Mazda MX-30 Review & Prices

Fans of quirky cars will likely have a bit of a soft spot for the Mazda MX-30. If a majority of electric small SUVs are like conventional rain jackets, the Mazda is the equivalent of a waterproof poncho - it does the same job, but it goes about it in a very different way.

There are a growing number of other small electric SUVs that you might want to consider alongside the Mazda MX-30, including the MG ZS EV, Vauxhall Mokka Electric, Peugeot e-2008 and DS 3 Crossback E-Tense.

First things first, the range of the all-electric version is a relatively poor 124 miles – about the same as the Honda e electric city car. As a result, the Mazda is likely better-suited to life as a second car – though you can also go for R-EV, which has a small petrol engine keeping the battery going, offering a range of around 400 miles. The benefit of the EV's smaller battery is that it’s cheaper and cleaner to manufacture, as well as being lighter and therefore more efficient and better to drive.

As a result, the MX-30 feels quite different to other EVs behind the wheel – it's really rather keen and agile in corners. The design is rather striking, too, certainly compared to Mazda’s other SUV models.

Up-front, the grille stretches the width of the car with LED headlights on either end and a piece of plastic trim overhanging above it that flows into the leading edge of the bonnet. Around the sides you get a pair of small ‘suicide’ back doors that hinge from the rear edge, and the roof has a contrast finish that makes the MX-30 look more planted to the road. Around the back you get a pair of Mazda’s signature circular tail lights.

The interior also has a design that’s inspired by Mazda’s current models but there’s an extra eco twist. That means there’s a sporty three-spoke steering wheel and a clean design made possible by the car’s large infotainment screens, the main display being controlled by a scroll wheel rather than a touchscreen. Conventional leather, meanwhile, has been replaced with a vegan-friendly substitute and there’s also cork trim around the gearstick – a nod to Mazda’s history as a maker of the material.

Practicality is a mixed bag. There’s plenty of space in the front, whatever size you are. But those super-stylish, rear-hinged suicide doors make access to the back seats awkward at best. There isn’t a whole lot of space once you’re in the back seats, either, and there isn’t much of a view out. Still, it fits in with the MX-30’s intended role as a second car. At least the boot is big enough to swallow a couple of large suitcases.

You can find a great deal on a Mazda MX-30 at Carwow, as well as great prices on used Mazda MX-30 vehicles. You can also browse other used Mazdas, and when it's time to change your car, you can sell your car through Carwow.

The Mazda’s starting price undercuts all of the key alternatives you might also be considering, except the MG ZS EV, though this isn't much cheaper. It’s worth remembering, though, that the Mazda has significantly less range than all those cars. If you go for the R-EV, that's about £3,000 more expensive in each trim.

If we look at other electric cars with similar range to the MX-30, it falls somewhere in the middle. Starting prices for the Smart ForFour EQ and Fiat 500 Electric are lower, but the Mini Electric and Honda e cost more.

The Mazda MX-30 has a smooth ride and takes bends well, but it’s not exactly fast and the range isn't that great either

In town

Like every other electric car, the MX-30 is really easy to drive. All you have to do is tell the car which direction to go with the gear selector, press the throttle and brakes when needed and turn the steering wheel. The electric powertrain does everything else, absolutely seamlessly and almost silently.

The MX-30 isn’t the strongest performer. It’s not exactly slow, but all alternative electric cars feel markedly quicker when accelerating from a stand-still. Not necessarily a problem in town, but something to bear in mind elsewhere.

Otherwise, there are few complaints about how the MX-30 feels to drive. The steering is light and the car feels quite agile, it’s easy to find a driving position that suits you and you get a good view out. The ride is lovely and smooth, too, taking the edges off potholes and bumps much better than most alternatives manage to.

The regenerative braking is one of the better such systems. It recharges the batteries by spinning the electric motor in reverse when you brake, or just lift off the throttle. It has the effect of increasing the car’s braking force, a feeling which can take some getting used to. In the Mazda it works quite smoothly (in some alternatives it feels rather abrupt) and you can increase the level of regen from none at all, up to a level strong enough that you only need to use the brake pedal to bring the car to a complete stop. But there are some alternatives, like the Nissan Leaf, that offer ‘one pedal’ driving – regen so strong you don’t need to use the brakes at all.

The only note of caution we’d sound is that the MX-30 is a bigger car than it may appear. At 4.4 metres long, it’s closer in size to the Nissan Qashqai than electric alternatives like the Peugeot e-2008. So you’ll need to be on the lookout for bigger parking spaces. Fortunately, all MX-30 models have front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera, so slotting into a space is a doddle.

On the motorway

Motorway driving is not the MX-30’s forte. Acceleration isn’t especially strong above town speeds, so merging into a flow of fast-moving traffic might not be entirely stress-free. Which also means the powertrain is under quite a lot of strain trying to maintain 70mph.

Not that you’d know it, because the MX-30 gives a beautifully smooth and quiet ride. The interior is a lovely, relaxing place to spend time, too. But you may not feel so relaxed when you notice the plummeting range - log trips are not what this car was built for.

If you like the style and vibe of the MX-30 but have longer distances to travel, you might want to check out the petrol-engined Mazda CX-30. Though they have different bodies and power sources, the two cars are very closely related and feel quite similar to drive.

On a twisty road

The MX-30 has smaller batteries than every other compact electric SUV, so it’s relatively light. That means it feels quite agile on a country road, and the steering gives you a feeling of being connected to the car. The ride that’s so smooth in town and on motorways means the car doesn’t get bounced around by bumps and holes. All of which means that you can have quite a lot of fun in the MX-30 if you’re in the mood. If not, you’ll just enjoy a smooth, quiet ride.

