The 2020 Ford EcoSport is a subcompact SUV that handles well and navigates through tight city streets and in and out of parking spaces. It features a decent amount of space and an excellent available infotainment system. The 2020 Mazda CX-3 is another subcompact SUV that handles with decent acceleration. Each SUV has their strengths. Let’s look at both.
Design
The 2020 Ford EcoSport’s small build will help you move freely through city streets. It comes with a comfortable interior; and it offers a decent amount of cargo space for a compact SUV, with 20.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. The seats fold flat with a 60/40 split, providing 50 cubic feet of space. The EcoSport seats five people in two rows; and for a small vehicle they can ride reasonably well in either row. Cloth upholstery is standard, as well as four-way manually adjustable front seats. Leather-trimmed seats, a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, a six-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob are an available upgrade.
The 2020 Mazda CX-3 also seats five. The front seats are comfortable and spacious with enough head- and legroom, but you’ll have to duck you head to get in the back seats, and there is limited legroom. It’s a tight squeeze in the rear seats, but it's cabin makes up for its cramped space.. It offers an upscale interior with a modern design and standard cloth upholstery. The CX-3 has limited cargo space and only offers 12.4 cubic feet behind the second row. If you lower the folding rear seats, it will open up to 44.5 cubic feet of space.
Power, Handling and Fuel
The EcoSport comes standard with a 123-hp 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder EcoBoost engine with front-wheel drive or optional all-wheel-drive. An optional naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine produces 166-hp and is only available with all-wheel drive. Both engines share a six-speed automatic transmission. When equipped with the more powerful engine, the EcoSport can tow a respectable 2000 pounds. That number is good for this small-size vehicle. Both engines are peppy leaving stoplights and at city speeds; and they feel athletic in and out of traffic on busy streets. It comes in four different trim levels: S, SE, Titanium, and SES. The base engine gets an estimated 27/29 mpg city and highway.
The CX-3 comes with a four-cylinder engine with a six-speed automatic transmission that delivers 148 horsepower. It gets going quickly from a stop, and it has enough power for passing and merging at higher speeds. The CX-3 controls well around turns with its responsive steering, but with its suspension, you will clearly notice the bumps in the road. The engine can also be louder at higher speeds. It offers an estimated 29/34 mpg in the city and on the highway.
Technology, Safety and Price
The EcoSport comes with a 4.2-inch display, two USB ports, and a Wi-Fi hot spot. It has an optional SYNC 3 user-friendly infotainment system, but in higher models it comes standard. An 8-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a seven-speaker stereo system, a 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, satellite radio, HD Radio, and voice-activated navigation are also available. Additional options include ambient lighting, fog lights, a moonroof, a household-style power outlet, push-button start, and remote start. The Ford EcoSport comes standard with a rearview camera and Ford MyKey. The MyKey system encourages safe driving habits by adding extra seat belt reminders and letting you set limits on speed and audio volume. Available safety features include rain-sensing windshield wipers, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and rear parking sensors. The EcoSport is affordable, starting at $19,995 for the S model and ranging to a starting price of $27,380 for the SES model.
The CX-3 comes with an array of standard safety features including stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, pedestrian detection automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, a rearview camera, blind spot monitoring, rear cross alert, and a head-up display. It comes with the Mazda Connect infotainment system and features a standard 7-inch touch screen, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth, a six-speaker stereo, voice recognition, and a USB port. Mazda only offers the CX-3 in the Sport trim and its base price starts at $20,640.
Conclusion
The 2020 Ford EcoSport and 2020 Mazda CX-3 are great small-sized SUVs that handle well around town and in and out of tight spaces. While the CX-3 features more standard safety features and better fuel economy, the EcoSport offers a spacious cargo area and an excellent available infotainment system.