Mazda CX-30 is a small SUV you'll love for fun and style and price and practicality
Mazda reestablishes itself as the go-to brand for affordable vehicles that deliver more style and fun than the competition with its winsome new CX-30 subcompact SUV.
The CX-30 gets everything right, from its clean, striking exterior design to sharp handling and prices that prove an affordable small SUV can simultaneously be a great value and the vehicle your friends wish they’d bought.
The CX-30 competes with SUVs such as the Ford EcoSport, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Nissan Rogue Sport and the upcoming Chevrolet Trailblazer. There’s not a bad vehicle in that group, but there's precious little to make your heart flutter, whether behind the wheel or walking up to it on the street. The CX-30’s responsive handling, striking profile, subtle curves and lines and good value will be hard to walk away from.
It’s bigger than Mazda’s little CX-3, a nice little SUV likely to have a short shelf life once shoppers figure out how good the slightly pricier CX-30 is, assuming they can keep the names straight, which is no sure thing.
Coronavirus impact: Are public pensions doomed because of the pandemic?
No coronavirus relief check? Some must act to get their money
It’ll become easier as Mazda’s CX-5 compact and CX-9 midsize SUVs add a zero to their names, but that’ll take three years or more until new models are introduced.
Mazda has an industry-insiders explanation for why it introduced the smaller, less competitive CX-3 first and why the names are so similar, but it doesn’t matter unless your grad school dissertation is on product planning.
What matters is that you drive a CX-30 if you’re shopping for a small SUV.
Driving impressions
Everything about the CX-30 feels precise, as if each individual screw was tightened by the worker who would take that vehicle home from Mazda’s plant in Salamanca, Mexico. The steering is firm and precise, the six-speed automatic transmission shifts fast and smoothly, the suspension keeps the little SUV stable and level under braking, acceleration and on curves.
A 186-horsepower, naturally aspirated 2.5L engine and six-speed automatic transmission are standard. That’s not a lot of power for a vehicle with sporty aspirations, even a small SUV, but the CX-30’s quick throttle response and precise steering invite the driver to apex every corner and dart through gaps in traffic.
Even the multifunction rotary controller – usually my least favorite feature – feels exceptionally precise as you browse features from Apple CarPlay to a range of driver assistance features. I’d still prefer my choice of using a touch screen or the dial mounted in the center console, but Mazda made its system less burdensome than most by reducing the number of things it controls. The displays for instruments and CarPlay, etc., are elegant and simple.
Mazda has upgraded its head up display to a clear projection on the windshield, a considerable improvement from an earlier system that used a small plastic panel rising from the dashboard.
The front seat is roomy, with plenty of storage in a deep center bin. Rear leg and head room are limited. At 20.2 cubic feet behind the rear seat, cargo space is in the middle of the pack.
The interior of my CX-30 Premium AWD was trimmed in soft materials with accent stitching.
Safety and driver assistance features:
Adaptive cruise control
Automatic high beams
Lane departure alert and assist
Blind spot alert
Rear cross traffic alert and assist
Drowsy driver alert
How much?
I tested a top of the line CX-30 SEL with all-wheel drive. It stickered at $30,240, competitive with top models of other subcompact SUVs.
Features on my test vehicle included:
18-inch alloy wheels
LED headlights, taillights and daytime running lights
Power driver’s seat
Memory for driver settings
Heated front seats
Android Auto
Apple CarPlay
Push button start
Dual-zone climate control
Power sunroof
12-speaker Bose audio
The only option was $595 for “Soul Red Crystal” metallic paint, a rich, lustrous ruby that was worth every penny.
CX-30 prices start at $21,900 for a base model with front-wheel drive.
Contact Mark Phelan at mmphelan@freepress.com or 313-222-6731. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2020 Mazda CX-30 brings fun and style to small SUVs
