2022 Mazda MX-30 EV first drive: It's not for everyone
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Speaker 1: Okay. I'm trying really hard not to be too dismissive about this one, but let's be honest. It's a bit of a tough sale today. We're behind the wheel of the all new MX 30, the first battery electric vehicle that Mazda ever sold in the us. Let's pull over for a second and dig into the detail.
Speaker 1: [00:00:30] Now the MX 30 is a very compact crossover around the same size as Mazda CX 30, both of which are shorter than Mazda, three hatchback. Now it's a hand and some sedan inside and out with a design that's sure to appeal to the young urban buyers that MOS is targeting. One of the coolest features are these freestyle doors, which remind me of the old RX eight from back in the day, they allow us to get this very coup like roof line while still getting decent access to the backseats inside. You've got [00:01:00] a handsomely appointed cabin for something in this price point with a good use of recycled materials for all of the seats. And most uniquely they use cork for some of the trim pieces, fun fact Mazda. Got it. Start as a cork manufacturer some 100 years ago. That's one of the weirdest automaker origin stories I've ever heard.
Speaker 1: Now, the MX 30th powered by a 143 horsepower electric motor. You can find it living right here under the hood makes around 200 pound feet of torque, which is [00:01:30] pretty good for getting around at low speeds in the city. And you'll notice that there's a whole lot of empty space under the hood here. And that's because this modular powertrain will eventually be upgraded with a gasoline powered rotary range extender for or plug-in hybrid version coming sometime in 2022. Now it's powered by a 35.5 kilowat hour battery pack that lives underneath the floor. And that's gonna get you around a hundred miles of range. That's right. 100 full stop plugging in. You're looking at around just under a three [00:02:00] hour charge. If you plug in at a level two station, or if you have access to a DC fast charger, that's 50 kilowats or better. You're looking at around 30 minutes for an 80% charge.
Speaker 1: Now Mazda has designed the MX 30 to be a city electric vehicle. So most of its performance is gonna live in this low speed range that we're tooling around in today and off the line and away from traffic lights, the 200 pound feet of torque feels nice and responsive. [00:02:30] One of the things that I like about the MX 30 is that Mazda's built in this sort of, uh, faux electronic engine noise. That kind of makes it feel more like a conventional vehicle. Now you get that in a lot of electric cars, but unlike most electric cars, this one always on, even when you're up around 70 miles an hour. Now at those high speeds, it does kind of run a little bit out of steam. So you're not gonna want to go on very long trips. And of course, when you're going at really high speeds, you're burning through your rain.
Speaker 1: So this again [00:03:00] is a more city oriented car. Now, the regenerative breaking is pretty subtle in its default mode, but you can adjust that with paddle shifters and go into a heavy region mode. It's not quite the one pedal driving that you get with a lot of really popular electric cars, but it gets you pretty close. Even when you're in that setting, it will still creep away from a traffic light handling feels pretty good. It features, uh, the electric version of Mazda's G active control, which is gonna give you a little bit of torque [00:03:30] vectoring to boost responsiveness. Uh, overall, it feels pretty good around the town, but it's not a car I'd wanna take on a road trip. Not that you could. Now, I know what you're thinking. Uh, hundred miles is not nearly enough range. That's the tough sell part that I mentioned earlier now in Mazda's defense, the automaker thinks that most drivers don't do more than 30 miles in a day. And here you're looking at three times that much. And with daily charges range, shouldn't be a problem, right?
Speaker 1: [00:04:00] I guess we'll find out this fall. When the MX 30 goes on sale in the state of California, it's gonna start at 34, 6 4 5 for the base model and 37 6 5 5 for the premium package with a couple more bells and whistles. Now the MX 30 is in a car for everyone. My Mazda knows that. So then again, it doesn't have to be the automaker's planning, a pretty slow rollout selling less than 600 copies of this vehicle in the first year before adding that [00:04:30] plugin hybrid, we mentioned in 2022, around the same time, they're gonna expand sales of the EV to all 50 states. So is Mazda's less is more the car for you. Is this sort of a stop gap vehicle until the plugin hybrid gets here, let us know down in the comments below and be sure to subscribe, to make sure that you don't miss any of the cool electric cars that we feature here on the road show.
