Mazda CX-30

The Mazda CX-30, being one of the latest generation Mazdas on sale, gets the most modern cockpit from the Japanese carmaker, which focuses on more minimalism and higher grade of quality, fit and finish levels and equipment on board. One does get three options of leather upholstery for the interior cabin – dark blue, white, and black.

Compared to the rest of the extrovert design of the car, the driver’s cockpit of the Mazda CX-30 looks rather simple with plain-looking dials for the instrument console and a subtle looking leather-wrapped three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel.

The rest of the dashboard looks minimalist with a sleek panel flowing across the width of the dashboard, which houses slim AC vents within it. It divides the dashboard into two – the upper layer of the dashboard is finished in soft-touch leather and also sneaks in a wide LCD infotainment system in a scooped in panel. The lower dashboard gets very small but intuitive panel for the dual-zone automatic climate control buttons. The transmission tunnel gets premium looking piano black finish and premium looking knobs and switches.

The Mazda CX-30 might not be an out-and-out SUV in terms of its looks, but it is this distinctive crossover design of it which makes it look standout from the crowd. The overall design is sleek and aerodynamic, with the stance making it look like a jacked-up hatchback on stilts.

The front fascia of the Mazda CX-30 is an evolved form of that of the other Mazdas on sale, and comes with the same rounded grille with tapered chrome edges and slim LED headlamps, although in a much sleeker form with a more contoured front bonnet. 

The side profile, as in other SUVs from Mazda, looks much rounded and curvy, with a nice flowing coupe-like roofline and big rounded wheel arches, contoured bonnet, and door-mounted rearview mirrors making it look sporty. However, the oversized body cladding all around looks a bit disproportionate. Like the CX-5, the Mazda CX-30 also gets a nice characteristic flowing line from the front headlamp to the rear door.

At the rear, the Mazda CX-30 has got its own individualistic design, which has a wide curve flowing across the width of the rear hatch, above the slightly higher positioned license plate housings. The wing-like LED tail lamps are bigger and even sleeker than in other Mazda offerings.

Given its sporty aura in terms of design, one can naturally expect the Mazda CX-30 to be a driver’s car, and to some extent, it delivers on that front pretty well. The Mazda CX-30 gets Macpherson struts at the front and torsion beam axle at the rear, which along with well-weighted steering setup, are finely tuned to make it a driver’s delight.

The only engine and gearbox combination which the Mazda CX-30 has been fitted with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, which is coupled to a 6-speed automatic gearbox. This powertrain has been shared with that in the Mazda CX-5, and here too, it develops 165 PS of maximum power output and 213 Nm of peak torque output.

The Mazda CX-30 shares its list of safety features with the Mazda CX-5, and gets dynamic stability control, traction control, adaptive LED headlamps, front cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring system, rear cross-traffic alert, 360-degree view monitor, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, smart brake support, cruising and traffic support, radar cruise control, distance and speed alert, driver attention alert, front and rear parking sensors, ABS with EBD, and front, side, curtain and knee airbags.

From the point of view of sporty looks and performance, without compromising much on practicality and price aspects, the Mazda CX-30 makes up for a great affordable lifestyle vehicle.