryman was the best-selling individual model within the British brand’s lineup last year, while this year’s Fiat 500X, Honda HR-V and Jeep Renegade additions are too new to tell… or maybe not, considering how well the CX-3 is doing.

Out

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of the nine cars currently fighting it out in this newish segment, we shouldn’t be surprised to hear which model is selling best. Within the pack that was around last year, Chevy’s bargain basement Trax was the number one seller with 8,533 deliveries for calendar year 2014, whereas the Mitsu RVR took second place with 6,594 units down the road. Buick’s Encore did well with 5,683 sales during 2014 despite its higher than average price point, the Juke held fairly steady at 3,641 units, and Mini’s relatively pricey near-premium Countryman did ok with a respectable 2,018 sales.

Enter calendar year 2015 and this list gets mixed up a bit, the Trax still leading the way with 4,859 year-to-date sales as of August, but the new Honda HR-V stole

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second spot with 4,351 deliveries, especially impressive considering it didn’t hit the showroom floor until partway through June. The RVR is still third with 3,893 units sold, but this very Mazda CX-3 has quickly risen to fourth place with 3,437 sales, and it has only been available since May. Buick’s Encore has dropped to fifth place, but sales are still fairly strong at 3,195 units, while the Juke is doing well compared to last year at 3,069 sales, albeit now sits in sixth place. The Mini Countryman has slipped behind the Jeep Renegade’s 1,042 deliveries with 809 of its own, the Renegade’s first full month of sales being April, while the new Fiat 500X has only managed 363 sales since joining the fray in late May. In comparison to the other newcomers and the entire subcompact SUV lot, I think Mazda can be quite proud of its CX-3 numbers, and if things keep building like they are there’s a very good chance

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it will be a top-three seller or even place second after its first full year, although that depends on what else comes down the pike between now and then.

There are good reasons for the CX-3’s early success, the first being styling. It all starts off with Mazda’s trademark Kodo “Soul of Motion” design language, easily the best of recent attempts to give the Japanese brand clearly recognizable and highly emotive character traits. As with all of Mazda’s new redesigns, a large pentagonal grille reaches upwards and outwards from its lowest vertex with chrome-trimmed arms that pierce right through each lens of its narrow, elongated headlamps, whereas vertical fogs just below lean in unison with the outside edges of the lower centre grille.

The

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CX-3’s profile is at least as interesting, with X-pattern bodylines that crisscross down each flank while an eye-catching greenhouse that narrows as it flows rearward and then visually blends into the rear glass via gloss black-finished D-pillars hovers above.

Black is the theme on the opposite pole as well, an aggressive rally-style front spoiler joined by flared wheel arches, extended side rockers and a bold rear bumper underscoring the design, while narrow squinting taillights somehow manage to follow all the juxtaposed cutlines while looking positively brilliant doing so, and dual chrome-tipped exhaust pipes impertinently poke out from the rear valance.

Rounding

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out my top-line GT tester was a racy set of 18-inch twinned Y-design five-spoke machine-finished alloys with grey painted pockets circling 215/50R18 Yokohama Avid S34 rubber, adding to the go-fast sporting image.

From nose to tail the CX-3 seems alert and alive, but not in a happy and playful puppy sort of way. Carnivorous for sure, but it’s more bug-like or reptilian. Either way, it’s a design I can’t take my eyes off of.

Inside, the CX-3 measures up to Mazda’s high level of quality if not its usual cabin size. The Japanese brand finished my top-line GT tester in a two-tone motif of dark grey/blacks and wine red, an unusual combination yet still quite nice compared to the normal bright red contrast most companies go with when they want

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to get sporty. The majority of surfaces are hard plastic, par for the course in the subcompact class, but a softer synthetic covered primary gauge shroud butts up against a nice padded leatherette accent piece that stretches right across the instrument panel ahead of the front passenger. A thin strip of metal adorns a recessed section just above, this item bisected by two circular vents and another rectangular vent hidden in between, while Mazda’s BMW-like freestanding infotainment screen sits above, accessed via a BMW iDrive-style rotating controller on the lower console.

Back to interior trim, beautiful brushed aluminum door inlays surround metal-like door handles that really feel weighty, while the inserts are made from a suede-like material and slightly padded wine red door pull/armrests are finished in stitched leatherette, just like the sides of the centre stack that are padded even more to benefit each front occupant’s inner knee. Mazda’s carbon-look plastic surfacing adds a little more splash to the steering wheel spokes, centre stack recess and window

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switch panels than mere matte black, and is much easier to keep clean and scratch free than piano black lacquered plastic, a trend steeped in Japanese tradition that Mazda helped to initiate but appears to be leaving behind, thankfully.

The primary gauges are gorgeous and ideally simple with a large tachometer at centre, the only actual dial in the cluster, the speedometer shown in a simple and clear LCD readout that gets duplicated in the head-up Active Driving Display unit when

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equipped. That auto-deploying transparent screen is especially helpful when using the navigation system, as it shows directions right where the driver needs them without forcing eyes from the road, Mazda following this user friendliness up with the usual redundant controls on the steering wheel spokes. Three-way heated seats are a nice touch compared to simplistic high/low settings, as is the three-dial HVAC interface that offers single-mode automatic temperature control for added convenience.

An SD card slot, two USBs, an aux plug and a 12-volt charger occupy the lowest portion of the centre stack, these standard items being part of a superb sounding upgraded Bose audio system in GT trim, while sitting just behind is a nicely detailed shift lever with a leather and

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metal finished knob and two-tone leather boot, the pair as nicely detailed as anything from the premium leagues.

