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Mazda's first all-electric production vehicle, the MX-30, is predictably a Crossover. It's been conceived and created with the brand's well-renowned focus on distinctive styling, innovative technology, driver-focused dynamics and class-leading interior quality.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00​​​​ Introduction
00:30 Background
02:59 Driving Experience
09:52 Design & Build
24:09 Market & Model Range
41:00 Cost of Ownership
49:00​​​ Summary

Background
Think Mazda and you think of engine technology - maybe the brand's famous rotary units or, more recently, its famed SKYACTIV-X powerplant tech. But can the company bring anything different to a full-electric powertrain? Well it's time to see because here, we're looking at its introductory EV, the MX-30, with its Zero Emissions SKACTIV-e powerplant.

The MX-30 is, says Mazda, the EV for people "who don't want to sacrifice driving pleasure" when choosing an electric car. Staying true to the 'Jinbai Ittai - car and driver as one' ethos - found across Mazda's combustion engine range, it's been engineered to drive more dynamically than any other car in its segment.

Driving Experience

Mazda has chosen to give this car a relatively small 35.5 kWh battery (the same size as the one in the tiny Honda e), so you shouldn't be expecting the kind of driving range you'd get in established EV compact models like the Renault ZOE. It's just 124 miles. Still, for the urban-based folk Mazda thinks will be most attracted by this model, that may not be too much of an issue. You'll be able to eke it out easily though because instead of all the power (140hp) arriving all-at-once (as it does in most rival EVs at this price point), Mazda has engineered the torque delivery to be more linear, which makes the car easier to adjust to for those from a combustion background.

The Japanese maker provides steering wheel paddles to enable driver adjustment of the brake regeneration rate - everything from very light retardation when you release the throttle to so much retardation that the car virtually stops on its own every time you come off the accelerator. The car also offers an artificial sound to indicate either acceleration or deceleration. Handling should be taut, thanks to a very rigid body structure, made possible by a bracing ring placed around the low-placed Panasonic battery pack. And to Electric G-Vectoring Control Plus (e-GVC Plus), which enhances chassis performance by using motor torque to optimise the front-rear load shift for improved stability.

Design and Build

The dimensions here are virtually identical to Mazda's CX-30 compact Crossover but this MX-30's styling is a slightly different expression of the brand's usual so-called 'Kodo' design theme, here apparently "emphasising the car's beauty as a solid mass". You'll be intrigued by the 'freestyle doors' (some unkindly call them 'suicide doors') - seen previously on Mazda models like the RX-8 - which are hinged unconventionally; the front doors open forward to an angle of 82 degrees, while the rear doors open backwards to an angle of 80 degrees. Peer in and you'll note the open spaciousness of the cabin and what is quite a stylish and driver-focused interior.

Inside, the sense of space is enhanced with a floating centre console that sits independently from the dashboard, while the use of environmentally-friendly materials has been carefully matched to meticulous quality and finish. Leather is replaced by a vegan alternative. The lower console incorporates a 7-inch colour touch-screen air conditioning control panel, and (in a nod to Mazda's founding as the Toyo Kogyo Cork Company in 1920), the Mazda MX-30 features cork-lined centre console trays and inner side door handles. Harvested from the bark of trees without felling, the use of cork and door trim materials that incorporate fibres from recycled plastic bottles aim to be perfectly suited to the ethos behind Mazda's first pure-electric production car. The boot is 366-litres in size - or 1,171-litres with the rear seats folded.

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