Mazda MX-30 road test: A triumph of style over efficiency

As you climb into your new full electric Mazda MX-30 you can’t help but be impressed by its style. It is a beautiful CUV (compact utility vehicle) that has the same quirk as the BMW i3: suicide doors at the back that open with the front door to make it easier to get into its compact interior.

In Australia, it is priced from $65,490 before on-roads. For that, you get 107 kW power output from its single motor, with 271Nm max torque. But it’s the range that’s the kicker  – with 224km driving range (WLTP) from a small 35.5kWh battery, which in real-world driving will deliver a range of less than 200km.

If you can look beyond the price and the range, Mazda has gone to a great deal of effort to make sure that the car is eco-friendly – recycled materials are used throughout. It even has cork accents, harking back to the company’s origins as a cork producer in the early 20^th century. Mazda aficionados will love it.

These cork interior surfaces are made from sustainable raw materials, derived from tree bark without cutting the tree down. Mazda applies a unique coating to ensure durability and installs the finished product into the door grips and console trays.

I picked the car up from the lot. It was sitting prettily between an Ioniq 5 and a Mercedes EQA. I was lusting after them as I drove it out, through some suburban streets and onto the Gateway motorway. Hitting its stride at 100 km/h, I was surprised that I could see the fuel gauge going down as I headed home.

Yes it has a fuel gauge, and temperature gauge and a heads up display – lots to look at. But fear not, when you turn the car on the first warning is about being distracted!

The doors open quite widely – an asset for me as I am getting old and arthritic and find it hard to get in and out of cars. Not to mention the growing spare tyre.  Grandma found it easy to get the car seats and the grandkids through the one and half door space and into the back. Easier than the regular four door car.

Many little refinements deserve a mention, for example you can lock the car from the boot, there are buttons on the back of the front seat so they can be adjusted when putting little people into their car seats in the back (there isn’t enough room for big people back there).

Thank goodness the buttons can’t be operated when the car is in motion. Little fingers would find them irresistible.

The car boasts a power point under the dash.  Though, with the low range, I would be wary of running my boom box from it when camping!  This is the main drawback – the extremely low range.

When EVs started to be produced early this century 180 km of range was acceptable, but not any more, at least not at this price. Mazda did say that they would never produce a big battery EV.  Well, they’ve succeeded. Smaller batteries are better for the environment is their thinking.

Although the car is selling well in Norway and Sweden, it remains to be seen whether it will sell well in Australia. Though, I guess it will have to make the top 20 chart here due to lack of competition.

Not as much zoom zoom.  It doesn’t have the torque but it does have the tachometer.

David Waterworth

David Waterworth is a researcher and writer, a retired school teacher who continues to provoke thought through his writing. He divides his time between looking after his grandchildren and trying to make sure they have a planet to live on. He is long on Tesla.