The electric crossover MX-30 often has to be connected to the charging cable. At least he’s gone quickly from there recently. Outside the Mazda MX-3 is complacent, inside it is a stunner.
The Mazda MX-30 electric crossover suffered from an unfavorable mix of short range and snoring charging behavior at the start. Now the Japanese have improved at least one of the two points. The purely electrically driven short-distance streamer benefits greatly from this.
It was a shame: the MX-30 is pretty on the outside, original in its cut and a real eye-catcher on the inside. Clear design lines, elegant charisma, very good workmanship and high-quality materials elevate the cockpit in terms of atmosphere over all the driver’s workplaces of the direct competition. The fact that operation via a rotary pushbutton and non-touchscreen is now reaching its limits and that the voice assistant is only moderately helpful is a gift. Inside, the small crossover is and remains a stunner.
It is also pleasing on the outside, although the strong emphasis on design in development has led to weaknesses in everyday use.
Above all, the rear doors, which open in opposite directions, do not invite you to use the rear seat all the time. They only swing open when the front portals open at the same time and are also cut so narrowly that they are best used by children.
Larger adults shouldn’t feel comfortable in the narrow and dark rear for long anyway. The MX-30 is more of a three-door with easy entry than a five-door all-rounder with a cleverly usable rear seat. With a length of almost 4.40 meters, it is quite large for the limited space it offers.
The range is also limited. In the underbody there is a battery with a capacity of just 35.5 kWh, which Mazda advertised as particularly reasonable and cost-efficient under the slogan “Rightsizing” when it launched the MX-30 almost three years ago.
The lithium-ion battery should actually make its contribution to the quite fair vehicle price – more on that later – but limits the range to 200 standard kilometers even under optimal conditions. During the test drive phase in winter, almost 160 of them were left. And you had to take good care of them – when driving in a hurry, they shrank faster than the distance covered grew.
The revision carried out for model year 2022 could not change anything about the tight design of the battery – the installation space in the underbody does not result in a significant increase in storage capacity, even in the long term. Starting in the spring, Mazda will therefore offer a plug-in hybrid variant that is also suitable for long-distance journeys. With the pure e-mobile, on the other hand, you stay closer to home.
A quick charge function is on board – and with a maximum output of 50 kW, it’s also fast enough given the small battery – but you don’t have a particularly large range after the approximately 25 minutes to full charge.
In everyday life, however, the on-board charger is much more important for refueling at a normal charging station or wall box. At the start, Mazda had saved there and only installed a single-phase model that made every energy gathering a test of patience.
Especially in Germany, where the unbalanced load regulation slows down the technically possible charging capacity from 6.6 kW to a maximum of 4.6 kW even more than in some other European countries. Since last year, the Japanese have switched to a three-phase charger, which now has the 11 kW power that is now standard. The battery is then completely full again in around three hours.
In everyday life, this is a bigger plus than the bare numbers would suggest. Where the previous model still had to suckle at the charging station for hours, the revised crossover now significantly increases the range even during shorter stops.
Not unimportant: The blocking fee built into many traction current tariffs after four hours of standing time is bypassed. Overall, the objective and above all the perceived freedom of movement increases significantly. The MX-30 was previously a pure second car for garage loaders, but it is now also suitable as an everyday car – at least in application scenarios with little long-distance traffic.
However, the small battery has one advantage: the basic price of 36,000 euros is rather low compared to the competition. For similar sums you can get small cars like the Fiat 500 or basic variants of small cars like the Opel Corsa-e and Peugeot 208-e. Although they get further, they offer significantly less lifestyle chic – and the much weaker equipment.
With 18-inch wheels, all-round parking aid and head-up display, the entry-level Mazda is quite impressive in terms of scope of delivery. If you add another 4000 euros, you get the almost fully equipped “Makoto” model. In addition, the Japanese offer an unusually generous six-year (150,000 km) warranty on the entire vehicle. The battery lasts 8 years or 160,000 kilometers.
If you don’t have a problem with the limited range and like the look, ambience and appearance, you can be happy with the MX-30. The lifestyle crossover is only suitable to a limited extent for trips or even longer weekend tours, even after the technical upgrade.
Technische Daten – Mazda MX-30 E-Skyactiv EV
