About the Mazda CX-30
David purchased this Mazda CX-30 new for $41,000 (including all on-road costs). David would buy this car again because: “No vehicle is perfect, but it is a great all round vehicle that suits its intended demographic quite well. The perceived quality of the vehicle is quite good and would recommend anyone looking for this type of vehicle to short list this one.”
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
In the first three months of ownership so far, I have only had one quirky issue. When I got the car back after the 1000km complimentary service, the fuel gauge needle was indicating full. I found this very odd as the car had been dropped off with about three quarters of a tank.
I found it absolutely impossible that the dealer would have topped it off. After a full week of driving, the needle still had not moved from full.
I contacted the service department and they advised me they were just as confused as I was. I continued to drive for a few more days and then went to brim the tank. All has been well since, so it appears may have just been a software bug.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
The ownership experience thus far has been quite positive. The car has performed as expected and definitely does get some nice comments from friends and family.
The car has been easy to live with and held up well swallowing furniture during a spontaneous trip to Ikea.
How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car?
This car was purchased as an additional vehicle in the family for my partner, rather than replacing an older car. As such, like many people we needed the car now and could not wait months and months.
My partner had her heart set on a CX-30. As the CX-30 comes in a significant number of variants, trims and engine options, it made it easy when she said she wanted the one with the red seats. So Touring SP spec it was then. After some online research I decided to forgo the 2.0L engine and opt to spend an extra $1500 and get the 2.5L in FWD guise.
Stepping up to the larger capacity engine was a no-brainer in my opinion and AWD just seemed unnecessary in a vehicle like this. With that sorted we had to choose a colour. Mazda’s trademark red was considered, but with the red interior it just seemed too much.
The CX-30 also has some pretty chunky black plastic cladding outside, so we opted to go with white to create some contrast against the cladding and the black wheels (which the Touring SP comes with).
I feel like the black wheels help hide the black cladding making it less obvious. Next, I had to actually find a car. I contacted about six different dealers and gave them the same information: CX-30 G25 Touring SP FWD in white – what’ve you got?
All the dealers got back to me and amazingly two dealers had stock; one each. After a bit of negotiation back and forth, the deal was done over the phone sight unseen.
Three days later, they delivered the car to my home address on a Friday evening (as we couldn’t work out a suitable time for pickup). Kudos to the dealer, the car was delivered in immaculate condition with complimentary floor mats and full tank of fuel.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
In short, yes. The Touring SP spec comes standard with Mazda’s Vision Technology package, including 360 camera, traffic jam assist, front cross traffic alert and front parking sensors.
This package is a $1500 option on lower grade variants, however I think is well worth it. The 360 camera is fantastic and the traffic jam assist quite intuitive.
I do feel like, however, as the Touring SP is the penultimate spec in the CX-30 in the range, it should have come with a power tailgate and LED daytime running lights (these features are reserved for the top spect Astina).
I feel like features such as a sunroof and Bose audio being left for the Astina are appropriate, but power tailgate and LED DRLs, come on! I have also found the standard issue Dunlop rubber a little sketchy.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
I haven’t driven a CX-30 with the 2.0L base engine but I feel like it would be anaemic and underdone. The 2.5L seems to suit the car well and provide adequate performance; it never feels slow or underpowered.
We are currently averaging 9.5L/100km running on regular 91. While this number is not very good, the car does do a lot of short trips. On longer drives, I have seen the fuel economy number in the mid 6.0s.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
It has pretty much all of the features you would expext of a new car today. The wired Apple CarPlay works great, as does the HUD and things like BSM, RCTA etc.
The radar cruise control also seems well calibrated. The infotainment is easy to use with good quality screen and surprisingly good audio quality from the standard non-branded speakers.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The CX-30 is quiet with hushed road, tyre and wind noise even at motorway speeds. The let down for me is the torsion beam rear end. In an age where even a Corolla comes with independent rear suspension, I feel like going torsion beam for the CX-30 (and Mazda 3) is just a cost-cutting measure from Mazda.
Whilst the ride is pretty good, I feel like it’s missing that last 10-15% of refinement that independent rear suspension would bring.
Come on Mazda, you can’t be “Mazda premium” with a torsion beam rear end. Having said that, the vast majority of owner would probably never notice the difference, but this is a let down for me.
It didn’t stop me buying the car, but just leaves me wishing.