Peugeot 2008 v Holden Trax v Mazda CX-3 v Toyota C-HR v Suzuki S-Cross small SUV comparison

Over 110,000 small SUVs were sold in 2016, making it the fourth most popular vehicle segment in Australia, behind medium and large SUVs, and small passenger cars. It’s a group of cars with a myriad of options giving buyers more choice than any other category.

To help cut through and help you decide which small SUV is right for you, Which Car took five of the best new offerings on a two-day comparison. Here’s what we found out.

The engine is tractable and easy to live with every day, with a fun streak when put into sports mode thanks to well-tuned transmission and throttle mapping. The exhaust has a nice note, with throttle application progressive, and gearshifts smooth.

The interior of the Peugeot is a leader from this comparison, with a luxury feel beyond its price tag. An optional sunroof, theatre-style seating for rear-passengers, and ample boot space are highlights of this one.

Holden Trax The Holden Trax was outclassed by strong competition in this field. While its engine and gearbox impressed judges, the interior design and feel, along with ride and road refinement dynamics lagged behind the rest of the pack.

The transmission is fun in manual mode, however the gear-mounted shifter, where a driver is forced to thumb a switch on the gear knob to change ratios instead of a traditional push/pull system, is a strange ergonomic quirk which makes shifting gears manually a hassle when trying to enjoy a windy road.

Mazda CX-3 The CX-3 is the Small SUV segment leader in terms of sales, with no other competitor able to approach its domination in the showroom. However, it lags behind all others in this field in returns of noise and refinement. The Mazda CX-3 suffers from large amounts of road, wind, and engine noise both around town and on the highway.

You feel sportscar-snug inside the cabin, however rear legroom is minimal, leaving passengers in the rear pews feeling cosy, but comfortable. Rear vision is also compromised.

Toyota C-HR The new kid on the block comes armed with funky styling and a charismatic personality for this comparison. The Toyota C-HR may divide some opinions with its looks, but won over our group of judges thanks to its adventurous design.

Front passengers are well cared for with large seats that are possibly too large for the overall packaging. This contributes to a lack of rear seat vision.

The Toyota also impressed dynamically, particularly with steering set to Sport mode. In the around town ECO mode, the steering was extremely light, making manoeuvring a breeze.

Suzuki S-Cross The S-Cross has the best engine of the field tested here. If your priorities have you searching for a capable and versatile crossover for long interstate drives, then the S-Cross is the small SUV for you.

The Suzuki’s infotainment system is simple but capable, with sat-nav and rear-parking camera as standard. However, the interior does feel basic compared to the rest of the field tested thanks to an abundance of hard scratchy plastics and a design that already feels dated.

The electric steering lacks feel and has a dead zone in the first few degrees of steering lock where it has little effect on direction, but the car holds the road well overall.

Verdict: Peugeot 2008 The best all-round car from our five-car field was the Peugeot 2008. It won over judges with its smart packaging, roomy and luxury interior feel, capable dynamics and tractable engine.

Mazda’s CX-3 is a segment leader for a reason, and is well worth considering for its sharp value offering. The S-Cross is the reliable pack-horse of the field, with an engine which makes up where other departments are lacking.

Unfortunately for Holden, it’s the Trax that brings up the rear of the field. An irksome, low-rent interior and harsh ride see points get subtracted and put it on a level below its well-sorted rivals.

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