The Mazda CX-3 belongs to the hot and growing sub-compact SUV segment, also known as CUVs, which have been taking a bite out of sales of small and mid-size cars in the U.S. Watch video
DETROIT, MI - There is no consensus as to when self-driving vehicles will be on public roads, shuttling passengers from Point A to Point B.
There are too many factors to make a solid prediction, such as costs, technological development and government regulation.
But what is certain is that some autonomous driving aspects will continue to be seen more as safety features on the cars and trucks currently on U.S. roads, and those features are no longer limited to luxury vehicles.
One such example is the sporty little Mazda CX-3. It belongs to the hot and growing sub-compact SUV segment, also known as CUVs, which have been taking a bite out of sales of small and mid-size cars in the U.S.
The CX-3 Grand Touring AWD we tested had Mazda Radar Cruise Control, which uses a millimeter wave radar to gauge the distance and speed of vehicles ahead of the car, and then it automatically adjusts its speed accordingly.
It worked flawlessly in the highway driving we used it for. Though it's still unnerving to trust the vehicle to slow down for you, without touching a single button, let alone putting your foot on the brake.
This kind of adaptive cruise control has been in some mass-produced autos since at least 2014, spanning certain models of the Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Silverado, Honda CR-V, Toyota Camry, Jeep Cherokee and Mazda's Mazda6, to name a few.
But the fact that it's now in a car priced below $30,000 is what prompted us to feature it as part of the 2016 CX-3 Grand Touring AWD we tested this week.
Elsewhere, the CX-3 we tested was fully loaded with some of the other latest safety features, such as lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and smart city braking.
With a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, it was a quick little hatchback with taut handling - attributes that Mazda vehicles have become known for.
Mated to a six-speed automatic transmission, its drivetrain gave it a respectable fuel economy of 27 miles per gallon city, 32 mpg highway and a combined fuel economy of 29 mpg.
The Mazda CX-3 went on sale last summer, so year-over-year sales comparisons aren't yet available, but so far for the first four months of the year Mazda has sold 6,420 units.
The fully loaded Mazda CX-3 Grand Touring AWD we tested was priced at $29,260.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook.