Diesel CX-3 tows less than the petrol

The towing capacity of Mazda's all-new CX-3 is significantly reduced when optioning the diesel engine.

Offering a choice of 109kW/192Nm 2.0-litre petrol or 77kW/270Nm 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engines, the CX-3 is capable of towing up to 1200kg (braked) when fitted with a petrol engine, but only 800kg (braked) with the diesel – in spite of the additional torque.

Mazda says the discrepancy is due to issues related to Australia's hot climate and the capacity of the cooling system of the CX-3 when towing.

"Mazda has very strict criteria that must be met in order to determine towing capacity for a vehicle," said Mazda Australia's senior manager of public relations, Karla Leach.

"The towing capacity for the CX-3 1.5-litre diesel is lower than the 2.0-litre petrol due to a number of reasons: a small capacity turbocharged engine under load producing too much heat, extra heat exchanger in the front of the car for the intercooler, different oiling requirements of the engine."

It's a response similar to that provided by Toyota at the launch of its RAV4 in 2013. Toyota said at the time that its diesel RAV4 models were only capable of towing up to 550kg (against 1500kg for the petrol) because of concerns relating to Australia's hot climate. The rating for the diesel model has since been uprated to 1000kg.

Mazda will offer its new CX-3 from $19,990 (plus on-road costs). The light SUV is available in four model grades, and with the availability of petrol and diesel engines, manual and automatic transmissions, and with the choice of two- and all-wheel drive.

It's one of only a handful of competitors to offer autonomous braking (as part of Mazda's optional Safety package), and will also include a reversing camera on all except the entry-grade Neo.

Mazda expects buyers to favour petrol variants nine to one over the diesel, with 80 per cent of all buyers preferring an automatic transmission and 85 per cent favouring front-wheel drive.

Neo variants of the CX-3 will arrive in dealerships next month (April). All other grades are available now.