Mazda has resisted the coming of EV's for a few years, but they've caved. Sure, they were pressured by the European regulations, but this is...
the result. The MX-30. A fun and funky crossover, but not a groundbreaking electric vehicle when it comes to battery capacity and range.
But there's a philosophy behind that according to Mazda. Because of the smaller battery pack, it's lighter and more importantly, cheaper.
So if we put it next to another fun and funky electric crossover, the DS 3 Crossback, Mazda's words are partly true.
Indeed, with only €34.000, it's almost €10.000 cheaper than the DS 3, but it's still 120 kg heavier than the DS 3 as well.
I do have to say, the MX-30 is bigger in every way than the DS 3. That means it has a bigger boot, although it's very close when it comes...
to litres, but both when the seats are up and down, you can fit more in the MX-30.
Also, the loading floor is bigger, which means there's a more practical shape to use and the MX-30 has additional storage capacity for the cables.
The Mazda takes some points here. However, it's not the most practical car, and that has everything to do with the door-situation.
The front door opens very widely, but the rear door is only half a door which opens suicidally. You also have to open the front door first as well.
A subtle nod to the RX-8 from back in the day. However, it's not a very practical feature.
Because of the door, the entry is very limited. You can fit three people back here, but I'm very cramped. My knees are in the seat in front of me,
and my head nearly touches the ceiling. Also, the windows back here can't open, and there's two of them. That does create quite the blind spot.
Everything put together, it's very cozy back here. The same goes for the DS 3, but that has normal doors and windows.
In the front, the seating is a lot better than in the back of the MX-30. Also, it's in the front where you can see how good the interior actually looks.
It's a First Edition, without any optional extra's selected. Everything you see here, comes as standard. Even the color is.
This is the car you get for €35.000. For that money, you get really nice materials and a really good finishing. Mazda is already known for...
their interiors, but they've taken it up a notch with this MX-30. The design is very creative, without being too much. The middle console...
for example, which consists of multiple layers. They've used cork as well, which was quite a hot topic when it was first released.
That makes it look really special, with a premium feel to it.
The Mazda scores points with the practicality as well. They've stuck to the infotainment-controls with a central control-button.
That feels very good as well. It's surrounded by handy hotkeys, which means you're able to use the system without too much distraction.
It's a very simple system as well, but you could also say it's not as comprehensive. However, it's just very pleasant to use.
Also, it does have a touchscreen, solely meant for the climate control. That means you don't have to navigate the menu's to find it.
The screen is specially meant for the climate control. Why it's a touchscreen goes beyond me though. It does look very good,
but it doesn't add a lot. I mean, it's not annoying, but I can still control the climate control with buttons as well.
The climate control itself is quite problematic to be honest. In the rain, it's barely able to clear the windows, so you'll have to help out yourself.
So there's something going wrong there. However, what the car does good in the rain though, is driving.
The steering is nice and communicative. It's a tad heavier than the DS 3, because it weighs 1.600 kg and that's a lot.
However, it's not annoying in any way when you're driving. Even with this weather, it's incredibly stable on the road...
whilst being very comfortable at the same time. It's a very balanced car.
It's not a quick car though. With only 146 horsepower, it does 0-100 km/h in over ten seconds.
Especially when it comes to EV's, that's not very fast. However, it's very smooth and fluent, which means the drive is comfortable.
You can also customize the amount of regeneration through flappy paddles behind the steering wheel, which is nice.
That means you can change it at anytime, and that brings me to the biggest drawback of this car. The range, because you actually need all of...
the regenerated energy. The battery pack is only 35,5 kWh big, or small I should say. For example, the DS 3 has 50 kWh to work with.
That means this Mazda should be able to do 200 km on a single charge, but in this weather on the motorway, you should be happy with...
170 km, and that's just not a lot. Also, quickcharging is very slow. It only goes up to 50 kW, whilst the DS quickcharges up to 100 kW.
Those are the areas in which the Mazda loses a lot of points, because that means the Mazda is much less usable than the DS.
The DS also doesn't reach its indicated range, especially on the motorway, but 240 km is a lot more than the 170 km of the Mazda.
When it comes to the performance, the differences between the cars are minimal. The DS 3 has less power, only 136 horsepower, but it also...
weighs less. That means they're almost just as quick. They're not fast, but they're rapid enough. Also, they feel very smooth,
because they're electric cars. However, there's a very big difference in the personality of the cars.
That's because DS has clearly aimed their car at comfort. It has very soft springs, but it feels more distant as well. The steering is very light...
and even the braking pedal feels distant. A tad spongy. That's not very good. I mean, the DS 3 still has a good drive, but the MX-30...
offers a more balanced package.
The comfort does suit the philosophy of DS, because they absolutely don't like anything that has to do with sportivity.
Everything's about comfort, except when it comes to the trim levels. This is a Performance Line, the less-expensive DS 3 E-tense available.
That's because it's part of the Business Pack. In the pack, you get a sporty interior with an alcantara-look on the dashboard. And it looks good.
It makes it feel very cozy in here. However, I do have to conclude that it's not even close to what the Mazda has to offer.
That's painful, since DS is pretending to be the premium brand. Especially compared to Mazda.
I mean, DS is meant to be the premium-branch of PSA, but the quality barely goes beyond that of a Peugeot.
I mean, Peugeot's have great interiors, so this isn't a bad interior or anything, but it's not as premium as you'd like I think.
Also, the special design, which is absolutely present in here, tends to have some ergonomic drawbacks.
The middle console looks very funky with all of those diamonds, if you like it that is. However, it feels like they've randomly spreaded...
out the available functions. You really have to look to find what you need, and that's too distracting if you ask me.
For the infotainment, DS has chosen for a touchscreen. And everything I've already said about the interior, applies to that as well.
It clearly has a different design than in Citroëns or Peugeots, but it's not better than them in any way when it comes to ergonomics.
I think the system works a tad too slow, especially when you've just booted it up. Also, the way it's been structurized is less clear than in the Mazda.
What this car does have and the Mazda doesn't, is a fully digital instrument cluster. However, it's smaller and it's incomplete,
because you can't always see the remaining battery percentage. Very useful information if you ask me.
That Mazda has chosen to install such a small battery pack in the MX-30 is really unfortunate, because if it was able to drive an...
additional 100 km, it wouldn't have mattered if it was more expensive. It would've easily won this test, by a mile even.
But since that isn't the case, you will have to think about what's the best car for your life. How often do you drive more than 170 km?
If that's more often than not, unfortunately the DS 3 is the more usable car of the two.