Mazda MX-30: not all EVs are the same
And it’s the Mazda way: modest battery, modest price, RX-8 rear doors and the best looking crossover since Audi’s Allroad series
If you could click your fingers and have Mazda release any of the cars on its drawing boards, what would it be? If you could get any car with Mazda’s keen dynamics, effortless elegance and often unconventional powertrains – what’s your pick? Maybe a six-cylinder MX-5 with proper suspension, or a production version of the knockout RX-Vision concept. But a humble battery-electric crossover with limited range? That might not be anywhere near the top.
But hey, if 2020’s taught us anything it’s that you can’t always get what you want, even when all you want is a week on a beach or a hug from your mum. And so the new Mazda isn’t a phallic-bonneted road racer with a screaming motor using Toblerone segments for pistons, but a curious, and curiously named, zero-emission crossover. It’s more affordable than a Tesla Model Y but with nothing like the same range or power. In fact the MX-30’s numbers put it up against the Honda E and Mini Electric.
And yet the MX-30, with its weird doors and scary 124-mile range, really should be on your radar. In truth its sports car-referencing name is not quite as ridiculous as feared and there’s much else to like here, for the MX-30 is an electric crossover for people who don’t like electric crossovers.
Your beef with such cars is most likely their weight – well north of two tonnes for the likes of Audi’s e-Tron and the Mercedes EQC – and exorbitant pricing. Instead, by way of a philosophy dubbed ‘right-sizing’, the MX-30 opts for a small 35.5kWh battery, which pushes down the price and reduces the weight of the car – and on planet EV, 1645kg counts as light. It also shrinks the carbon footprint (driving consumes less energy, and a smaller battery means there’s less raw material per car to dig out of the ground) and gives the MX-30 a relatively light-footed feel on the road. But it also means a cycling-distance range. ⊲
Loaded First Edition cars will also come with a wallbox charger. Shine on, you early adopter
Synthesised soundtrack should have sampled the 787B Le Mans rotary…
The neat design is nicely executed, subtle and distinctive all at the same time. Like BMW’s i3 (or Mazda’s RX-8), the rear doors are suicide-style. They bring character and cool, but unfortunately access is pretty awkward, because there’s simply not an awful lot of space back there. Second-row legroom is bad and so – despite a huge recess in the roof cladding – is the headroom. That’s the price you pay for the MX-30’s compact dimensions – at 4.4 metres long and with a 2660mm wheelbase, tall backbenchers were always going to struggle.
Things are better up front, where the MX-30’s cockpit is reassuringly traditional. Behind the steering wheel there are analogue instruments, and the infotainment display is both small and controlled by an iDrive-style clickwheel down between the seats. Only the second display, for climate control, is touch-controlled.
Get moving and there’s more good news for traditionalists. While much of the competition is opting for sci-fi silence or futuristic whooshes and buzzes, the Mazda simulates a conventional engine sound, audible only to those inside the car. It’s unobtrusive and discreet, and it works well, giving you a heightened sense of your speed and how much effort you’re asking of the powertrain without having to glance at any displays. Nice.
You get to choose between five levels of regen, adjusted by paddles behind the steering wheel. The most extreme setting offers heavy ‘engine’ braking, close to one-pedal driving, but you can dial it down to almost nothing. Turn the ignition off and on restart it will return to the middling default setting, which works just fine for most driving.
As you swing the MX-30 through a couple of roundabouts, you can’t help but feel there might be something in this ‘right-sizing’ thing, even if the truth is that the CX-30-based platform simply couldn’t accommodate a bigger battery. Lithe, agile and forgiving on the road, the MX-30’s an enjoyable car to punt along, largely because few other electric crossovers are so light, and therefore no other electric crossover can be driven through curves so deftly. That lack of mass is the foundation upon which the zero-emission Mazda builds some real driver appeal, with pretty keen, slackfree steering and neat body control that isn’t simply a product of hefty springs and damping. That said, the ride might prove a little tough on rough UK roads.
In stop/start city trac the Mazda’s as happy as most EVs, smugly sitting at red lights without noise or gaseous emissions, before sprinting smartly back up to speed when they change. That modest battery is complemented by a similarly humble electric motor, for which Mazda claims 143bhp and 200lb ft. To stop you getting carried away and running out of charge halfway to Lidl, top speed’s capped at 87mph.
But, thanks to the instantaneous, ratio-free immediacy with which electric powertrains serve up their pulling power, the MX-30 never feels as under-powered as 0-62mph in 9.7sec might suggest. On faster cross-country runs that may not last, but the car isn’t aimed at that kind of usage.
Rest assured the MX-30’s aimed at people like you – individuals with an interest in both EVs and cars that enjoy being driven. Whether the Mazda actually is the car for you will most likely come down to the numbers. A 35.5kWh battery, 143bhp motor, 124-mile range and £27,495 price compare well with the Honda E (same range and battery, marginally more powerful and expensive, also fun to drive) and Mini Electric (more money, more power, more range). But think back to last month’s Giant Test, where the funky Honda and Mini looked a bit daft compared with Peugeot’s 217-mile e-208 (that’s a real-world 150 miles, versus less than 100 for the Honda and Mini). You’ll have to be keen and committed to Mazda’s way of doing things to go for the MX-30, appealing though it undoubtedly is.
No other electric crossover is so light, and therefore no other electric crossover can be driven through curves so deftly
First verdict
Not set to become a common sight on UK roads but an intriguing car. Subsequent range-extender version promises brilliance #####