7 Month Review: 2023 Mazda CX-30
So I've had my friend shaped little Mazda CX-30 for 7 months now. It's my first Mazda and first hatchback I've ever owned. Yes, I refer to it as a hatchback. I traded in my previous 2015 Honda Accord Sport for this and while I was on the fence even on the day I went to pick up the car, I am quite happy with the change of car type.
The Mazda is the newest, lowest mileage car I've had to date. The previous owner of it trading it in after just 10 months and only putting 6400 miles on it. Even more amusing, the dealership I purchased it from was also where it was sold new as one of the salespeople told me the only reason why the first owner traded it in was, and I'm quoting the salesperson here, "She wanted a different color,"
Must be nice to be able to do that.
Going from a large sedan to a much smaller hatchback was something I had been wanting to do ever since I started thinking about what to do with the Accord when I had about a year left on its payments. Originally I really wanted a Mazda CX-3 but that sadly never ended up going in my favor.
The exterior of this car compared to what it goes up against, such as the Honda HR-V, Subaru Crosstrek, Chevy Trax, looks sleek and far more stylish than it's competition. While the 2nd gen Honda HR-V toned down all the sharp, sloping angles of the 1st gen in favor of Honda's current design language of far more subtle and smooth, the Mazda still looks more sporty and fun than it's competition. My only issue with the exterior is the choice to go with so much textured plastic cladding around the wheel wells, bottom half of the doors and bumpers. If Mazda really wanted to class up the CX-30, at least an option for color matching all the cladding would make a world of difference.
While the front interior space isn't that much different from the Accord, the rear legroom and headspace is a lot smaller. Living alone, that isn't too much of a deal breaker for me. What was a major difference was the interior layout as well as the bells and whistles that are more common on new cars after the 2020 model year. Blind spot assist, adaptive cruise control, to name a few. The CX-30's high belt line also makes the interior feel more "enclosed" than my 2015 Accord, the blind spot monitoring really is useful for that alone. That aside, forward visibility is rather good and on the side is decent. Rear cargo space isn't much to write home about either, at 20.2 cubic feet. But if you're like me and you live alone, it's not that bad. Another feature the CX-30 has that none others in its segment has is a power rear tailgate, though my trim doesn't have that option available. But no real loss for me, one less thing to break.
My CX-30 is a "Select" trim, the CX-30 has four trims in total. Base, or S, Select, Preferred and Premium. As is the norm with most modern cars, a lot of features are unfortunately locked to specific trim levels. My Soul Crystal Red Metallic Select trim model has only one option, it's color. MSRP for it when new was $27,470. The original owner spec'd it with absolutely no accessories, not even a rear cargo mat sadly. The Select trim doesn't even get power seats, despite being trimmed in "leatherette". While I personally don't see the downside to it, the average buyer does and more than likely stepped up to the Preferred or higher trims. I simply see it as one less electronic part to go bad with age.
The instrument cluster is quite standard looking compared to the big trend of screens taking the place of traditionally analog and digital gauge clusters. Your standard tachometer on the left and fuel and temperature gauges on the right. The center was a digital screen, the resolution is nice and crisp. So much that setting the center cluster screen to an analog style speedometer would probably fool most into thinking it was not a screen at all. The other settings show average fuel consumption, a compass and a screen showing your speed digitally and a small model of a CX-30. I personally keep it on this one as it better shows the blind spot warnings and is better suit for use when the adaptive cruise control is active. One drawback to the radar sensors these cars come with is dealing with adverse weather conditions, as heavy rain, water spray and snow can obscure the sensors and set off warning lights.
The center screen display is quite minimal, Mazda going for a wider, narrower screen display angled towards the driver. Mazda also made a good choice sticking with physical buttons for the HVAC. Minimal but still laid out nicely enough that you really do not have to take your eyes off the road to change settings. But the most "controversial" design choice Mazda went with has to be it's infotainment interface. Similar to BMW's iDrive layout, you scroll through screens and settings via a large scroll wheel located behind the shifter. Mazda insists this is far better and less distracting than a touch screen and after 7 months of living with the car I'm pretty inclined to agree here. After a week or two you pretty much get used to the scroll wheel and it is much easier to change settings on the fly rather than reaching over and swiping through screens. Well done, Mazda.
Fuel mileage has been decent with the Mazda. It doesn't stretch a tank of fuel for two weeks like my 2015 Accord managed to do, but overall it has been averaging 30mpg with my mixed driving on my work commute versus the 28mpg I got with the Accord. The downside is the smaller fuel tank, meaning I see roughly 9 to 11 days out of a full tank. Though after some long highway drives the Mazda has shown it will get up to 40mpg with my laid back driving. Not bad at all considering it is lugging around more weight than the Accord despite being much smaller.
For 2023 the Skyactiv-G 2.5L (PY-VPS) found in the USDM spec CX-30 got a power bump, going from 187HP to 191HP, torque remained the same at 186 lb ft of torque. The only transmission option was the Skyactiv-Drive six speed auto. From 2023 onwards, Mazda made AWD standard on the CX-30. Curb weight with AWD puts it around 3,373lbs so averaging 30mpg with mixed driving is pretty good, though the smaller fuel tank is the downside.
Driving characteristics really isn't much different from the Mazda3 it's based upon after driving both when I was still car hunting. There is slightly more body roll because of the taller ride height, but the Mazda feels quite planted on twisty backroads and steering feel is great for an electric rack. The factory's choice of tires certainly holds back from having more fun, on the 18x7.5 alloys are 215/55 R18 Bridgestone Turanza EL440 that come on Select trims and above. The narrow tire combined with a more highway, comfort focused tire leaves more driving fun to be desired. Though something tells me that a 235/50 tire with a more sporty compound would make a world of a difference.
The CX-30 is based off the 4th gen Mazda3's platform, as they all share the same drivetrains, interiors and suspension setups. But how much bigger is the CX-30 compared to the Mazda3 hatchback it's based off of? Not by much at all. Track width is identical between the two, same with the wheelbase. The CX-30 only sits a mere 10.5cm taller than the Mazda3 hatchback, not bad considering the increased ground clearance. Having been in both models, the choice between the two is really down to preference and I don't see a downside to either choice aside from the CX-30's generous use of textured plastic cladding. Added, you can see the dimension differences for yourself via CarSized right here.
Overall, I'm really happy with this little bugger. Even better? The dealership I bought the car actually got burned by another buyer the day I was curious and stopped by the dealership as the CX-30 was detailed and ready to be taken home. It was up for sale at 21,900 but after being burned and myself being there at the perfect time to scoop it up, I was offered 9,500 trade in for my Accord. A basically new Mazda for 14 grand? Hard to say no to that, glad I did, too.
Until then, see ya next time!
