REVIEW | The Mazda CX-3 2.0 Hikari is a great compact SUV, it's just dynamically outdated

Following the discontinuation of the long-serving Mazda CX-3 from specific markets, speculation has been rife over the possible demise of this model locally. However, Mazda South Africa has reaffirmed the future of the popular compact SUV. So, following some recent upgrades, we reacquainted ourselves with the Hikari flagship model, writes News24 Motoring contributor Ferdi de Vos.

Hikari is the Japanese word for "light" (as in a ray of light), and besides being used by Mazda to describe the flagship grade of its popular CX-3 SUV range, it is also the name of the high-speed train service in Japan running on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen "bullet train" lines.