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Japan: Mazda Receives Over 10,000 CX-3 Orders in One Month

Mazda has just announced that as of March 23rd, it has received orders for 10,076 units of the brand new CX-3 crossover that made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. All orders come from Japan, the only country where it's available at the moment, and represent over 3 times the 3,000 which the company originally expected to sell monthly.
Mazda CX-3 8 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf / R. Kah
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63% of the orders came for the XC Touring trim level, followed by 21% for the CXTouring L Package. Essentially, this shows customers want more high-end features on smaller and smaller cars.

The most popular color was Ceramic Metallic, which is essentially silver. 44% CX-3 buyers wanted that, while 19% went for the more exciting Soul Red.

The CX-3 is Mazda's smallest crossover ever, sitting below the CX-5. It's made in Japan and shares its underpinnings with the Mazda2 supermini. Engines include a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter Skyactiv petrol and a brand new 1.5-liter diesel which Mazda say has gotten rid of the knocking sound diesels usually produced.

Though small, this 1.5-liter diesel packs 105 PS and 270 Nm (200 lb-ft) of torque, being available in both front- and all-wheel drive configurations and matched to a 6-speed auto. The most economical models will burn just 4 l/100km in the combined cycle, equivalent to CO2 emissions of 105 g/km. Mazda sales suggest 13% of customers opted for the i-Eloop brake energy recovery system.

Will it sell as well in Europe and America? We think so, especially since it seems to straddle the gap between cute but crammed B-segment crossovers like the Juke and more practical ones like the Qashqai. The CX-3 measures 4,275mm (168 inches) in length while the 1,765mm (69 inches) overall width should mean it's still maneuverable around town.

Anyway, we checked out the CX-3 in Geneva already, but if you want to see exactly what the Japanese are buying, look at this walkaround video of an XD Touring L 4WD model with a 1.5-liter diesel. If imported, it would cost about $26,000, which is a lot for a compact.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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