2024 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Review

if you're looking to spend a modest amount on a  new SUV you're going to go small like this Mazda cx30 this is the subc compact class and usually  cars like this don't look as great but this one absolutely does in this red in almost any color  and if you're going Mazda well you can start at $25,000 it's their most affordable SUV this one 38  Grand that's because the cx30 goes two different directions economy and luxury I'll tell you why  the cx30 got a lot of safety upgrades for 20 23 but now th

ere's not really any changes except from  a few trim levels and they're very very minor this car has been out since 2020 and it's the second  most affordable Mazda in the lineup and its most affordable SUV there's a lot to like and there's  also some things that should be changed there's two gasoline engines for 2024 just like before  a 2 and 1/2 L inline 4 naturally aspirated with over 190 horsepower or this one the turbocharged  version of that same Engine with 250 horsepower and 320 lb feet o

f torque now you can switch  between 93 octane and 87 the power numbers do drop a little bit but it doesn't damage the engine  and fuel economy is pretty decent all-wheel drive is standard on every cx30 so the numbers aren't so  bad but a six-speed automatic that's kind of the thorn in this car's side what's nice about itty  bitty SUVs like the cx30 I can kind of feel tall for once they're not towering and that's the  nice thing about them because you can park it anywhere nice and short but this

is not a stubby  car Mazda knows how to design an exterior from any angle you're seeing nice creases you're seeing  nice crisp LED lighting just enough Chrome just enough detail on every single surface it really  flows it's pretty especially in this Soul red Crystal metallic it's just over $500 it's worth  every dollar of that charge because Mazda does paint quality so well this is a small car it  starts at 25 Grand again but the quality that you're seeing especially all the details on the  ext

erior like the LED lights that fade in and out like incandescent bulbs Mazda puts a lot of effort  here and it shows behind the rear seats 20 cubic feet when the seats are folded 45 this is a small  car by any standard the cx30 the pleasant car to drive that's what Mazda does first before anything  they actually like driving they got Engineers who like driving then they give it to journalists  that like to drive and then their owners it's just a constant evolving process here and every  model ye

ar well they don't have to change anything because everything's already sorted the steering  feel the suspension just the way the whole car connects to you you can take that for granted in  sports cars and luxury cars for example but in this segment that type of feeling doesn't come  standard the turbocharge model it's a welcome addition in this type of car you don't usually get  250 horsepower and you definitely don't get over 300 lb feet of torque not in any gas powered car  when you're at mid

-range to higher speeds that's where this engine tends to shine in the lower bit  it's actually not as perky as I would expect and a lot of it really is due to the gears every  time I drive a cx30 or a three or a CX5 or the cx50 they've all sharing this same engine and  transmission which is great Until you realize there's faults in there there's not enough gears  that's really what it is six gears today doesn't really work with today's modern turbocharged  engines because they just don't have e

nough torque at the lower end if you catch this in the wrong  gear you get a gap it's like kind of stepping between two bigger stairs when you expect a second  stair to be in between there's just not enough gears a lot of cars now have eight speeds this is  just six here is good but say if you want to merge onto a highway sometimes the cx30 has caught me  a little off guard because I would expect it to be accelerating quicker given the numbers really  big numbers coming out of this engine so if

Mazda put an 8-speed automatic really just up another  two gears where a lot of competitors already do this they would just improve on this car that much  more for I don't think really that much more of an investment but all that aside once you're up to  speed this is a quiet car it really is there's a lot of insulation the seats are very comfortable  this is one of those rare small cars that you can relax in and you don't actually mind taking for  a drive with even with a couple people here for

more than an hour a lot of these cars I just  want to get out because they're just too tight they're too cramped they're too rough riding and  choppy not the cx30 it's none of those things and that's why at this price category especially just  below 40 Grand fully loaded it does compete with the Audi's and the Mercedes and other Lexus  models throw any luxury brand that's making a subcompact SUV this goes toe to- Toe with all  of them and I don't think they drive better than this Mazda they don

