Road test review: Mazda MX-30
Sunday, 8 August 2021
MAZDA MX-30
Base price: $74,990 ($66,365 after rebate)
Powertrain and economy: 35.5 kWh lithium-ion battery and an AC synchronous electric motor, 107kW/271Nm, FWD, combined economy 18.5 kWh/100km (source: RightCar).
Vital statistics: 4395mm long, 1795mm wide, 1555mm high, 2655mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 341 litres, 18-inch alloy wheels.
We like: High quality interior, great exterior design, punchy drive, qualifies for full rebate.
- We don't like: A little expensive even with rebate, range a bit low, freestyle doors difficult to open in a carpark
Mazda’s first fully electric vehicle has landed in New Zealand. It’s prefixed MX, which stands for Mazda eXperiment, so let’s see if the experiment worked.
If it's an MX, it should be a sports car, right?
Not necessarily, although I know what you’re getting at. The MX-5 two-seater is the best-selling sports car in the world, and the most well known Mazda to wear the badge, but there have been about a dozen MX-branded concepts that aren’t all about corner carving.
**READ MORE:
* First drive review: Mazda MX-30
* Electric Mazda MX-30 gets mild hybrid option
**
There was the weirdly cool MX-04, which was a front-engine rear-wheel drive sports car chassis that had removable fibreglass panels. It came with not just one, but two different sets, allowing the car to switch from a glass dome roofed coupe to a beach buggy style open sided roadster.
Or the MX-Sport Tourer, which was a van with freestyle doors, a lowering rear glass section that turns the back into a ute-like tray and a 2.0-litre hybrid powertrain.
There have been plenty of weird and wonderful Mazda MX models, and while most didn’t make it to production (tri-rotor MX-03, anyone?), it shows that the MX badge doesn’t have to by synonymous with sports cars. And that brings us to the MX-30, which earns its place in the MX family by being the first fully electric Mazda to make it to production.
So what exactly is it then?
The MX-30 small SUV is available in New Zealand in one trim, the typically range-topping Takami specification.
That means it has basically every box ticked by default, including a vegan leather that feels easily as good as the real thing, a fabric made from recycled materials, and Mazda’s party trick – recycled cork dotted around the centre console.
Its interior design is similar to that of the CX-30 (probably unsurprising, considering the shared digits), which is to say, minimal and superb.
There’s a slim seven-inch display nestled in the dash, controlled by a rotary dial below the gear selector – a stubby unit itself, shaped nicely to fit in a palm rather than fingertips – and a conventional instrument cluster.
There are awesome freestyle doors, like the RX-8 sports car, which make ingress and egress easy enough for front occupants, but I found the rear doors can be tricky to open in a car park. Space in the rear seats is limited too, I’m around six foot, and you wouldn’t want to be any taller in the back.
What about under the skin?
In a controversial approach, Mazda has decided EVs don’t entirely need massive batteries to do their job. It has given the MX-30 a 35.5kWh battery pack, relatively tiny when compared to the 50kWh, 80kWh or 100kWh batteries some other EVs boast.
That means it has a maximum range of 220km, which Mazda says is to “provide the optimum balance between a driving range which gives customers peace of mind and CO2 emissions from an LCA (Life-Cycle-Assessment) perspective.”
Basically, the company includes the CO2 emitted by battery production into its calculations, and the bigger the battery, the more CO2. And that’s bad.
To be fair, Mazda isn't saying the MX-30 can tow a boat up and down the country on one charge every weekend, or whatever the latest reason not to buy an EV is. Marketing materials target urbanites, and if your driving mostly consists of work commuting, Saturday morning sports and trips to a reasonably local beach every now and again, around 200km of real-world range should see you right.
And, if you’re smart about charging at home and playing around the public charging network, it is.
And what about actually driving?
It’s actually rather good at it. Power comes from a single, front-mounted electric motor producing 107kW/271Nm and, despite the almost-1700kg kerb weight, the little MX-30 never really feels underpowered or sluggish. The grunt off the line is electric (sorry) and it only really begins to let up after the 80kmh mark.
The steering is super fast, almost MX-5-like, which means the front end is like an eager puppy, constantly darting around beneath you. You could point at the suspension as being a bit bland, but that’s an understandable tradeoff, considering who Mazda wants to buy the thing. And it’s already pushing the pricing side of things, upgrading the chassis would bump the sticker figure up even more. Nearly $70k including the rebate is a lot of money…
And plus, the little SUV drives just fine as it is. I’m sure people will nitpick and say the ride isn’t good over speed bumps, or it rolls too much in the corners, but I found it to be totally fine. Mazda’s typically drive well and the MX-30 is no exception. I wouldn’t mind a bit more power, though…
Any other cars I should consider?
Well, in the world of small electric SUVs, there aren’t many options at the moment. The obvious option is the insanely well-priced and almost irritatingly competent MG ZS EV, which asks $48,990 ($40,365 after rebate).
Closer to the MX-30 in terms of pricing is the Mercedes-Benz EQA ($85,500), while Audi’s forthcoming Q4 e-tron should come in at around the same point.
Other upcoming small electric SUVs include the Volkswagen ID.4, Skoda Enyaq (both expected around 2023) and Hyundai Ioniq 5 (due soon, starting at $79,990, or $71,365 after rebate), which may be a worry for Mazda…