The stylish, compact and sporty Mazda CX-3 Maxx Sport has taken home the title of Best City SUV in the 2018 Drive Car of the Year awards.

Comprehensive, intensive testing by a team of motoring experts was carried out to determine the 2018 winners, and the sum of the CX-3's design, tech, performance and safety features set it apart from its competitors. 
           
In August this year, the CX-3 saw important upgrades come through, packing even more style, value and power into the compact SUV.

From an exterior design standpoint, updates to Mazda CX-3 range included a new front grille adopting bold horizontal lines to achieve a more assertive stance, and gloss black adorning the fog lamp bezels and side pillars to sharpen the detail of the areas around the window and highlighting the flowing roofline.

Inside, key updates saw a major centre console redesign, including padded armrest for enhanced driver and passenger comfort.

The Maxx Sport variant that underwent testing, enjoys a SKYACTIV-G 2.0L petrol engine, which saw a range of SKYACTIV technologies applied to improve economy and promote quicker engine response in the August update.

As always, Mazda's i-ACTIVSENSE safety technology plays an important role in the vehicle's make up, with hero features of the Maxx Sport including reverse camera, Smart City Brake Support (SCBS Forward/Reverse), Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA).

Said Andrew Maclean, Editor in Chief at Drive.com.au, "The upgrades for the 2018 Mazda CX-3 might seem fairly minor in isolation, but the sum of the changes is far greater and drastically improves the overall refinement of the CX-3."

"As the winner of the Best City SUV category in the 2018 Drive Car of the Year awards, the CX-3 Maxx Sport ticks a lot of boxes as a modern urban runabout; it's stylish, comfortable, fun to drive, efficient and, most importantly, is right up-to-date in terms of safety," he added.

Commenting on the win, Managing Director at Mazda Australia, Vinesh Bhindi, said the accolade reflected the consumer response received since the updated launch in August.

"The car has been a range-leader for Mazda since its introduction to the Australian market, and the high demand for our compact SUV shows no signs of slowing down."

"Its sharp and responsive handling, compact nature and impressive practicality make this hero car feel genuinely aspirational, all with an achievable price tag that consistently surprises our customers."

To learn more about the award-winning models and about Mazda, visit www.mazda.com.au.

ENDS