2022 Mazda MX-30 review – why it's a BRILLIANT (and TERRIBLE!!) electric SUV

This is the fully electric Mazda MX-30, and in some ways it's brilliant, and in other ways it's terrible. We're going to explain this very confusing car to you in this review, but before we start, subscribe to our channel and go to whatcar.com to get a great deal on your next new car. Mazda in some ways feels like an old-school manufacturer. While most brands now use small turbocharged engines, Mazda has an engine lineup dominated by relatively big, naturally aspirated ones. Its experimentation with hybrid models is limited to say the least, while plug-in hybrid Mazdas are non-existent. All of which makes the appearance of this all the more surprising. Mazda's come straight in, no messing around with a fully electric car. The MX-30 is based on the Mazda CX-30 underneath, so it has similar proportions to that car, but it's a bit taller to accommodate the battery underneath. And it's all subjective of course, but the MX-30 has got this futuristic, sleek, elegant look to it, and there's loads of nice details around the car as well. So you can see that it neatly fits into the electric car world with other interestingly designed cars like the Honda e and also the Fiat 500. But the size of the car is actually much bigger than those city cars. So the footprint that it has on the road is actually similar to the Kia e-Niro and also the VW ID.3. And it isn't just the outside that looks sleek and futuristic. Inside you get three screens, one for the driver display, another for the infotainment, and a 7-inch extra one for the climate controls. Now normally we would be horrified if we were presented with a touchscreen for the climate controls, but Mazda's actually done a pretty good job here. The reason for that is it's got a simple layout, it doesn't change, it's always there, but crucially you've got these physical controls either side of the screen to operate the most basic functions. And this is so much better than the fiddly, really rubbish, touch-sensitive VW ID.3 system that you get. And similarly, this infotainment system is among the best in the electric car class. It's an 8.8-inch screen and it's not a touchscreen, so to control it you've got the rotary dial down here as well as some physical shortcut buttons and voice command as well. The reason it's so good is because it's got a simple layout, all the functions you'd want, and because you've got this dial and the physical controls, if you're driving and trying to use it, it's much simpler and safer to use than rival systems that are purely touchscreen. And it's so much better than the VW ID.3 system. And as for the quality in here, well, wow. It looks amazing and there is a very impressive mix of materials around as well. So you've got recycled plastic bottles for some of the door trim, vegan leather, repurposed denim. Down here you've got cork, actual cork from Weinstockers. How cool is that? And it's not just about how it looks, the build quality is first rate as well. So it's really solid, robust everywhere. There's no wobbles. So regardless of what your budget is, this is one of the best electric car interiors out there. But look, here is an appropriate good thing, bad thing illustration. These rear hinge doors look really cool, but you can only open them if the front door is open, which is hugely impractical. And even though there's no pillar here, the space that you've got to get into these rear seats isn't very generous at all. So you can, of course, fold the seat in front forwards a little bit. But even then, it's a bit of a squeeze back here. And once you are in these rear seats, I'm just under six foot. This is my driving position, sat behind it. There really isn't much of anything back here. It certainly doesn't feel open and spacious. So headroom is really not good at all. My head is touching the ceiling there if I sit up straight. And if the front seats are slid back as far as they'll go, then there is actually no leg room at all. So anyone taller than me is going to be pretty uncomfortable back here on long journeys. The seats are really nicely cushioned, but that doesn't quite make up for the lack of space. And on top of all of this, when you do close the door again, look at how small those windows are. Ridiculous. They're tiny, so they don't really let much light back here. It feels quite dark and cramped. So really, there are all manner of other electric car rivals that are more generous for rear seat space than the MX-30, which is particularly disappointing when you think that actually this car is quite big. The boot also isn't great. It's not much bigger than what you get in a Ford Fiesta. And there's no clever stuff like a height adjustable boot floor or even any space under the boot floor to put the charging cables. So instead, you're stuck with them in this bag and they've got to sit in the back, taking up space in the main compartment. You can drop the rear seats to increase the capacity. And even though you won't be able to take as many bags to the tip as you could in other rivals, the extended boot floor is flat, which is helpful. So with the interior, you've got very good bits, very bad bits. And it's a similar story with the MX-30 on the road. But first, let's talk about the good. So this is a very nice thing to drive. It's got a really settled, comfortable ride. And it's actually even comfier than a VW ID.3. And that settled nature to the ride also helps its cornering stability too. So it stays nice and flat through corners. And to go with that, you've got this really nicely weighted, accurate steering. So all in all, it is very pleasant behind the wheel. But you may not be able to enjoy this driving experience for as long as you'd like. Here comes the bad bit. So the range, it is very much the elephant in the room with this car. The official WLTP claimed electric range of the Mazda MX-30 is just 124 miles, which in real world driving conditions is going to be less than 100 miles. And that is one of the worst ranges of any electric car on sale. If you think of the Kia e-Niro, that's a similar size to this car. The claimed range for that is 282 miles, which is more than double what you get in the MX-30. So that is clearly the huge standout negative with this car. It's also not particularly quick. So the performance really tails off about 50 miles an hour. And if you do a 0 to 62 miles per hour sprint, that's done in 9.7 seconds, which by electric car standards is pretty tepid. You'll probably be able to live with the car that isn't lightning fast, but the limited range is likely to put many buyers off. There is talk of a range extender variant being added in the future, as well as hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. But for now, what else do you need to know to sway your buying decision on the fully electric Mazda MX-30? Well, the trims are very well equipped indeed. Stick with entry-level SE Luxe trim, which is the one that we've got here, and you get all the screens inside, LED headlights and loads of other stuff. Plus, that also keeps the price down. And this is an area where the MX-30 does score well, because starting at around £26,000, it's cheaper than a lot of the competition, including the Honda e, the Renault Zoe and the Peugeot e2008. It's also particularly competitive if you want to buy it on a PCP finance deal. So here's the thing. If you know that you will never do many miles in one journey, and you don't need to worry about carrying people in the back regularly, then this is a fantastic electric car that's beautifully built and brilliant to drive. But if you need something that's even remotely versatile or flexible, then there are countless other electric cars that will fit an unpredictable lifestyle much better than this. For much more on the MX-30 and every other car around, go to whatcar.com. On our website, you can also save thousands of pounds off your next new car. Please do subscribe to our channel, and thank you very much for watching.