Me and a Mazda CX-3

Disclosure: I was provided with this vehicle from Drive Shop USA to review for a week. All opinions are 100% my own.

New Year, New You is the theme for 2017 and giving back is going to be a big part of it which is why I was proud to review the all new 2017 Mazda CX-3 Grand Touring AWD.

In addition to Mazda’s innovative approach to safety with milliwave radars and cameras to keep you in tune with your surroundings. The Mazda Drive for a Good charitable program launched in 2013 is a commitment to charitable services with a pledge to its customers and the communities in which it does business.

During the last week of the year, I and the Mazda CX-3 headed to Valley Forge Historical Park in Wayne, PA to take in a relaxed view above the city where shoppers below were hustling and bustling with their last minute holiday shopping. The Mazda CX-3 is a compact vehicle that has seating for 5 and would be a great starter vehicle for a new driver or a couple with small kids.

This exterior color of this model was Dynamic Blue and inside are Black and White Leather and Suede Sports Seats with Burgundy accents. With its many standard features and optional equipment, the MSRP for this vehicle was $28,510. The fuel economy of 34 MPG made it great for zipping around town and long drives on the highway with few stops at the gas station.

I really enjoyed driving the Madza CX-3 with it’s Blind Spot Monitoring and Active Driving Display both of which were my favorite features as well as the heated seats which are a necessity in the cold Mid-Atlantic area.

It’s hard to see the Active Driving Display in action in the video, but it was great for determining the stopping distance between the cars as well as the change in the number of lanes which comes in handy while driving in unfamiliar areas.

Hubby and I made a trip to the grocery store and the rear was roomy enough to fit all of our bags, however, if we had more the 60/40 split fold-down rear seat would have accommodated them with ease.

There’s a lot of standard equipment included in this vehicle and below are my 5 favorite picks:

Toni’s 5 Favorite Features

Heated Front Seats
Blind Spot Monitoring
Active Driving Display
7” Color Touch Screen Display
Multifunction Commander Control

Another great safety and the convenient feature was the Multifunction Commander Controls which are on the console which allows you to control the Infotainment Center from the right side, eliminating the need to reach up to change the channels or operate the Navigation System from the dashboard.

The awesome Bose® Surround Sound system with 7-speakers was great for listening to holiday tunes as I traveled back and forth to work which you know is a 3 hour round trip commute.

The Mazda CX-3 Grand Touring AWD received the Government’s 5-Star Safety Ratings in Frontal and Side Crash testing and the 2016 IIHS Top Safety Pick.

Features:

18-inch aluminum alloy wheels
LED headlights with auto leveling
LED Daytime Running Lights
LED fog lights
EPA-estimated mileage city/highway (mpg): 29/352
LED combination taillights
Adaptive Front-lighting System (AFS)
Power sliding glass moonroof with tilt feature
Leather-trimmed seats with Lux Suede® insert
Steering wheel paddle shifters
Bose® Surround Sound system with 7-speakers
SiriusXM Satellite Radio with 4-month trial subscription8
Mazda Navigation System
Active driving display
Automatic Climate Control
Tonneau cover
Body-colored power side mirrors with integrated turn signal lamps
Leatherette-trimmed seats with cloth insert
Heated front seats
Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob
Overhead console with sunglass holder
Driver’s armrest
Mazda advanced keyless entry system
Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) System7
Rear Cross Traffic Alert7
Variable-intermittent windshield wipers
Rear roofline spoiler

Air conditioning with pollen filter
Push button start
Power windows with driver’s one-touch down/up feature
Steering-wheel-mounted audio, phone and cruise controls
Power door locks
60/40 split fold-down rear seatback
MAZDA CONNECT™ infotainment system3
7-inch full-color touch screen display
Multifunction Commander control
Infotainment system voice command
HD Radio™
Aha™ internet radio integration
Pandora® internet radio integration
Stitcher™ internet radio integration
Radio Broadcast Data System program information
SMS text message audio delivery and reply
E911 automatic emergency notification
Rearview Camera4
Bluetooth®5 hands-free phone and audio capability
Auxiliary input jack and USB port
12-volt power outlet
Cruise control
Tilt and telescopic steering column
Trip computer
Carpet floor mats
Advanced front airbags, front seat mounted side-impact air bags and side-impact air curtains