{"id":28201,"date":"2021-11-05T09:21:58","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T13:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28201"},"modified":"2021-11-05T09:21:58","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T13:21:58","slug":"payne-mazda-mx-30-ev-is-long-on-style-and-handling-short-on-range","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/payne-mazda-mx-30-ev-is-long-on-style-and-handling-short-on-range","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Mazda MX-30 EV is long on style and handling, short on range"},"content":{"rendered":"

Birmingham<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 The Mazda MX-30 is the ZOOM! ZOOM! brand\u2019s first electric vehicle and it brings Mazda mojo. It\u2019s stylish, feature-rich\u00a0and fun to drive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a poster child as to why EVs are niche vehicles.<\/p>\n

Entering Telegraph Road off Lone Pine, I flung the front-wheel-drive MX-30 through a 90-degree turn and it rotated beautifully. I stomped the right pedal and the front motor responded instantly with a satisfying, electric WHIIRRRRR! \u2014 the instant, buttery-smooth torque launching the EV forward.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Sauntering through Cranbrook\u2019s campus, I rotated heads with the MX-30\u2019s nice looks. \u201cOoooh, I really like the design,\u201d said my friend Laurie, lingering on the sculpted rear taillamps after I rolled into her driveway. But Laurie won\u2019t be giving up her gas-powered Mazda CX-30 anytime soon.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because the MX-30 and the CX-30 share the same platform and \u2014 thanks to its gas powertrain \u2014 the CX-30 is the better all-around car.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s luxury EV market, most electrics are built on skateboard platforms housing enormous batteries. They are capable, fun\u00a0and expensive. The average Tesla transaction price is a healthy $55,000. The Silicon Valley automaker\u2019s trillion-dollar brand is built on envelope-pushing, luxury tech like autonomous driving, over-the-air updates\u00a0and breathtaking acceleration.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Its success has inspired governments to force electric vehicles on everyone \u2014 not just the luxe buyers who can afford Teslas. But to make electric cars mainstream, they have to compete at $35K\u00a0\u2014 the average market transaction price (when not roiled by chip-induced supply chain shortages) \u2014 not $55K.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the MX-30 plays, and it is a poor second to its gas-powered sibling.<\/p>\n

Pal Laurie\u2019s gas-powered, $29,875 CX-30 Premium is one of the best values in the subcompact SUV class. Leather seats, head-up display, adaptive cruise control, auto headlights, blind-spot assist, sunroof, 186-horsepower, 392-mile range, flat-screen TV (just kidding about that last one). It\u2019s a premium car in a mainstream badge.<\/p>\n

My MX-30 tester Premium Plus matched it stride-for-feature, except … it had 143 horsepower, 100 miles of range, and costs $38,550. Oh.<\/p>\n

Laurie is environmentally conscious but couldn\u2019t make sense of the MX-30 compared with her beloved CX-30 (her third Mazda). EV advocates never tire of pointing out that most drivers don\u2019t travel more than 30 miles in a day. So what\u2019s all this fuss about range?<\/p>\n

True enough, most of Laurie\u2019s business clients are within the Mazda\u2019s 100-mile radius. But, ahem, anything beyond requires a charge. Even her U. of Michigan alma mater would be dicey \u2014 especially in cold Michigan weather. She makes occasional trips east to, say, New York City to visit family \u2014 a trip that would take, well, forever in the MX-30. She,\u00a0like most folks, needs the versatility of gas.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Within its niche electric segment, however, the MX-30 is an intriguing little morsel.<\/p>\n

Along with the BMW X1 (heady company), the CX-30 is already the best handling small ute I\u2019ve driven. The MX-30 magnifies its inherent balance with its battery strapped low between the wheels in the vehicle\u2019s belly \u2014 eliminating the nose-heavy gas engine. The 35.5 kWh extra battery weight is obvious \u2014 the MX-30 weighs 420 pounds more than its gas counterpart \u2014 but its placement lowers the center of gravity a whopping 2.1 inches.<\/p>\n

With no six-speed transmission to interrupt it, the electric motor felt terrific around town. All torque, all the time.<\/p>\n