't even though this is a few  gears down so what in the scheme of things it's a pretty good package one thing you'll notice in  the cx30 is that it does roll a little bit more because it's lifted when I see a little bit more  a little bit more than the CX-5 and certainly more than the three hatchback which is much lower this  car is definitely tuned more for Comfort which on some rougher roads and terrain is what you want  it's just not as Lively a handling car as other mazas are cuz Mazda alrea

dy sets a pretty high  standard for itself so if you're used to that kind of kneejerk reactions this one's just a half  a beat slower not terrible my pref reference is still the Mazda 3 hatchback because you can  get the same turbo all-wheel drive powertrain in a car that's not really that much smaller  so this is really more of a looks not really so much utility except for the ground clearance  if you absolutely need a couple more inches of clearance fine the cx30 will do for you just know  tha

t at your Mazda dealer you're not going to get any really difference if you choose a regular  car versus an SUV in sport mode it just has the transmission at a slightly lower gear again  the response time isn't much better but the steering is the tracking is really good and the  all-wheel drive system is pretty transparent with this type of car I would say you probably don't  need all-wheel drive especially if you're going for that base engine Mazda was wise and they said  okay we'll glude all-w

heel drive as standard we'll charge you a lot more than the regular naturally  aspirated version but my take is is that it's worth it if you're competing in the luxury segment  cuz this truly is a great alternative to the those cars I'll just say it again more I drive this  car the less I want a Mercedes GLA or anything else like it cuz those cars to me are overpriced  and the underd deliver this one overd delivers for a good price the all-wheel drive system we're  driving after a pretty big ice

storm and snowstorm for New England big these days and I think it  operates pretty transparently it really does you don't really feel it kicking in but the fact is  there's no other driving modes other than sport so it's Sport and off there's no snow mode there's  no locking for the all-wheel drive system that'd be nice but in reality you don't really need  all these modes there's some paddle shifters and really just got to execute some good judgment  while you're driving and Trust the car whic

h I do brake feel pretty decent could be a little  stiffer but for everyday driving totally fine for 2024 there's a new select sport trim that  replaces the sport and it has leather and also Dual Zone climate this one is the premium plus  so you're getting a lot plusher leather inside even though the visibility is pretty poor inside  the cx30 has a very well-crafted interior all of these really nice colors Fabrics touch points it  feels premium heck it's in the name but that's actually what it i

s and for 2024 there's another  new trim the carbon turbo which looks just like this car only with brown leather seats I like  sitting inside a cx30 but I never like looking outside of it because the windows the Sills are  really high it's really tough to get in and out you might Bonk your head all these cars that are  in the subc compact category they're small but the cx30 is among the tightest the bad part  about the cx30 sitting back here it is tight every Dimension feels pretty claustrophobi

c but  if you don't pay attention to that the seats are actually really comfortable but I do wish at this  price there should be heated rear outboard seats right here and there's no USB port so Mazda got  to give us some more new for 2024 4 is a 10.3 in screen that's standard on the turbocharge  models it's not available on the Lesser models cuz that's an 8.8 in screen but it doesn't really  matter what size the screen even though there's Wireless Apple carplay and Android auto and this  is nice

cuz there's a touchcreen it's not a full touchcreen and by that I mean you can't really do  things that you can in other cars so then I have to go back to the rotary dial and on the move this  is very distracting and hard to use and then once you go back let me just do this it's much easier  while you're heart try doing this while you're driving you really have to lean over the only way  to get to this say if you can't touch it is to go to the Mazda icon and now this is not touch at all  so the

n you have to use the rotary dial down here which makes it very distracting now they really  need to do something about this because I don't know if it's resources or just time but if they  can't do it in house you got to Outsource this technology to someone that knows how this was  great a few years ago it's kind of unacceptable now once you get past the functionality issues  you'll find a lot of features for example you can set this heated steering wheel the driver  seat and the passenger seat

temperature to syn with the auto climate control there's also a lot  of active safety features as standard and on upper trims you're getting the 360° cameras which  is very nice cuz this car is very visibility impaired plenty of ways to adjust the settings  and all the alerts I like all that and unlike a lot of cars in this price range there's a real  head-up display that protects the info right on the windshield it is very clear and you can have  a lot of different settings all at the same tim

e the 2024 Mazda cx30 starts at $249.95 prices  are a bit up from 2023 there's eight trims but the turbo is the one that starts at $349.90  my Turbo Premium Plus is $ 38905 as tested with destination that's quite a wide price spread  but it does encompass a lot of features that you can't get on some competitors like the Toyota  coroll acros and the Honda HRV there's also the Hyundai Kona Subaru cross Trek and a whole  bunch of others all these years later the Mazda cx30 still looks feels and dri

ves pretty good and  there's a lot of other cars in the subcompact SUV segment it's getting very crowded and the Really  two items that Mazda really needs to improve on again six-speed automatic transmission needs more  gears and a complete overhaul on that infotainment software Mazda cannot keep doing this for the  next several model years but other than that it really scores high in all of our tests what do  you think and do you want to see more reviews well we got them so go to carr.com subsc

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