Mazda CX-3: Which Should You Buy, 2019 or 2020?

Most significant changes: A drop from three trim levels to one; significant standard features added, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a head-up display, automatic climate control and i-Activsense safety suite

Price changes: $305 for the Sport trim (Touring and Grand Touring trims discontinued); destination increases $55 for vehicles shipped from Feb. 3

On sale: Now

Which should you buy, 2019 or 2020? A 2020 if you’re OK with cloth seats; that’s a lot of extra equipment for not much money. If you want more luxurious features like leather upholstery, heated seats and a Bose audio system, you’ll have to go for a 2019 (and pay significantly more).

The Mazda CX-3 just got a refresh in 2019, but big changes are once again in store for 2020 as the subcompact SUV simplifies its trim levels by cutting them down from three to just one: the Sport. Gone are the more opulent Touring and Grand Touring models of the CX-3, and the surviving Sport sees a huge uptick in equipment for a small price increase, which gives the CX-3 prodigious value in this class.

Related: 2019 Mazda CX-3 Review: Good Things, But in a Small Package

The reason for the demise of the top two trim levels is likely the introduction of the new Mazda CX-30 for 2020, which itself starts at $22,945 (all prices include destination) — just above the CX-3 ($21,740 based on updated 2020 destination fees for vehicles shipped from Feb. 3). And the CX-30 doesn’t suffer from the CX-3’s space issues; adults can sit somewhat comfortably in the backseat of a CX-30. In a CX-3, backseat passengers will be OK for 10-15 minutes before the driver starts to hear whisperings of rebellion coming from the rear.

For 2020, the CX-3 Sport adds on an impressive amount of technology and safety features. Automatic climate control and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now standard, the addition of the final two being notable because the Mazda multimedia system is a little bit tough to use at times. But the most impressive additions are a standard head-up display (which you don’t really see in this class at all) and the addition of i-Activsense standard, as well. That safety package includes adaptive cruise control that works down to a stop, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection and LED headlights with auto leveling.

This gives the 2020 CX-3 a massive advantage over the 2019 vehicle. Those safety features were not standard until you got to the Grand Touring trim, which starts at $26,790, or the Touring trim with an options package ($24,520). In pretty much every instance, I would suggest going for the 2020 CX-3 over the 2019 model unless you absolutely have to have leather upholstery, heated seats and a Bose stereo.

More From Cars.com:

  • 2019 Mazda CX-3: 5 Things We Like and 3 Flaws
  • 6 Ways the Refreshed 2019 Mazda CX-3 Is Better
  • 2020 Mazda CX-30: 5 Things We Like (and 3 Not So Much)
  • 2020 Mazda CX-30 Review: Stylish Small SUV Right-Sized for U.S.
  • Research the 2020 Mazda CX-3

To play devil’s advocate for those folks, I would actually suggest not going for a CX-3 if those are non-negotiables. Step up to the new CX-30, get a cabin and a cargo area that actually has room for people and things, and pay roughly the same amount of money. A 2020 CX-30 Preferred starts at $27,245, gives you all of those features but with faux leather instead of the real thing, and is only $455 more than the 2019 CX-3 Grand Touring — and that doesn’t even include the much better engine that you get under the hood of the CX-30.

The CX-3’s value proposition shoots way up for 2020, and the arrival of that SUV, along with a new slightly bigger option, means it’s even easier to extract value and utility from Mazda’s small SUV lineup. The 2020 CX-3 (and CX-30) are on sale now.

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