Mazda MX-30 will launch in Australia next year.
Mazda Australia has finally confirmed that it will introduce the all-new MX-30, bringing the brand’s first fully-electric vehicle to life on local roads.
But more than a battery-electric, zero-emissions option for green-car buyers, it will also offer the MX-30 in petrol hybrid electric form, a more practical and likely cheaper variant for buyers.
Mazda makes no qualms in telling us that the MX-30 (‘Mazda eXperiement’) is its halo model here and we expect that it will have a price tag to match. However, there’s plenty of unique design and materials used, not to mention the electric drivetrain.
Outside, Mazda has penned an exaggerated version of its current Kodo design language. The unique ‘freestyle’ doors – aka suicide doors – hark back to the RX-8, and also give a more practical ingress to the tight rear seat area. The roof, with a ‘three-tone’ colour scheme, is also striking.
Inside, we see recycled cork used on the cupholders and recycled PET bottles for some of the plastics. The leather is synthetic, appeasing vegans and the like. This is blended around a dash with two digital displays, measuring 8.8-inches for the infotainment and 7.0-inches for the climate controls and other settings. The console has a floating design in the EV, whereas for the hybrid and its conventional six-speed automatic transmission, it is a tunnel.
It’s all very stylish and we’ve had a good look around, check back in this afternoon to watch our video walkaround.
Of interest to those wanting an electric vehicle is that after the MX-30 Hybrid’s launch in mid-2021, an all-electric version will be offered. It has a relatively small 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery that powers a 107kW, 271Nm electric motor on the front axle. It provides a claimed 224km on the out-dated NEDC testing cycle, so we think it would offer 200-odd km in the real-world. This is on par with the likes of the Nissan Leaf – priced at about $50k – but far from the Hyundai Kona Electric, which offers over 400km driving and is priced around $60k. There’s also the newcomer MG ZS EV, which is the cheapest at $43k and offers around 250km driving range.
But if range anxiety is of concern, the Mazda MX-30 Hybrid will mate a conventional 2.0-litre petrol engine with a mild 24volt electric system. This provides a 14kW and 200Nm electric motor that will supplement the petrol engine during driving, mostly at urban and take-off speeds. It also means range will never be a problem, though we understand that a range-extender version of the electric might come in the following years if Mazda Australia has anything to do with it.
On showroom floors, the MX-30 Hybrid will slot in with the CX-3, CX-30, CX-5, CX-8 and CX-9 SUVs. The MX-30 is compact and crossover in size, comparable most closely to the CX-30, though its design and approach to construction – as well as drivetrain options – is most unique.
Finer details, such as specification and pricing are yet to be confirmed.
I suspect the so called latte set will like this addition to their jewellery collection.
“The leather is synthetic, appeasing vegans and the like”
Sounds like vinyl to me…
Perhaps I,m deranged but my immediate thoughts on that first picture was of the old unlamented Austin Allego
A 24 volt hybrid, why bother. That’s no better than adding a couple of bike pedals.
I cannot understand why cars with a range of 200 km are offered for sale in Oz,area where I live the closest town is 160 km away and next 400 km away so happy travelling !
Since when have they worried about the rural folks? Our governments certainly couldn’t care less.