Mazda MX-30 in the test: dampen "suicide doors" and short range the fun of driving?
Created: 09/01/2022, 14:37
By: Rudolf Boegel
Unmistakable face: The Mazda MX-30 is a car for people who don't want an ordinary car.
©Mazda
E-car curious: In the test, the Mazda MX-30 managed just 140 kilometers.
The doors are also unique.
They open in a completely different direction.
With the MX-30, Mazda brings its first pure electric car
Why is the battery so small?
We reveal the real reason
Bottle corks and PET bottles are used for the interior
Mazda is different.
Mazda relies on Wankel engines, still builds vacuum cleaners and has petrol engines with diesel technology on offer.
The Mazda MX-30 is entirely in this tradition – a car that is idiosyncratic in many respects.
The short range of 200 kilometers in the four-seater SUV is not a technical defect, but rather intentional.
Mazda calls this rightsizing and justifies the small battery with the fact that large batteries also consume quite a lot of energy during production.
A smaller storage facility would also suffice in an urban environment and would therefore make more ecological sense.
This type of car door is called a portal door.
The rear one is hinged at the back, which means it opens in the opposite direction.
©Mazda
Why the "suicide doors" are called that
And then there are the doors.
They open in opposite directions.
For the driver and front passenger, they open to the front as usual, the rear doors are hinged at the back and therefore also open to the rear.
Advantage, there is no B-pillar, which makes boarding easier.
Disadvantage: the driver and front passenger have to get out first so that the guests in the rear can leave the car.
They are called portal doors in technical jargon, suicide doors is the colloquial expression.
Why they are called that has the following (historical) reason.
When attempting to close an accidentally opened back door while driving at full speed, unbelted passengers (which was permitted at the time) were sometimes thrown out of the car by the pull of the driving wind.
These types of doors were banned in Germany in 1961, but are now allowed again, but only if
if they are automatically locked as soon as the car starts.
There are portal doors at Rolls Royce, for example - and now also at the Mazda MX-30.
Searchlights like gun barrel openings.
The light signature of the Mazda MX-30 is extravagant at the front and rear.
©Mazda
The Mazda MX-30: a car with a penchant for eccentricity
They are at least an eye-catcher, as we can see during the test drive.
How the car attracts attention at all - the design is quite extroverted.
Something for lovers who not only have a set of wheels, but also want to make a statement.
the
mirror
writes aptly: "Mazda's first purely electric car is characterized by a penchant for eccentricity." The most striking are the front and rear lights, which are reminiscent of cannon barrel openings.
The plastic sheeting that wraps around the entire car shows that the MX-30 is actually an SUV.
However, the off-road capabilities are limited because it only has front-wheel drive.
At least that is what the Mazda has in common with most of its competitors: Yes, it does have ordinary field and forest roads – otherwise this type of SUV feels mostly at home on the asphalt.
The body shape, which – how could it be otherwise – comes along as a coupé is very fashionable.
Looks nice, but leads to the uncomfortable fact that only people up to 1.70 meters tall can sit reasonably in the back.
if it doesn't bother you,
that although they have a door at the back, they cannot get out in an emergency because the person in front has to get out first.
Portal doors stop.
The cork surfaces on the center console of the electric Mazda come from discarded bottle corks.
©Mazda
New life for old bottle corks
Inside, the MX-30 also affords an extravagance.
The center console features a striking cork lining, in line with Mazda's approach to sustainability.
The material used is made from old bottle corks.
Recycling is also used for the door panels.
Some of them are made from discarded PET bottles.
And of course the leather is also vegan.
The screens are distributed in three places in the cockpit.
The classic but digital round instruments behind the steering wheel.
Then there is a small infotainment screen on the dashboard, which is operated somewhat awkwardly via a rotary knob in the center console.
They wedged the number three between the gear selector and the cockpit.
It is laudable that the air conditioning can be controlled separately and directly here,
however, you have to have a certain dexterity to hit the right tiles behind the lever.
A sometimes fiddly affair.
At 366 liters, the trunk of the Mazda MX-30 is in the usual range.
Unfortunately, it has a high loading lip.
This is impractical.
©Mazda
Artificial sound for tempo detection
As with all other electric cars, driving the MX-30 should actually be done in quiet devotion.
Not so with Mazda.
So that the driver can better assess the speed, an artificial noise is generated that changes with the speed and is played over the loudspeakers.
Not loud - but we would have preferred it without sound.
The 145 hp machine ensures lively driving experiences.
The torque of 271 Newton meters (Nm) kicks off properly and, despite the 1.7 tons of weight, has an easy time with the MX-30.
The relevant sprint value from 0 to 100 with 9.7 seconds does not sound good, but it is due to the fact that it is not quite as fast from 80 km/h.
But the middle class SUV, which is not that small with a length of 4.40 meters, can
Depending on the fill level and column performance, the MX-30 takes up to three hours to recharge.
©Mazda
In winter you can't go 100 kilometers
We had a real problem with the range.
Although 200 kilometers are promised, more than 140 were not possible even with a full charge.
During the test period at the end of March, the spring weather was mild, and we don't want to imagine what's left of the range in winter.
In our experience (we have an e-car ourselves), a mere 100 kilometers should then be possible.
The fact that the battery is so small at 35.5 kWh (net 32) is, as I said, on purpose, because the car's environmental balance is much better over the entire cycle and because Mazda is not entirely wrong in arguing that most people usually drive no more than 30 to 40 kilometers a day.
Then a range of 100 kilometers is enough, provided that you can charge at home, otherwise it gets annoying,
when you have to keep looking for a charging station.
After all, the MX-30 can now also be charged in three phases, with an output of 11 kW it takes two and a half hours to charge the battery from 20 to 100 percent.
The test lasted four hours on the wall box at home, and the household socket should take more than 10 hours.
The cockpit of the MX-30 is equipped with three screens.
Good that the air conditioning can be controlled separately.
©Mazda
Our verdict on the Mazda MX-30 is mixed
Extroverted, extravagant, exalted - the Mazda MX-30 is not a car for everyone.
And no car for everything.
Yes, for rural-urban-rural commuting.
The Mazda is also good for everyday tasks such as shopping, bringing children to school and the like.
However, if you often want to cover longer distances of more than 100 kilometers with it, you will only get annoyed.
But the MX-30 is not designed for that either.
It is a niche product for individualists - and one or two eccentrics are likely to be among them.
Rudolph Boegel
Specifications Mazda MX-30
Electric motor on the front axle
max. power: 107 kW (145 hp)
Max. torque: 271 Nm
Type of drive: Front
Battery: 35.5kWh
Range: up to 200 km (265 city)
Charging power: 11 kW
Charging time: 26 minutes from 20 to 80 percent (DC / 50 kW)
2.5 hrs
from 20 to 100 percent (AC / 11 kW)
9 -12 hrs.
(230 volt household socket)
0-100km/h: 9.7 seconds
Peak: 140 km/h (limited)
Electricity consumption: 17.9 kWh
Length / width / height: 4.40 / 1.80 / 1.56
Trunk: 366L - 1,171
Empty weight / payload: 1720 / 463 kg
Trailer load (used): not permitted
Price from: 35,990 euros (less environment bonus)