I just spent a week in Mazda MX-30 EV. I hated it at first, but then I found there were some interesting things to say about it. Overall, it’s a stressful EV to live with the single car for a week. (My Wife’s Palisade was in the store, and My ’74 Beetle That said, the MX-30 has made me, once again, crave an electric driver on a daily basis. Just is not this daily electric car driving.
Things I don’t like about the MX-30
100 miles range
If you’re nostalgic with anxiety about the first-generation EV range, or just like waiting around for public chargers, the MX-30 should be right for you. Going home on the highway 25 miles away, when the car is telling you there’s only 28 miles of range left, doesn’t leave much room for errors or unexpected detours.
It’s not great when you start getting warnings on the dashboard about having a low the battery when it is charged about 33%. In some cars, 33% means you still have 100 miles to go. In many other cases, it’s at least 75 miles.
At least my sister thinks it’s funny that I can never go far without charging. Sometimes the petty sufferings of a loved one can be very humorous.
Busy outside
The window sticker refers to “three-tone,” but there’s a lot more going on here. The glossy black roof, silver upper pillars and doorframes, red body panels, black plastic panels and a different type of gray metal plate on the rear pillars all clash. It’s a lot to take in, and that’s the clue to all the other weirdness you’ll find with this car.
The Doors
Look, having a back door is better than not having one. They also look pretty cool. However, to open the rear door requires opening the front door first. It’s annoying, partly first. Part 2 The rear door opens to the rear, making it more difficult to get a child into a rear-facing car seat. First, I had to feed my daughter with her feet at a semi-horizontal angle. I noted at the time that it was like something of the opposite of childbirth. “Yes, it is exactly like,” was my wife’s sarcastic reply, but she knew what I meant. You know what I mean, Cat.
Steering wheel controls
I love having the cruise and audio controls at my fingertips. These switches toggle up and down or push in directly depending on what you’re trying to do. However, it’s all too easy to press while trying to move those switches up or down, or vice versa. I usually mute the sound when I’m about to adjust the volume or set a new airspeed when I just want to continue.
Adjustable seat behind the driver’s seat
These make sense if an adult passenger needs more space to get in and out of the rear seats (the front passenger seat has a lever to move the entire seat in a coupe-like motion) . When your son thinks those buttons are just something to play with, it’s not ideal. They were too much of a temptation when I was busy putting his sister in her place, lock the house or pack the goods. I turned back to my car with the front seat completely messed up.
Enter the highway
Having 143 horsepower and 200 pound-feet feels like enough in most situations, especially driving around town with ample peak torque. That squeal fades as you approach freeway speeds, and I find it difficult to compare to traffic speeds entering the interstate. It’s better to know what kind of acceleration behavior is going to happen – you can calculate and adjust – but the first time combined with 70 mph traffic is not fun at all.
Lack of focus on the lane
The MX-30 tends to stay in its lane on the highway, requiring a light touch of the steering wheel. It’s not surprising considering its relatively short wheelbase, but the lane-focused autopilot should help you drive on the highway with less effort.
Feeling cramped
I cannot place my daughter’s rear-facing child seat. My son has very little leg room behind me in his high-back chair. Not much storage space. It’s hard to get the little cubby below the center stack. The space is spacious, but my wife and I both feel like the doors and center console are closing around us. It was difficult for the front passenger to give snacks or a pacifier to the person in the back without unnaturally flexing their arms.
Things I like about the MX-30
Good price
NS MX-30 EV got to my driveway with Premium Plus and $995 soul The three-tone red paint program costs $38,605, including a $1,175 destination fee. Factor in the existing $7,500 EV tax credit, any other local incentives, and a $500 credit from ChargePoint for public charging or buy a home charger, and this is an affordable EV with a slightly premium feel.
Beautiful interior design
The aforementioned premium feel comes largely from the MX-30’s interior, especially some of the fine materials throughout. There is an almost woolen fabric, as well as some very nice brown leather. The things you touch, look at, and feel are exciting and certain. Mazda works well here, as in its other means.
Commodity area
Saving space in the cabin means that instead of putting everything on the floor or in the storage bin as we usually do, we will pack it into the cargo area along with the larger items we have placed. over there. I was amazed at how easily it could hold a folding jogging stroller. Then we had to stack grocery bags on and around the trolley. Despite the angle of the rear window, it all fit without a hitch when we closed the hatch.
Useful HUD
The MX-30’s head-up display is top of the line. It doesn’t come in many colors, which is fine. The displayed data is organized and clearly legible, negating the need colour combination. However, my favorite feature is the blind spot information displayed right in front of you. It’s easy to tell when someone is approaching from either rear corner, which is great, as visibility during over-the-shoulder checks provides very little visual information. Other Mazdas also have this feature.
Forward cross-traffic alert
The MX-30 gets this support precisely. I’m used to rear cross-traffic alerts, but the MX-30 is the rare car to give you a warning when it’s speeding forward. There is a small chime that lets you know that a car is passing by your nose, which is very helpful and the audio signal is not jarring. I wanted to know that the MX-30 would help cover me if I happened to miss the car approaching that blind corner.
Driving dynamics
Although it tends to drift on the highway, its short wheelbase and low center of gravity make it fun to roam around town. The suspension is well tuned and the ride feels great. News editor Joel Stocksdale addresses the MX-30’s good driving behavior in his thoughtful first driving review. Read.
It will be interesting to watch and think about 30 years from now
How excited are you when you see strange, rare cars on the road, like a Subaru SVX or Isuzu VehiCross? This would be a fun car for any 2050 version of the Radwood will. A car with a weird, inconvenient, mold-breaking look would be fun to reminisce about, especially if equipped with rotary range extender.
It left my driveway
After multiple trips to a “fast” charger during the week and still rolling in the driveway with single digit mileage left in the pack, it was a relief to see the MX-30 replaced with something of real range. economic. In this case, it is a Volvo S90, but it could be a Nissan Leaf and I will be very happy. Just give me the usual four doors and the ability to visit my grandma without the extra 45 minutes of charging. Please.
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