Mazda joins the EV ranks
SSHHH ... hear that?
No? Don’t worry. That’s just the new sound of Mazda’s famous ‘‘Zoom Zoom’’ slogan.
Only now it’s become ‘‘shhhhoom shhhhoom’’, with the arrival of the first electric Mazda Downunder.
It’s called the MX30 Electric — a machine designed to be the EV flagbearer for the clever Japanese maker.
The muchanticipated Mazda travels about 200km, give or take a few, before it needs to be plugged in and recharged.
That’s less than half the range of its Korean rival, the Hyundai Kona, and a third as far as Tesla’s Model S.
But it’s plenty of range to drive to and from work every day during the week for a city dweller.
Range aside, the MX30, in just about every other respect, is a really impressive little machine.
It’s not as quick as some EVs, but what it lacks in acceleration it makes up for in smoothness, ease of operation and sheer driving enjoyment. In that respect, at least, the spirit of Zoom Zoom remains.
It’s nicely equipped, with this singlespec variant of the MX30 bringing the upmarket Astina trim, which adds a long list of electronics, driver aides and infotainment that, at least partly, justifies its $74,990 ticket.
It qualifies for the full $8625 clean car rebate.
That’s lineball with its Korean equivalent, the Kona.
There are a few more factors to consider.
The use of recycled materials in some of the interior trims, including a cork finish on the centre console, will impress the green buyers. Likewise, plenty of people will be attracted to the techheavy, futuristic dash and console.
The unusual forwardopening ‘‘suicide doors’’ — previously seen on the RX8 and seemingly resurrected from the Mazda spare parts division — provide easy access to the rear seats, where space is not great.
But for reasons best known to the designers, the rearhinged doors also require a beefedup Bpillar which makes the MX’s rearvision almost diabolical.
The company says it will roll out up to three more electric models, as well as a couple of hybrid variants, over the next two or three years. — AAP