Deputy editor Dan Pund gazed out from his cubicle to the Vehicle and Driver parking-lot, regarded the 2016 Mazda CX3 to get an instant, and declared, "It Is simply a Pontiac Vibe."

He was producing an observation, maybe not hurling an insult. If we were not dwelling in the age of the cross over, we--you, me, and the whole driving people--would contact the CX3 a vehicle. The most dramatic difference between this so called cross over as well as the Mazda 3 hatchback is the grey plastic cladding that follows the body's bottom edge.

Pund's comment points out a more substantial truth, as well: As cross-overs shrink to these sub-compact percentages, they get less sport utility vehicle-like and more strongly resemble automobiles. From our standpoint--where we value a reduced center of gravity as well as the commensurate advantage to handling--that is not a terrible thing.

Actually, the CX3 is a really, very great thing. Mazda's mini-ute drives just like a Pontiac Vibe in exactly the same manner a Ferrari drives just like a Fiat. The CX3 directs with preciseness, corners with aplomb, and scoots down the route using a verve that's nearly universally absent among cross-overs. Toggle the sport-mode as well as the fast-shifting automated transmission assumes Porsche-esque sense, down-shifting as you brake for an approaching corner. Without issue, Mazda has assembled the motorist's car--er, crossover--in this burgeoning section.

The CX3's 8.1-2nd amble to 60 miles per hour qualifies as fast, but just because automobiles in this category typically run in the nines and sometimes flirt with the 10-second mark. Credit because of its fleetness would go to the svelte 2932-pound curb weight just as much as the 146-hp motor. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder needs revs to make its strength, but it grinds toward its 6800-rpm red-line with noisy protest.

The meek 16-inch wheels and pedestrian tires on our mid-level Touring version made small operation amounts in the track. The CX3 circled the skidpad at 0.81 grams with the undefeatable equilibrium control nipping at the brakes, then posted a hohum 70-to-zero-mph stopping distance of 181 feet. In standard Mazda convention, though, what the CX3 forfeits in cold, hard figures it more than makes up for in driving character.

Even those people who are ignorant to Mazda's dynamic charms should find lots to love-in the CX3. The up-scale, competitive exterior styling encases an upscale, tranquil inside. Our Touring test vehicle carried a cost of about $25,500 (official MSRPs have however to be an