Mazda has unveiled its new MX-30 SUV at the Tokyo Motor Show. Is this what the future of Mazda looks like?
MAZDA HAS INTRODUCES a new MX model to its lineup, but unlike the two-door roadsters and coupes which have gone before it, the latest addition is an electric four-door SUV.
It becomes the Japanese brand’s first mass-production electric vehicle, safely taping into the popular SUV market, though it brings a new design direction outside and a pillarless space between the front and rear cabin much like the RX-8. That should help ingress and egress say Mazda, with both doors opening by almost 90-degrees each.
Inside we see an interior that uses recycled materials such as repurposed plastic PET bottles and cork around a high-tech dash, and it’s unlike anything Mazda has produced before. The normal heating and cooling controls are gone, replaced with a touchscreen above the drive selector, though the infotainment screen looks similar to the new Mazda3’s unit. On the centre console is the same rotary controller used to navigate the MZD Connect software interface.
Underneath, the MX-30 is the first model to sit on Mazda’s new electric e-SkyActiv platform that will host a raft of new electric models. Mazda says it plans to offer a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully-electric version of each of its models in the next ten years.
The drivetrain underneath this first EV is a single-electric motor producing 106kW, powered by a 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery with up to 150-watt fast-charging via CHAdeMO and CCS Type 2 interfaces. Charging to get the full 200km range takes anywhere from 40 minutes to almost 5 hours, depending on the power source.
That sort of range isn’t particularly useful to most Australians but this is the spec for Europe which is available for order now – Mazda Australia hasn’t confirmed if the model will arrive Down Under and are likely waiting to provide a range-friendly PHEV first, or something that can drive longer distances such as the upcoming rotary range-extender.
Additionally, Mazda has debuted some safety technologies in the MX-30 that will be used in other future models, such as improved blind-spot monitor that will actively steer the car away from other traffic, Turn-Across Traffic assist that will stop the car turning into oncoming traffic from a junction, and Road Keep Assist that is, essentially, lane-keeping assist but for kerbs and unmarked roads.