A Sport mode button is positioned just behind, that when actuated allows for higher engine revs before shifts, especially enjoyable when the gearbox is slotted into manual mode and paddle shifters engaged.

That’s where I left it much of the time, as the CX-3 is a joy to drive quickly. Its Skyactiv 16-valve, DOHC, direct-injection 2.0-litre four puts out 146 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque that connects through a quick shifting six-speed autobox before

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sending twist to the front or all four wheels, my tester being the latter, while an as-tested curb weight of 1,339 kilos (2,952 lbs) meant takeoff was zippy and continued progress to highway speeds brisk.

Despite its diminutive dimensions the CX-3 feels plenty solid at those high speeds too, whether cruising down the freeway or slaloming through sets of S turns, its independent strut and stabilizer bar equipped front suspension and rear torsion beam setup absolutely stable even over mid-corner bumps, while electrically powered rack-and-pinion steering delivered good response and my GT tester’s 215/50R18 all-seasons provided all the grip this little tyke will ever need.

As

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important with anything subcompact is fuel economy, and Mazda answers pump concerns with a five-cycle EnerGuide fuel economy rating of 8.2 L/100km in the city and 6.7 on the highway with FWD, or 8.8 city and 7.3 highway with AWD, plus the requirement of cheaper regular unleaded.

All this is good, but does it also do duty as a practical family and gear hauler? That’s where I came away surprised. Few should complain about the CX-3’s front seat accommodations from roominess to comfort, the leather and suede covered seats of my GT extremely supportive with good adjustability and an excellent design for bearing the lower back, but there was also plenty of room in the rear where the seats were also much better than I expected.

Additionally,

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Mazda endows the little CX-3 with a sizable 452-litre (15.9 cubic-foot) cargo compartment behind those seats, which is more load space than the majority of trunks in the compact and mid-size sedan segments, while dropping its 60/40-split rear seatbacks forward, an easier process than with some rivals, produces an impressive 1,528 litres (53.9 cubic feet) of total gear toting space. The rear hatch opens up wide enough to stuff large items inside too, as I experienced during my test week when it became necessary to remove a big living room swivel chair and two bar stools from home. Dropping the two-level cargo floor allowed the widest portion of the chair to fit inside easier, while, with the load floor back in its upper position, it served as a handy storage bin for hiding valuables the rest of the week.

The CX-3’s standard rearview camera was helpful with the cargo compartment filled

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to its roof, that feature only part of a $20,695 base GX model that also includes automatic-off headlights, powered mirrors, variable intermittent wipers, a tilt and telescopic multifunction steering wheel, air conditioning, remote locks that automatically engage while walking away, pushbutton start, a six-way driver’s seat, a trip computer, a seven-inch high-resolution touchscreen, and six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio. You can also add AWD for $2,000, while freight and pre-delivery prep is $1,895.

The mid-grade GS model starts at $24,195 and adds auto on/off headlights, heatable door mirrors with integrated turn signals, rain-sensing wipers, a leather-wrapped

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steering wheel, shift knob and parking brake handle, leatherette trimmed premium cloth upholstery, heatable front seats, a sunglasses holder, and a powered moonroof.

My top-tier GT tester is only available with AWD and starts at $28,995 while boasting a features set that should make the majority of premium brands blush with embarrassment, including LED headlamps with signature lighting, adaptive cornering capability and automatic leveling, LED fog lamps, LED taillights, those 18-inch rims I mentioned earlier, leather and Lux Suede-trimmed upholstery, paddle shifters, proximity-sensing passive entry, auto climate control, the heads-up Active Driving Display I also noted before, navigation, voice activation, and the seven-speaker Bose audio upgrade I mentioned earlier.

While my tester included the black and red interior theme, you can also get GT trim

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with no-charge Pure White perforated leather upholstery that looked fabulous in a CX-5 I recently tested, while my CX-3 also included the optional $1,500 Technology package that added satellite radio, automatic high beam assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure warning, and Smart City Brake Support (SCBS), the latter using a near infra-red laser to detect vehicle activity up to six metres ahead before applying the brakes automatically to avoid a potential accident.

No matter which trim level you choose, your dealer can provide a number of accessories including a $2,261 gloss-black finish aero kit with a front air dam, side sill extensions, rear diffuser and rear spoiler to help improve aerodynamics, reduce drag and enhance styling, as well as a $430 block heater, $115 front mudguards, $127 rear mudguards, $175 front wet weather floor liners, a single $129 second-row floor liner, and more.

I

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should also mention that all CX-3s feature a full load of safety gear including four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, electronic brake-force distribution and emergency brake assist, electronic traction and dynamic stability control, hill launch assist, tire pressure monitoring, plus driver and front passenger seatbelt pretensioners, and all the usual airbags, while speed-sensing double action door locks and an engine immobilizer improve security.

Unless size really matters, I recommend a look at this new subcompact SUV class as most of the vehicles on offer deliver impressive all-in-one versatility along with a level of sporty yet efficient all weather motoring not available elsewhere. So far I haven’t tested every newcomer listed above, the others already booked and therefore soon to be tested and reviewed, but they’ll have to be very impressive to beat the CX-3. It delivers all that’s expected in this segment while adding refinement, features and performance competencies that are solidly above the segment status quo. That it looks so good doesn’t hurt matters either.
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