News & Reviews- Make: Mazda

MX-5 aside, the CX-3 is the sportiest looking new Mazda, but it's more Dakar rally raid than take it to the track on Sunday. It looks like it could go anywhere, although let's be clear, this isn't the intention. Rather, you'll look oh-so stylish pulling up to the ski hill in this subcompact SUV, and you'll get there using less fuel than the majority of snow slaying 4x4s.

Its variation on Mazda's new corporate face might be the best yet. Its large and proud yet tasteful grille is almost stately, and certainly more premium than some luxury branded small CUVs, while its sharp and narrow combination headlamps add to the little soft-roader's animalistic characteristics. Likewise, vertically stacked driving lights and fogs are particularly attractive while adding visual height to the design, these interrupted by a subtle front fender crease that flows past the bottom edge of each headlamp before arcing overtop the wheels and then bending into a beltline that swoops across the front Read Full Story

Mazda has updated its CX-5 compact crossover for 2016 and styling changes are subtle. Truly, most won't even notice. The new grille gets five evenly spaced slats for a cleaner more uniform design than the outgoing model's thick black slab up top and honeycomb mesh insert below, while GS and GT models get restyled fog lamp surrounds featuring two horizontal strakes. The mid-grade GS uses the same fogs as last year, while this top-tier GT gets a totally new set of tiny LEDs, not to mention new LED headlamps with signature detailing as well as stylish LED taillights. The GT's standard wheels are impressive too, machine-finished 19-inch alloys with what look to be body-colour painted pockets on 235/55R19 Toyo A23 all-seasons. A nice set of twin exhaust pipes poke through the CX-5's sculpted matte black body cladding that, just like last year's model, continues to wrap right around the SUV's lower extremities for a rugged yet sporty look.

My tester's Titanium Flash Mica (metallic Read Full Story

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

You could be forgiven for not noticing that the 2016 Mazda6 has been given a mid-cycle refresh, as updates to its exterior styling are quite subtle. In my opinion this is a good thing, however, as it's already a fabulous looking mid-size sedan and any radical changes for the sake of change might have undermined the original design.

As it is, Mazda has only modified its grille slightly by replacing the thicker topmost horizontal rung with two thinner slats, resulting in six uniform ribs from top to bottom. These are chromed on as-tested top-line GT trim, while all models get a thicker version of Mazda's trademark bright metal grille surround wrapping around its lower half before becoming even more pronounced as it blends into the newly redesigned headlamps, these incorporating full LED illumination in GT trim. Last but hardly least, GT models get stylish chromed eyelids overtop the fog lamps, which are upgraded to LEDs with the GT. While all of this is good, if you only caught Read Full Story

Let's be completely honest. Other than its MX-5 roadster and RX-7/8 sports cars Mazda hasn't always had leading-edge design, but all that's changed now. Its current 3 sedan and hatchback are two of the best looking in their class, its mid-size 6 sedan is downright gorgeous, the compact CX-5 crossover is a real looker as well, while the Zeal Red Mica painted CX-9 I'm reviewing here is a certified head-turner.

The CX-9 was the first production vehicle to receive Mazda's new "KODO – Soul of Motion" design language, a styling direction that's won kudos from us pundits as well as customers alike, the latter that have been responding with their hard earned money. When it arrived in 2012 as a 2013 model, the newly penned CX-9 increased Mazda's percentage of the mid-size CUV segment considerably, and sales have been steadily climbing ever since. It's far from the brand's bestseller, the compact 3 handily taking that title with the CX-5 selling less than half as many units in Canada Read Full Story