INFINITI QX30 vs Mazda MAZDA3

Compact sedans are some of the most affordable vehicles today, which often leads to cheaper interiors, disappointing performance, and uninspired styling. The 2026 Mazda 3 bucks that trend with a cabin that could easily be mistaken for entry-level luxury fare, a spirited driving experience, and head-turning style. The current-generation Mazda 3 debuted as a 2019 model, but despite its age few updates are expected for 2026.

Verdict: The Mazda 3 proves that small cars don’t have to be boring.

Crossovers are the hottest segment in the automotive landscape, and compact crossovers represent the hot spot within that booming category. Infiniti had a high-riding wagon in the form of the EX35 (the current QX50), but it needed something fresh and new in a hurry. So what to do? Rather than building a whole new tiny SUV from the ground up, it borrowed from a competitor.

In an unlikely arrangement between Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti parent company Renault, the German automaker provided Infiniti with the GLA-Class platform as the basis of an all-new compact crossover: the 2017 Infiniti QX30.

Originally, the QX30 was supposed to be two separate vehicles; the Q30 hatchback and the QX30 crossover. Infiniti has revamped the names for its entire lineup, replacing the G37 with the Q50 and the M37 with the Q70. Each crossover and SUV model became a QX, followed by a number based on its size. The brass at Infiniti must have felt that two very similar cars with two different names was confusing, so it combined the two, violating its own naming convention… which is also confusing.