Shoppers will note that the Mazda not only significantly lags the CX-30 in range \u2014 but also direct competitors like the 250-plus-mile range Chevy Bolt and Hyundai Kona EV. That\u2019s a problem, as the Chevy and Kona will effortlessly be able to go to, say, Lansing and back\u00a0on a single charge.<\/p>\n

MX-30\u2019s low battery helps Mazda maintain its ZOOM! ZOOM! heritage (Mazda\u2019s new slogan is actually \u201cFeel Alive\u201d \u2014 but gimme the ol\u2019 \u201cZoom! Zoom!\u201d) with nimble handling and a 45% stiffer chassis. But Bolt and Kona are no slouches in the handling department either.<\/p>\n

Mazda,\u00a0aware of its battery shortcomings, tries to divert attention to its style and affordability.<\/p>\n

My $38,550 tester is $2,400 under a comparable Bolt EUV, and a whopping $8,225 less than the Kona EV. And that\u2019s before you spend about two\u00a0grand on each vehicle to outfit your garage with a 240-volt charger so you can charge overnight (Mazda helpfully kicks in $500 to help buy a charger).<\/p>\n

That relative bargain, however, could be erased by Washington\u2019s punishment of foreign automakers. Only American-made, UAW-assembled EVs are currently favored with a $12,500 tax credit in the massive climate legislation, while the small-battery Mazda gets thrown a smaller\u00a0$7,500 bone. Ouch. Small consolation: the subsidy at least makes MX-30 price more competitive with the gas-powered CX-30.<\/p>\n

While the Bolt and Kona both look at you with blank, Jedi battle droid stares, the Mazda cutie brings that Rodney Copperbottom cheer. Then it borrows a little luxury from Rolls Royce \u2014 cabinet doors that open to the interior. What, no red carpet?<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The interior raises the bar over the CX-30\u2019s already handsome office space. The console has lots of basement storage for m\u2019lady\u2019s purse \u2014 or to charge a phone. A second, 7.5-inch touchscreen complements the high-dash\u00a0remote screen with climate controls. The whole console is trimmed with cork (Mazda started as a cork maker, don\u2019t ya know) \u2014 aimed at the green crowd.<\/p>\n

But as with its battery size, the interior space lags competitors. Rear legroom \u2014 30.1 inches compared to the Bolt\u2019s 36.5 \u2014\u00a0is cramped for six-footers like me.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Mazda recognizes the MX-30\u2019s niche status and only offers it for sale in California (so eager Michiganians have a long drive back from the dealer), which currently makes up about half of EV sales. There, green is religion and the MX-30 should find an audience of upscale\u00a0urban buyers whose lifestyle is a perfect fit.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, MX-30 has my friend Lauri\u2019s attention that Mazda is in the electric game should it ever offer an EV as practical as its gas lineup. It\u2019s a mountain EV-makers have been trying to climb since Henry Ford\u2019s gas-powered Model T outsold Detroit Electric over 100 years ago.<\/p>\n

2022 Mazda MX-30<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, front-wheel-drive small SUV<\/p>\n

Price: $34,465 ($38,550 as tested before $7,500 federal tax credit)<\/p>\n

Powerplant: 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack driving front electric motor<\/p>\n

Power:\u00a0143\u00a0horsepower, 200\u00a0pound-feet of torque<\/p>\n

Transmission: Single-speed automatic<\/p>\n

Performance: 0-60 mph, 9.6\u00a0seconds (mfr.); top speed, 90 mph<\/p>\n

Weight:\u00a03,655\u00a0pounds<\/p>\n

Fuel economy: EPA est. range, 100 miles<\/p>\n

Report card<\/strong><\/p>\n

Highs: Handling improves over already nimble CX-30; cool cabinet doors<\/p>\n

Lows: $10K\u00a0premium for one-fourth the range of its gas sibling<\/p>\n

Overall:\u00a03\u00a0stars<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birmingham\u00a0\u2014 The Mazda MX-30 is the ZOOM! ZOOM! brand\u2019s first electric vehicle and it brings Mazda mojo. It\u2019s stylish, feature-rich\u00a0and fun to drive. It\u2019s also a poster child as to why EVs are niche vehicles. Entering Telegraph Road off Lone Pine, I flung the front-wheel-drive MX-30 through a 90-degree turn and it rotated beautifully. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28202,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28201\/revisions\/28202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}