Mazda MX-30 electric SUV review: a perfect storm of range anxiety

Japanese automakers have generally fallen behind the electric vehicle game, offering a limited number of EV and plug-in hybrid models as both demand and the market in the United States grow.

Just this year, Mazda released its first North American EV model, the 2022 Mazda MX-30 SUV, and is rumored to have plans to release a rotary range-extending engine to the model line next January.

I spent a week in a small, stylish, and fun to drive all-electric car. It has a very thoughtful design forward look and is great on the road, but Mazda’s first all-electric crossover is, sadly, pretty big. Disappointment.

The 2022 Mazda MX-30, like almost all Mazdas, is stylish and good looking. In the world of egg-shaped EVs, the Mazda MX-30 stands out with its swooping bonnet and cabin lines and beautiful, thoughtful interior.

On each side of the MX-30 are reverse-hinged style doors similar to those used on the now-discontinued four-door Hyundai Veloster. To open the rear doors to access the small space in the rear seats, first open the front doors and then open the rear half doors. There is no quick and easy way around this. That means you have to open two doors instead of one to throw something in the back seat.

However, when you get into the rear seat, the door opens in the opposite direction, making it easy to get in and out of the car.

Even with its compact footprint, the MX-30’s interior feels very roomy, and most adults can comfortably sit in the second row without having to bolt upright. At 5 feet 7 inches tall, I can sit comfortably with plenty of legroom behind the driver’s seat. No need to pull your knees to your chest or easily get in and out of the back seat. However, the long drive back there is uncomfortable. In case rear-seat passengers need to adjust the driver’s seat for a better ride, the back of the seat has controls to slide back and forth, and a USB-C port for passengers to plug in. There are several. into.

The materials Mazda has chosen to decorate the interior also stand out. The company incorporates more eco-friendly materials such as cork, recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, and leatherette throughout its modern yet relatively simple interior. In many ways, the 2022 Mazda MX-30 recalls the forward-looking interior design of the BMW i3 with its unique swooping cork dashboard and felt-like surfaces.

Corks are found inside the door handles, in the modular and foldable center storage area, and in the lower bin area below the gear selector. The test vehicle I had had a nice gray cloth interior with brown contrast stitching down the center of the seat, which really played up the cork accents around the interior. Fold up a nearby flat space and you’ll find a cup holder underneath. Folding these flaps up creates a flat place to put your phone or other small items so they don’t shift while you’re driving .

Cork may seem like an odd choice, especially given its porous nature (don’t spill anything on the cork. It gets dirty and the oils on your skin start attracting dirt and It can look dirty over time), says Mazda. The company was a cork maker over 100 years ago, so the designers deliberately chose the material.

The sill under the window where you rest your elbow is made of recycled PET bottles with a felt-like texture. With its soft-touch materials, the Mazda MX-30 EV’s interior feels luxurious and warm despite its minimalist dash layout and few buttons.

Centered in the dashboard is an 8.8-inch infotainment display that’s crisp on bright, sunny days, and a 7-inch touchscreen below that controls the MX-30’s HVAC system. Both are within arm’s reach of the driver and passenger, and the top screen is controlled by a knob just below the gear shifter. The driver’s instrument panel is also a digital 7-inch he cluster. For wired, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration is seamless, but you’ll need to use a combination of the app and Maps to find the closest chargers and see if they’re online.

Adaptive cruise control is fine, but could have done without the MX-30’s more aggressive alerts. Blind spot detection is sensitive and conservative. Alarm bells go off like you’re trying to drive into the side of a semi even when you have plenty of room to make a lane change. The seatbelt reminder is also somewhat irritating, going off for an inordinate amount of time when you first get in.

On the road, the MX-30 is a distinctive Mazda. The battery pack that supports the vehicle is heavy enough to make the small crossover feel planted without weighing it down. In true EV form, it’ll veer off the line in no time thanks to 200 lb-ft of torque and steady highway passing. The MX-30 puts out his 143 horsepower, is front-wheel drive only, and uses an 80.9kW motor to power the wheels. That may not seem like a big deal, but it’s enough for LA traffic. Wind noise is minimal, even at speeds in excess of 70 mph. Also, Mazda barely makes and sells his California-exclusive MX-30, so it’s rarely seen on the road.

