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2021 Mazda CX-3 gets a few more features, costs same as in 2020

The Mazda CX-3 is still down there at the foot of the Mazda lineup, chugging into 2021 and its seventh year on sale. The subcompact hatchback hasn't been overhauled since its debut and in 2020 had its three trims rationalized to one trim, so it gets denied the attentions paid to the Mazda3 and the CX-30. Those with an eye on the CX-3, however, will pay the same amount in 2021 as buyers did in 2020. Mazda announced a base price of $20,640 for the sole CX-3 Sport model, for a total of $21,740 after the $1,100 destination charge. Going from a Sport FWD to the Sport AWD adds $1,400, coming out to $23,140. Mazda's littlest crossover is powered by a Skyactiv-G 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 148 horsepower and 146 pound-feet of torque, shifting through a six-speed automatic. The nicer, newer, larger CX-30 is powered by a Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter inline-four that it shares with the Mazda3, producing 186 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque and mated to a six-speed auto. The front-wheel drive CX-30 starts at $23,000 after destination, $1,260 above the CX-3, the AWD CX-30 maintaining the same price gap at $24,400.    Related: Least expensive vehicles to insure in America   New for the 2021 CX-3, the i-Activsense suite has been updated with night pedestrian detection for the low-speed forward collision alert and avoidance system, and the LED headlights are self-leveling with enhanced auto on/off activation. The standard driver safety systems also include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert, and lane departure warning. There's a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Mazda Connect, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay, and remote keyless illuminated entry thrown in, too. The Sport trim goes with a louver-styled grille, roof spoiler, and 16-inch alloys. In fact, other than the cost-extra colors Machine Gray Metallic, Snowflake White Pearl Mica, and Soul Red Crystal Metallic on the eight-strong exterior palette, and some minor cosmetic options, the basic CX-3 is the only CX-3. It will reach dealer lots next month. Related Video:

Mazda's new turbo four fits in both the 6 and the 3

Despite the size differences, the Mazda CX-9 shares a lot with its smaller car-based siblings, the Mazda6 and Mazda3. That could allow Mazda to slot its full-sizer's new 2.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine under the hood of its smaller offerings. Pardon us while we do a happy dance. "[The 2.5-liter turbo] fits in a lot of our cars, and where we're actually going to put it is another question," Mazda North America vehicle development engineer Dave Coleman told Australia's Car Advice. Coleman specified that the turbocharged engine will fit in all the same applications that can accommodate the company's 2.5-liter gas and diesel engines. "Basically, that big space we used for the bundle of snakes exhaust manifold, the turbo is in that space too. They're all packaged to occupy the same space. It's exactly the same clearance as the exhaust manifold of the other engines." This kind of logic – if Engine A is the same size as Engine B, then both should fit in Car C – is what's lead us to imagine a turbocharged Mazda6 since the new engine was announced. In short, it's great news. Mazda's 2.5-liter turbo is a hell of an engine in the CX-9, and it's hard to imagine it'd be worse in a lighter vehicle. But just because it works from an engineering standpoint doesn't mean it's going to happen. At least, not soon. "It fits. I'm not a product planner so I don't get to make that call," Coleman told Car Advice. "It's up to the product planners to decide what they're going to put it in." The most obvious application for a turbocharged engine in the 3 or 6 is as a reborn Mazdaspeed model. But don't get too excited – Coleman said Mazda hasn't even gotten as far as building an engineering prototype with this engine. We're still firmly at the theoretical stage. And that's bad news, because it gels with what we've been reporting – that Mazda will wait a generation for future Mazdaspeed models. We just stopped doing our happy dance. Related Video:

Mazda refurbishing this NFL running back's 22-year-old daily driver

I don't actually care for the Washington Redskins (which is a good thing, considering the start to their season this year), but I love their running back, Alfred Morris. Why? Well, to start with, Morris helped deliver a dominating 10-3 season for my fantasy football team last year after a flash of prescience saw me pick him up off the waiver wire in Week 1 (hit me up on Twitter if you need fantasy sports insight, guys, I'm sort of like the Ruxin of Autoblog).
Morris is also pretty endearing because of his loyalty to his car, Bentley. Hold up - that's not to say the running back has splashed out on a Continental GT or a Flying Spur. No, Morris gave his much-loved 1991 Mazda 626 the tongue-in-cheek name "Bentley" while he was still a student at Florida Atlantic. One 1,613-rushing-yard rookie season and a $2.2-million contract later, and Morris is still using his Mazda as his daily driver. It might be easy to assume that the young player is simply being really prudent with all of his newfound wealth, but the guy really just has a thing for his five-speed-manual 626.
And Mazda, of course, loves the story of Morris' affection. In an effort to keep his 626 running strong and looking good, the company's Washington D.C.-area dealers have agreed to refurbish Bentley back to its original showroom freshness. Rather than spoil the classic (?) lines of the 626, the Mazda folks are essentially restoring the car for Morris. The cracked dash will be swapped out for a factory replacement, the engine and transmission given a thorough going-over and the whole vehicle generally made as fresh as Will Smith circa 1991. Bentley is expected to be completed and rolling through the capitol city by October 15, and in the meantime, Morris has been driving around in a new 2014 Mazda6 loaner car.