I love Mazda as they are great to drive. However the HRV has more space on the back seat. Now most of my kids are away from home, it's a car really just for me. My wife has her own little Nissan, which I hate.

I think the Mazda is more stylish too.

Anyone got either of these or any opinions on which is the better for basically going around town with a couple of long tops a year to the beach.

Your analysis is correct. The CX-3 is more fan to drive but the HR-V has more space.

We drive Mazdas in Thailand since 2008 (3 Mazda 3, 2 CX-5, 1 BT-50 and also a CX-3). Mazda's technology is really surprising. The new CX-3 and the Mazda 3 have more power then the old version with Ford technology and uses much less fuel. Our old Mazda 3 used about 9 l per 100 km. New Mazda 3 and the CX-3 only about 6.7 l (Gasohol 95).

The Mazda's are more firm than the Honda's but I have a more secure feeling. Styling is a matter of personal taste. Personally I very like their styling. The interior styling is quite minimalistic.

The Mazda MZD infotainment system is a little bit different than usual. But I like, that I can operate it without touching the screen.

The sitting space is good, also for the second row. The trunk is quite small, indeed.

Mazda has still a lower resale value than Honda, but has improved.

The CX-3 is the better choice, when you like a good driving experience and can live with the small trunk space. The HR-V is more comfortable and has more usability.

Thanks a lot juehoe for your experience!

 

Can you get two adults in the back seat? I think all versions are 4 wheel drive which I don't really need(maybe once a year) but still love the look.

I love my HRV but have always had a Honda in the stable since 1982.

59 minutes ago, augustwest said:

I love my HRV but have always had a Honda in the stable since 1982.

I think they look much better than the CRV.

13 hours ago, Johnniey said:

Thanks a lot juehoe for your experience!

 

Can you get two adults in the back seat? I think all versions are 4 wheel drive which I don't really need(maybe once a year) but still love the look.

The cx-3 here is 2wd. cx-5 is larger and can come with 4wd. You could get a newish cx-5 4wd with their good diesel engine for about 1.2M. It's larger than the cx-3, which i think is too small especially for a family of 4. 

On 24. August 2016 at 9:28 PM, Johnniey said:

Thanks a lot juehoe for your experience!

 

Can you get two adults in the back seat? I think all versions are 4 wheel drive which I don't really need(maybe once a year) but still love the look.

 

2 adults can sit quite comfortable in the back seats - at least for shorter trips. I also have a child seat in my CX-3 and my son love it. The former Mazda 3 is wider, but the passengers sit quite low.

 

Our family is not very tall, indeed. I am 1.7 m and the rest are shorter Thais. So we 3 adults and 1 child fit good. For longer trips, we use the CX-5, of course. 

 

On 25. August 2016 at 10:42 AM, DavisH said:

The cx-3 here is 2wd. cx-5 is larger and can come with 4wd. You could get a newish cx-5 4wd with their good diesel engine for about 1.2M. It's larger than the cx-3, which i think is too small especially for a family of 4. 

 

The 4WD Diesel CX-5 cost just under 1.7 million baht. There is a version with 2.0 L gasoline engine for about 1.2 million baht. But this variant doesn't include all the safety features. It is also underpowered with this engine.

 

Second hand vehicles of the 1st generation CX-5 with AWD and the Diesel engine cost about 850,000 baht.