Mazda EV 2020 review – prototype electric SUV

I'm Ian Currie, this is Chasing Cars, and beside me is Mazda's first attempt at an electric vehicle. Well, kind of. This is a CX-30 small SUV body, but when it comes to market sometime in the second half of 2020, it'll have a completely new skin, will be more relevant to being an electric vehicle. But underneath is the pre-production version off the chassis with the battery packs down low and that's pretty much good to go. Now all we have to do is have a drive of it. So Mazda is revealing this vehicle to us in Norway, which is an excellent place to do so because last year over 50% of all cars sold in this country were electric vehicles, which shows exactly how far behind Australia is in that regard. Now Mazda's Zoom Zoom 2030 principle is there that by 2030 it wants every single car it sells to have some form of electrification, be that plug-in hybrid, hybrid or full electric vehicle. But unlike a lot of manufacturers, it's not going full bore for the electric cars. It still only thinks 5% of the cars it sells by 2030 will be a full electric vehicle. Mazda's made it clear this prototype CX-30 body is not what we'll see on the finished article. It will have a new design, no doubt very aerodynamic to help with range, but displaying the brand's recognisable Kodo design language. This being a small platform, the body will be of small car or small SUV dimensions and I'd wage a small SUV will be the preferred final option, responding to global markets taste for these urban crossovers. What has been confirmed is the all electric propulsion. The electric motor is good for 105 kilowatts and 265 newton metres, with charge coming from a 35.5 kilowatt hour lithium ion battery. That's similar to the $50,000 Nissan Leaf's 40 kilowatt hour battery and 110 kilowatts with 320 newton metres and Hyundai's $45,000 Ioniq electric with 88 kilowatts, 295 newton metres and a 28 kilowatt hour battery. If we eventually get this Mazda EV, prices and driving range should be close to these zero emissions rivals. The Leaf manages 270 kilometre all electric range, the Ioniq 230 kilometres. Now there's no point showing you around this car's interior as that's not being revealed until next month's Tokyo Motor Show either. The cabin of this EV prototype is a mix of Mazda CX-30 and lots of equipment analysing the electric data. So this Mazda electric vehicle is still in its prototype stage as we're testing it here, but we've got reason to believe that it'll be fairly similar to what the markets will get when it comes on sale maybe in late 2020 in Europe and who knows when in Australia. Now what Mazda have done here, they've created an artificial sound that's perhaps unlike any other electric vehicle I've tested so far. It's almost a four cylinder kind of sound to give a purer, more traditional driving sound if you like, which will appeal to those perhaps not sold on the electric car revolution just yet. So as I put my foot down, it's a very, very soft sound, but just enough to give you that more pure feeling. What Mazda have done is used a smaller battery pack, so you've not got a huge amount of power to call on like you would in say a Tesla, but they've deemed it not necessary in this instance for the sort of everyday driver that would typically buy a Mazda electric vehicle. It means acceleration isn't incredible, but at the same time it builds speed very, very nicely as we expect from an electric vehicle with near instant torque. So it's best for when you're just driving along like this and you do want to just put the throttle down and just feel that build in speed. It's actually quite a pleasant experience without being ridiculous. And the test vehicle we have here with the CX-30 body, it's actually sitting up very high, so you'd expect there to be quite a bit of body roll, but because it's been built by the same technicians that have done so well with the current Mazda 3, it actually sits on the road very, very well. There's not too much body roll at all. It actually doesn't feel too dissimilar to a Mazda 3 in terms of its proportions, but also its balance through the corners. And as with the Mazda 3, the steering is very precise, very progressive, and as it builds speed and we go into some corners, yeah, it is actually a very enjoyable thing to drive as we've come to expect with Mazda with this new generation of vehicles they're coming up with. With this prototype, Mazda have decided not to do a very strong regenerative braking system here, unlike some rivals like the Hyundai Kona that has the different stages, so you can have a real powerful braking feel as you lift off the accelerator, which of course charges the batteries. Now, in this case, Mazda have gone for a more natural driver feel when it comes to that, so as I lift off the accelerator, there's a very small amount of regenerative braking. But because there isn't, that gives it the feel of a car that you and I have been driving for as long as we have. It does feel like a normal internal combustion engine car in that regard. Whether they're going to stick with that remains to be seen. They're going to do their evaluations and see if we can have stronger regenerating or if they're going to go with this sort of system. The aim has very much been keep it feeling like the cars that we're used to, the cars that we buy and have done for a very long time, and it should be enough for most people. It remains to be seen when this electric vehicle does come to market, if it will be on a small SUV idea, which is probably most likely, or in the more traditional small hatchback like a Mazda 3 size. Now, as there's no traditional engine sound, the only sounds I'm really getting inside this cabin is a little bit from the tyres, but it does feel very well insulated, much like the Mazda 3, so noise isn't too much of a distraction here. And that small, almost internal combustion sound that they've created artificially that just go through the speakers here really does give a nicer, more traditional feel and sound. And the ride itself is actually very smooth. These Norwegian roads aren't bad at all, certainly not some of the worst tracks that you'll get in Australia, but again, the balance seems very nice. It's certainly comfortable, and as with the Mazda 3, they've worked so hard to give you an optimum driving position and use a lot of technology in the chassis and build, so we'll have to see exactly what this car has and what the eventual product will be with the electric vehicle when it comes to market. But this one in particular does feel very comfortable, and you can cruise along nicely, and on the open highway, I'm sure it would be a joy to pilot. Now, the batteries are part of the structure, very low down in the chassis, so you can feel there is a low centre of gravity, and it does stick to the road very nicely. It feels very smooth, and as we move on to this faster highway section, certainly the noise inside the cabin has gone up, and you can certainly hear the tyres a lot more, which is not uncommon on an electric vehicle at all when there's no engine sound to take over. But again, there's still that very subtle thrum that's artificially created that does sound very much like a little four-cylinder engine. Now, we can only speculate on what the performance of this vehicle will be, but with about 105 kilowatts as tested here, obviously it's not a hugely powerful vehicle, but at the same time, it does build speed nicely, and again, it's gone for the more easy, everyday driving as opposed to anything particularly sporting. But with the electric motor generating 105 kilowatts, it's not a particularly powerful electric vehicle and doesn't have that incredible surge that we can get from some EVs. But at the same time, this is a more everyday car, and it's fit for purpose in terms of exact way that we'll be using it, which will be in towns and on highways, and that'll certainly help with battery life, because range, of course, will be as important as ever when it comes to electric vehicles such as this. The new car will have a multi-solution approach. It can be had as a full EV, but the platform has been designed to allow it to exist as a hybrid or plug-in hybrid with more conventional engine, or as a range extender EV with a unique lightweight rotary engine there to charge the batteries should you run out of charge. When markets like Australia, with no EV incentives, minimal charging station infrastructure, or a great reputation for producing clean electricity, the hybrid variants would be most likely for our shores. We're not able to report what body style, body shape, electric range, price, or features to expect with this Mazda EV, or when Australia may see it. We know hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions would suit our market better in the short term, but the wait for these cars could be until 2021. What is encouraging is how impressive this prototype Mazda EV setup is. Fun, engaging, and comfortable, Mazda's joy of driving mantra can be applied to this car, even in its unfinished form. It makes us rather excited for the finished article, and something to truly look forward to as and when Australia receives it. We may be slow on the EV revolution, but as Norway proves, things can snowball very rapidly indeed. Please subscribe to Chasing Cars below the video, and thanks for watching Chasing Cars.