Mazda MX-30 gets green light for Oz

The Mazda MX-30 will be the first all-electric Mazda to go on sale Down Under.

Due mid-2021, the boldly-styled four-door coupe-style SUV features ‘suicide’ rear doors and will also be offered in a conventional petrol-engined version with 48V mild-hybrid functionality.

The petrol-engined Mazda MX-30 SKYACTIV-G will beat the battery-electric version to market by a few months and is expected to go on sale by April 2021.

Mazda Australia sources flagged their interest in the compact battery-electric MX-30 in 2019. The EV recently went on sale in Japan and select European markets and, as carsales reported in October, both the full-electric and mild-hybrid versions have been going through the Australian homologation process in recent months.

The pure-electric Mazda MX-30 is expected to eventually be joined by a range-extender version featuring a compact petrol-fuelled rotary engine.

Built on a conventional internal combustion engine platform, the all-electric MX-30 features a 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery pack underfloor. The pack is small in comparison to most EVs and therefore yields a relatively modest 224km (NEDC) range.

Says Mazda Australia: “Sizing for the high-voltage battery was carefully considered to fit the inner-urban lifestyle of the target market, while minimising CO2 emissions throughout its lifecycle, from resource extraction through to battery disposal.”

The Mazda MX-30 offers both normal AC and DC fast-charging. Mazda says the battery can be charged in three hours via a 6.6kW AC wallbox or in 36 minutes using a 50kW fast-charger.

The petrol-engined MX-30 combines the same 2.0-litre SKYACTIV-G engine (114kW/200Nm) found in the Mazda3 with Mazda’s M Hybrid 48V mild-hybrid tech. This features an integrated starter-generator and small lithium-ion battery that can feed up to 6kW into the powertrain when accelerating.

The M Hybrid recovers energy under braking and also assists the automatic engine idle-stop and cylinder shutdown systems.

Mazda says at this stage there is no SKYACTIV-X version of the MX-30.

The stated output for the battery-electric Mazda MX-30’s single e-SKYACTIV water-cooled synchronous AC motor is 107kW/271Nm. It’s matched to a single-speed transmission, while the petrol-engined Mazda MX-30 gets a conventional six-speed automatic.

Mazda Australia is not yet providing details of the EV or conventional MX-30 model grades nor pricing or specification. No performance claims have been published.

The company is, however, talking up the sustainable nature of the materials used in the MX-30’s cabin – although it has stopped short of applying the ‘vegan’ label.

Cork surfaces on the centre console pay tribute to Mazda’s founding as the Toyo Cork Kogyo company in 1920, while ‘Premium Vintage Leatherette’ seat surfaces are synthetic and “manufactured with water rather than solvents, showcasing a tactile quality and premium appearance while being kind to the environment”.

The fabric used on the upper door trims is made from recycled PET bottles while seat trim elements “use up to 20 per cent recycled thread”, the company claims.

The boldest aspect of the MX-30’s design, however, is arguably the ‘Freestyle’ doors which reference the Japanese car-maker’s last rotary-powered model, the Mazda RX-8. These dispense with a B-pillar. Instead, a rear-hinged rear door gives rear seat access on both sides of the MX-30 and locks into the enlarged door aperture giving a closure against which the conventional front doors latch.

Mazda says the resulting structure is as strong as “normal” vehicles. That the MX-30 has gained a five-star rating with Euro NCAP lends some proof to the claim.

A full suite of active driver aids including autonomous braking and lane keeping systems are also factored into that five-star rating.

The MX-30 will offer a range of exterior colour combinations including the hero tri-tone variants.

Mazda says the MX-30 is “designed to integrate with its owner’s connected, tech-savvy lifestyle”. To this end, the latest-generation Mazda Connect system is featured interacting via an 8.8-inch widescreen central display and 7.0-inch TFT LCD in the instrument panel.

“MX-30 is the bold next step of Mazda’s Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030 strategy,” said Mazda Australia boss Vinesh Bhindi.

“While furthering our ‘well to wheel’ emissions reduction strategy, the MX-30 remains a Mazda at heart: it is poised, agile and fun to drive with exceptional handling,” he said.