Netherland has become the country of small and compact crossovers.
Normal SUV's tend to do well, but those compact crossovers do even better.
When it comes to numbers, they replace the normal B- and C-segment cars.
You've got to be crazy as a manufacturer, if you don't offer a crossover in your range.
It doesn't matter which manufacturer introduces one, it will be an instant success.
Take Seat for example, which didn't offer a single SUV until a while ago,
when they introduced the Ateca. And now it's an incredible success,
with a waiting list of a year. Seat thought; 'we can do this again',
and so they presented the Seat Arona one segment below. It's based on the new Ibiza of course,
but it's a little bigger and taller, like a crossover should be.
Of course, that means the prices rise as well.
We'll talk about that later though, but for starters, I think it looks incredibly good.
It's become a nice car. Mostly because of the two-tone paintjob,
but the shiny parts, LED-lights, beautiful wheels,
or this strip here. It's just that little bit extra,
and that's what people look for in cars like this. To find out how it does in its segment,
I've put a rival next to it; the Mazda CX-3.
This CX-3 also is a SUV in the B-segment, or rather a crossover.
Because we're car enthusiasts, we know that,
but if I talk to non-car enthusiasts, they think the CX-3 is based on the Mazda 3.
Now why would they think that? Anyway, the Mazda 3 is a C-segment car,
whilst this car is actually based on the Mazda 2.
A fun difference between these cars, is that this engine is twice as big as the engine in the Seat.
The Mazda is powered by an atmospheric 2.0-litre SkyActive engine, producing 120 horsepower.
In the front of the Seat, we find a turbocharged 1.0-litre TSI 3-cylinder engine,
producing 115 horsepower. So there's a small power gap, but a big capacity gap.
Speaking of capacity, let's talk luggage space.
First off, the CX-3.
I can already tell that despite it's got a lot of strong points, the space isn't one of them.
If you look at this, it's very cramped,
but it's got a double floor, You can remove that for more space.
Still, it's only 350 litres, and that's not a lot.
The Seat offers you an additional 50 litres.
Like I already said, the hard number says 400 litres. You've got a low loading floor in here,
but that's it. No additional space beneath the floor.
Still, it's 50 litres more than the Mazda. If you fold down the seats,
both cars exceed 1.200 litres, and that's when the Mazda has more to offer.
Then, the rear seat. There's some difference there as well.
First of all, the seats in the Seat do look a little cheap.
Legroom is alright, I can fit my feet beneath the seat,
and I've got some headroom left. That's pretty good, so let's have a look in the Mazda.
It's not a surprise anymore, because we already know the CX-3,
but it's pretty cramped in here. My head is touching ceiling,
my knees are in the seat. The seat does look better though,
just like this beautiful leather here, or the alcantara there.
The space in the cabin however, it's just less than in the Arona.
Before we set off, let's talk about the cars we're driving.
In the Mazda it's pretty easy. I already said it's powered by a 2.0-litre SkyActive producing 122 horsepower,
and it's featured in a GT-luxury trim, and that's the best you're gonna get at Mazda.
Everything is on there. Mostly because the cars are shipped over from Japan,
so they're easier to sell from stock. You can choose from optional colors,
but the white paintjob isn't optional. This car as it stands here will set you back €29.500.
For the Seat I'll have to look at the blurb, because it's a slightly bigger list.
It's a 1.0-litre ECO TSI DSG FR Business Intense, triple word value...
That costs €27.900, so it's about €28.000.
For that, you get the luxurious multimedia system, parking sensors, airconditioning,
rain sensors and stuff like that. Optional features are the red paint, which costs €550,
the beautiful wheels for €900, the Beats by Dr. Dre-version which is available,
which feature six speakers producing 300W. That will set you back €600.
The LED-lights cost €700 as well, and if you add up all of the other features,
the whole car costs €31.918. So it's almost €32.000,
which is a tad more than the Mazda. I have to say it again though,
despite I always do in a crossover-comparison, but you can buy yourself a nice C-segment car for that money.
If you buy a crossover because you want one, sure, but you should know that if you buy a normal hatchback,
or even a station wagon, you'll gift yourself an additional class.
When was the last time you've seen an atmospheric engine? Mazda hasn't fallen behind when it comes to technology,
but it's a conscious choice to keep developing atmospherical engines, instead of solely focussing on turbocharged engines.
In the near future, they will present new compression technology,
this is the "old" SkyActiv.
Not a lot of power per litre, because it produces 120 horsepower in total,
but as a reward, it's incredibly efficient.
It's got a good throttle response as well. You've got to get used to it that when you're travelling at higher revs,
when you put your foot down, the engine reacts immediately.
You don't have to wait for the turbo.
It comes with a disadvantage though, because you haven't got as much torque as the Seat at lower RPM.
However, there's an upside as well. If you want to overtake and you put your foot down,
you go to 3.000 RPM, you shift back, you're immediately on 5.000 RPM,
and something is happening. I can already tell you when you put your foot down in the Seat,
nothing happens, because all of the power is in the lower revs,
and you don't have a backup in the higher revs.
