LOCK DOWN THE DETAILS

ENRIGHT DISCUSSES THE FINER POINTS OF CX-30 OWNERSHIP

I’LL FREELY ADMIT that I was surprised that BFN872 has covered over 1300km for this report. It seems that even when used infrequently, essential journeys for a motoring scribe can tot up. So I thought I’d try to cover some of the CX-30’s finer details that you’d only discover with an extended spell with the car. So here – drum roll, please – are the Five Mazda CX-30 Facts You Won’t Find in the Road Test.

1) If your new Mazda isn’t getting the fuel economy you expected, just wait a while and it’ll get better.

Throughout its tenure in the Wheels garage, the CX-30’s fuel figures have steadily improved, from 9.7L/100km to begin with to a figure of just 6.3L/100km this month. That’s 0.2L better than the ADR figure now that 6000-odd kilometres have loosened up the 2.5-litre engine a little. Bravo.

2) We’ve mentioned the thoughtful touches in the cabin in the past, but the illuminated starter button is a peach. Get into the car at night, rest your foot onto the brake pedal and the starter ring will light up in white and pulse a green centre LED.

3) Rather than use the rotary controller to tediously hunt and peck between, say, Android Auto maps and the Tidal music service on the nontouch screen, the physical navigation and audio buttons on the centre console will do the job instantly. That’s in contrast to Honda, for example, which will default you back to its proprietary nav system, forgetting that you were using phone mirroring for your direction finding.

4) Aside from the starter button, the CX-30 doesn’t do night particularly well. The nav screen is blinding white and the cabin also features a very bright airbag warning light almost at eye height near the rear-view mirror. Then there’s the automatic high beam function for the headlights that gets flummoxed far too easily and can dazzle oncoming drivers.

5) Stay on top of your tyre pressures. I’d been happily checking the tyres to placarded pressures during summer and they were fine. As the weather has become colder, I’ve noticed the CX-30’s front Dunlops (never a great tyre at the best of times) feel sloppier. Given that you lose 1psi per 5.6°C drop in temperatures (and it’s been pretty chilly in my locale), upping the pressures by 2-3psi has rectified the problem. Thankfully, the Mazda is back to its perkiest.

Although I seem to be have done a rather shambolic job of staying home during lockdown, hopefully it helps you better understand the intriguing CX-30. As the date approaches when it returns to its manufacturer, I’m beginning to think that whatever replaces it will have some quietly competent boots to fill.