The only downer is that the limited range means the drive won’t last very long.

The MX-30 doesn’t really stack up as a family car, but it has generous space for single people and couples

There’s masses of space in the front seats of the MX-30. Even if you’re really tall, you should have enough head, leg and shoulder room. Being an SUV, its seats are at the right height for anyone of at least average height to just slide in, rather than having to lower down or climb up.

There’s a reasonable amount of storage space dotted around the interior. The door bins hold a half-litre bottle, there’s a cubby hole under the front armrest and a couple of lidded cup holders on the centre console. Then things get a little unconventional. The gear selector is on a plinth and there’s a large open space below it. It’s the ideal place to put your phone – there are charging ports and, because it’s out of sight, the driver shouldn’t get distracted by it.

Space in the back seats

Though there are three seats in the back of the MX-30, space is at a premium in them. There isn’t really enough leg or headroom for adults much over average height to be comfortable on anything other than a short journey. Younger children should be fine but every other compact electric SUV has more space. There are two sets of ISOFIX mounts on the outer seats, but the front seats need moving forwards to get a child seat in.

Access to the back seats is awkward, too. The back doors are hinged at the rear edge and latch onto the front doors – a style of door sometimes called ‘suicide’, which Mazda last used in the early 2000s on the RX-8 sports car. Slightly annoyingly, you can’t open or close the back doors without first opening or closing the front doors. There’s quite a small gap to slot yourself through to get into the back seats, as well. On the plus side, having both doors open gives you a controllable space that can make getting children in and out safer.

Boot space

Again, the MX-30’s boot is on the small side for this type of car. In fact, there's less space on offer here than you'll find in the Mazda 2 supermini, and you don’t even get any hidden storage compartments. Still, the 350-litre boot has a good, square shape and the opening is relatively big, so it should be easy to load up with bigger stuff.

Alternatives do offer more room though, with the Hyundai Kona Electric (466 litres), Kia Niro EV (475 litres) and Peugeot e-2008 (435 litres) performing better than the Mazda.

The back seats fold down if you need to take anything big and bulky with you. It’s fine for a week’s worth of shopping, but loading it up with two weeks of holiday luggage for a trip to the airport will be ambitious, as there's only 1,155 litres on offer.

A really very nice interior, although the main infotainment isn’t a touchscreen system

The MX-30 has the loveliest interior of any compact electric SUV. The design is clean and simple without looking bare. The buttons and dials that control the car’s features and functions are easy to find and use. And all the materials, from the plastics on the dashboard to the fabrics on the seats to the cork on the centre console have a delightful tactility to them. And, yes, we did say there’s cork on the centre console. It’s a unique choice, but it’s a particularly hardwearing type of the material that harks back to Mazda’s origins as a cork maker.

Every MX-30 model has an infotainment system with an 8.8-inch display, built-in sat nav, Bluetooth and DAB radio. It looks pretty crisp and slick, and it’s easy to use via the rotary controller on the centre console. But you may prefer to connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto (use the same controller to navigate around).

There’s another display lower down the dashboard, this time a touchscreen that controls the heating and ventilation. It’s much easier to use than the similar set-up in the Volkswagen ID3, but we still prefer physical buttons for these functions. Fortunately, Mazda has thought of that and put some down booths sides of the screen.

Other standard features include a head-up display, climate control and a 7.0-inch digital driver’s display.

According to the official figures, the MX-30 has a range of 124 miles on a fully charged battery. In the real world, you’ll probably see a little over 100 miles at best. That’s a lot less than alternatives like the Peugeot e-2008, which can give a range of at least 250 miles according to the official numbers. But the MX-30 does compare well with electric cars that are also intended to be used primarily in town, or as second cars, like the Honda e and Mini Electric.

On the plus side, recharging doesn’t take very long. Topping the battery up from 20-80% takes about half an hour using a 50kW charger (that’s the pretty modest maximum charging rate), while a full recharge from a 7kW wallbox at home or work takes around six hours. The MX-30's officially quoted efficiency of 3.5 miles per kWh is pretty decent, too, if not exemplary by class standards – a Vauxhall Mokka Electric is capable of up to 3.9 miles per kWh, and the Volvo EX30 up to 3.7 miles per kWh.

If you go for the R-EV you get an 800cc petrol engine, which acts as a generator to keep the battery topped up. This battery is smaller than the one in the fully electric version, but with a full tank of petrol has a range of about 400 miles. Its pure-electric range is 53 miles, and you can plug it in to charge the battery from the mains to reduce costs.

If you’re a private buyer, there’s no vehicle excise duty at all to pay on the electric MX-30. If you’re a company car buyer, benefit-in-kind rates are very low. Costs are a bit higher for the R-EV, but not by a huge amount.

The car safety experts at Euro NCAP gave the MX-30 a full five star safety rating, scoring it particularly highly for protecting both adult and child occupants. There’s also loads of safety features including adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and lane keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, a driver attention monitor and eight airbags.

Mazdas usually do very well in owner satisfaction surveys because the cars are very well made and reliable with it. The MX-30 doesn’t sell in big enough numbers to figure in such surveys, but there’s no reason to suppose it won’t be largely trouble-free to own. 

Mazda provides an industry standard three-year/60,000 mile warranty on the MX-30 as a whole, plus an eight-year/100,000 mile warranty on the battery. Mazda also provides extended warranties on older models so, once your MX-30 hits three years old, you can still get manufacturer-backed coverage for it.

There has been one recall for a potential faulty front passenger airbag, but only 29 cars in the UK were affected.