The smooth impression continues in the transmission. This Mazda has a 6-speed fully automatic gearbox,
no double clutch though. The disadvantage is that it's not as direct,
but that's not an incredibly big deal in this segment. The upside to that is that the engine is a lot smoother.
It feels smooth when you drive off from a traffic light, the gear changes are smooth as well.
Even when I turn to the flappy paddles...
It's pretty quick. Of course, it's not a hot hatch,
but it doesn't bother me. When it comes to the drive,
it's pretty comfortable. It's aimed at comfort, but it hasn't lost eye for dynamics.
You do notice they've tried to prevent it heaving in the corners, which means the suspension is now a little too hard.
Especially when you're encountering speedbumps, despite its level of comfort it feels too hard.
That's pretty annoying. And considering this is the Netherlands,
with speedbumps littered all over the place, you're gonna notice.
That could get annoying.
Everything you'd need is on the Mazda. You've got a HUD, good cruise control,
and a good multimedia system which is pleasant to control, because of the i-Drive-like button layout.
Which they nicely borrowed from BMW.
It's very easy to operate, but when it comes to the screen and the functions,
they've fallen behind a little. You can see the system has been in use for some time,
since the launch of the Mazda 3 to be exact.
That's not as modern as you'd see in other cars, so that's where the Arona scores points because of it's novelty.
Anyway, the power of the current generation of Mazda's, is their smooth drive and the great balance in the cars.
You don't have to go fast, but every movement feels natural which feels pleasant.
It's the same case in this CX-3. The seating is good, you're not too high for the steering wheel...
Speaking of which, you can pull the steering wheel enough towards you,
that's too bad, because that has to be different in 2018.
But you'll feel at home pretty quickly in this car, and it reacts incredibly smooth.
This car breathes ease, whilst it's incredibly fun to drive.
In the Seat, it all feels a little different.
For starters, it's more spacious. If I look around me,
it looks a little less special. A little less personal as well.
On the other hand, this huge multimedia system...
The Volkswagen Group is fitting that in all of their kinds. It doesn't matter if it's a Golf, Polo, Ibiza, this Arona,
an Ateca, a Karoq... Keep on going. It's big, it's quick, it looks good,
and it scores a lot of points in these modern times. Of course, it's fully connected.
It doesn't matter if it's Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, it works and it works quickly.
Nothing to complain about.
Then, the drive. The TSI-engine of course is different than the SkyActiv from Mazda.
I think it's at its best if you're smoothly driving along, just between 2.000 and 3.500 RPM.
When you're changing gear quickly, you can get along because of the torque.
You'll think it's a very nice drivetrain, but there are some drawbacks.
I already mentioned it, but imagine you're driving 120 km/h,
you need to overtake because of another car...
and you don't want to get stuck behind a lorry. You put your foot down, you get kickdown,
it speeds up, but in the higher revs, there's not a lot happening.
The torque is in the lower revs, and now it's just a 1.0-litre engine.
Then, another disadvantage in the automatic gearbox. It's incredibly smooth and quick when you're driving along,
but if you want have a quick getaway at a traffic light, it's almost like you're doing a clutch drop.
The moment you touch the throttle, the revs rise and the clutch grabs on,
which makes your wheels spin. That makes it difficult to drive away quickly without spinning your wheels.
If you've got a fully automatic gearbox, it's not that big of a problem,
if you've got a DSG-automatic gearbox with a liquid clutch, with wet plates, it's easier as well.
But if you've got a dry plate clutch DSG in smaller engines, it's a little annoying at lower speeds.
The same goes for parking. If you're parking in front of a wall,
you've got no crawling mode. So you're stationary, you give a little throttle,
and when the clutch grabs on, you launch forward.
Incredibly scary if there's a wall. That's when a fully automatic gearbox like in the Mazda has its advantages.
Then, the drive, and that's important. Basically, I think this Seat is more dynamic.
It's the most fun to drive between the two. It feels a tad sturdier on a normal road with imperfections,
but if you drive this over speedbumps or a roundabout, it's so much better than the Mazda.
It's almost shocking. That's a big disadvantage in the CX-3.
It's so sturdy on speedbumps and such, it really deals a blow, which is very uncomfortable.
This Arona processes all of those bumps, and you'll remain relaxed at the steering wheel.
What I do notice, is because of the lack of personality in Volkswagen Group-cars,
everything starts looking like each other. I can already tell the Polo-based SUV won't be as sturdy as the Arona,
just like I can predict how the Polo and Ibiza are going to differ. Everything looks like each other, the drivetrains are all the same,
so it doesn't feel very special. In the CX-3, you get the feeling you're driving something else.
Anyway, when it comes to the total package and you start counting points... This is more spacious, the chassis is better,
the engine is smooth, it's more quiet, it looks better, so it's an easy tally...
The Seat is the better car.