The 2022 Mazda MX-30 has a 35.5kW battery, which collectively gets an EPA-estimated 92-mile range, making the MX-30 one of the shortest-range EVs on the market. For comparison, his 2022 Nissan Leaf with a smaller battery has a combined range of 111 miles, according to the EPA.

In a place like Los Angeles, where it takes 1.5 to 4 hours to drive across the metro complex (depending on traffic), that minimal EV range isn’t good enough. Additionally, I have experienced firsthand the fact that a 35.5kW battery pack can only charge up to 50kW, beset by a complete storm of range insecurity and infrastructure issues.

My first day with the MX-30 was in the cold, rainy Los Angeles area. I hopped in and drove to Glendora for the 80 mile door-to-door round trip trip. We thought this would be the perfect test of comfort and range for Mazda’s first foray into the EV space. When I hit the road, the battery was fully charged and showed a full 100 miles of range.

When I returned, the car was in turtle mode, and when I had less than 10 miles left, the dashboard displayed a turtle image. Turtle mode limits performance to maintain range. Luckily, I hit the road and found a 50 kW charger available and he was able to charge it for 10 minutes, extending the range to about 30 miles remaining.

Of course, the cruising range will change depending on the weather and driving conditions, but if this actually becomes a practical vehicle that ordinary people can use, it is possible that ordinary people who do not own EVs will use it, so I will test it. I wanted to. Sadly, that first trip, despite the spirited driving dynamics and nice-looking interior and exterior, no one uses his MX-30 for anything other than traveling to and from where the MX-30 is available. For , a very narrow range proved to be a real problem. Dedicated chargers on both ends.

Then there is the issue of charging. The MX-30 is capable of DC fast charging, but is limited to a maximum of 50kW. There are plenty of 50kW chargers in the LA area so that’s fine, but in my area many of them don’t work. It’s not Mazda’s fault, but it clearly shows how bad the current public EV charging infrastructure in the US is.

One Saturday morning, I went out to charge with the same charger I used two days ago, and while I was there I realized that the charger was broken and no one had come to fix it. I firmly put it in turtle mode again and stepped into another charger which, according to all the apps I use, seems to be working fine. But that card reader was broken. I at least temporarily landed on a ChargePoint charger that puts out only 6.48kW and plugged it in while trying to find his 50kW charger that worked nearby.

Once I found one that seemed to work, I stopped charging and tried to start half way through. to stop charging. Then I had to go through a series of lock/unlock sequences on my mazda to finally release the code, 3 hours later he did 6 charges (no kidding) and finally 80 % charged.

Sadly, the combination of minimal range and poor public charging helped highlight the MX-30’s limited capabilities and range. Overall, EVs with a range of less than 100 miles are not a viable option, especially for those of us who live in cities and don’t have dedicated charging at home, especially with the current public EV charging infrastructure. it is clear. While many BMW i3 fans mourn the loss of the quirky short-range EV, the MX-30 is clearly behind the game, following the range rules that governed the early days of EVs. Feel like you are playing.

EVs with a range of less than 100 miles are neither competitive nor practical in most cities and situations. Especially considering the rest of the EV landscape and affordable vehicles like the Volt EV with a range of over 250 miles.

The Mazda MX-30 looks great, is fun to drive, and has plenty of guts for city travel, but without a dedicated functional charge at both the start and end, it’s minimal The range of is not enough. Add in the fact that the 2022 edition base trim started at his $34,645 and climbed to $38,650, and the value proposition becomes even less appealing.

For 2023, Mazda has increased MX-30 prices to $35,385 and $38,395. You can get a Bolt EV with over 250 miles of range for a starting price of $26,595, the same he charges with a 50kW DC fast charger and recovers about 100 miles in 30 minutes. (Side note: For 2023, Chevrolet has slashed the price of his Bolt EV by $5,900.) In contrast, according to Mazda, the MX-30 recovers only 80 miles in about 36 minutes, according to Mazda.

Mazda is on a three-step effort to go electrified by 2030, but the company’s first foray here in North America is disappointing and certainly seems half-baked.

Considering Mazda has “sold out” the 2022 models and a total of 324 models sold in California in 2022, a new MX-30 with a range extender (still somewhat undecided) is actually somewhere in the future. We hope there will be one for the North American market. Or, if the company wants to stay competitive in a growing market, it needs to seriously consider the range of its next EV. is desired.

Photo by Abigail Bassett of The Verge