2024 Mazda CX-30

The Mazda CX-30 now comes in a total of 8 trims to choose from and in the 2024 version, there is a addition of a new trim which is called the Carbon Turbo. The 2.5S, Select, Preferred, Carbon Edition, and Premium variants come standard with the 2.5L Naturally Aspirated engine whereas the Turbo Premium, Turbo Premium Plus, and the Carbon Turbo trim come standard with the 2.5L Turbocharged petrol as their name suggests. The Mazda CX-30 is a great car if you are looking for a compact crossover SUV that has great performance and driving dynamics. 

Packages

• Roof Rack, Side Rails, Silver + $350
• Crossbars + $300
• Thule Canyon Roof Basket With Stretch Cargo Net + $592
• Thule Ski & Snowboard Carrier (Snowpack L) + $350
• Thule Board Shuttle (Surfboard Carrier) + $200
• Thule Glide And Set Kayak Carrier + $350
• Interior Lighting Kit + $230
• Illuminated (Front Only) Doorsill Trim Plates (Set Of 4) + $425
• Sport Pedal Kit + $250 
• Black Lug Nuts & Black Wheel Locks + $225

We Recommend 

According to us, the Select trim would be the best pick of all the trims if you do not want over the top performance from the turbocharged petrol engine and you are in the need of a value for money package. The standard 2.5L also gets the job done with great performance as compared to its rivals and also gets a long list of features which includes features like synthetic leather upholstery, blind-spot warning system, keyless entry, and various other useful features. However as mentioned before if more power is required, there is always the turbocharged engine which you can opt for but will cost you a lot more. 

Release Date

Expect the 2024 Mazda CX-30 to be out in your nearest showrooms in the fall of 2023. 

The Mazda CX-30 comes in two engine options, a naturally aspirated and turbocharged. The naturally aspirated one is a 2.5L unit that produces a maximum power of 191 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque paired with a six-speed automatic gearbox, which is more than enough power for most people, and it is also the most powerful and fun to drive powertrain as compared to its NA engines from its rivals. However, if you feel that this engine does not satisfy your need for speed, then there’s the 2.5L turbocharged unit, which rewards you with 250 horsepower!

Also complementing the great engines are the CX-30’s great driving dynamics which makes the car feel agile, responsive, and fun to drive similar to the Mazda 3 hatchback. The steering feedback from the CX-30 is sharp, and its balanced ride and handling setup make driving in the twisties a breeze. Talking about the 0-60 sprint, the base engine does that in 7.6 seconds whereas the more powerful 2.5L turbocharged takes 5.8 seconds! 

Comparing the Mazda CX-30 with its rivals like the Volkswagen Taos, Kia Seltos and the Subaru Crosstrek, it scores marginally well and stays at par with its rival on most parameters, thanks to its mighty 2.5L engine. The CX-30 has the most power at 191 horsepower despite being naturally aspirated and also has the most torque at 186 lb-ft. Although, talking about the 0-60 MPH sprint the Volkswagen Taos is the quickest of the comparison at 7.4 seconds. The Kia Seltos takes the lead when it comes to the top speed at 130 MPH whereas Taos is the lowest at 125 MPH. 

2024 Mazda CX-30 Ride and Handling 

Complementing the amazing performance of both the great engines in the 2024 Mazda CX-30 is the amazing ride and handling balance that it offers whether we talk in terms of stability or through the turns. All thanks to its sports-tuned chassis, and amazing suspension setup the CX-30 can even give competition to higher segment cars. Although the ride is stiff and might hamper the comfort of your passengers, it makes up for that when you chuck it around a corner and see it corner like a boss, which is incomparable to any car of its segment! 

2024 Mazda CX-30 Braking Performance 

As we know, with great power comes great responsibility, the same holds true for cars as well. And brakes offer just that to a vehicle by providing adequate control while cruising at high speeds. Talking of the 2024 Mazda CX-30’s braking system, it features 11.6 inches of brake rotors at the front and 10.4in brake rotors at the rear which offers great stopping power. The front one is a ventilated disc while the rear one is a solid disc. Helping in the braking performance, it gets standard safety features like traction control, 4-wheel ABS, emergency braking assist, and stability control as standard across all the variants making it a safe option. 

The 2024 Mazda CX-30 comes in two engine options, one is the standard 2.5L naturally aspirated engine and a 2.5L turbocharged engine. Both engines offer some exceptional performance figures by their standards. These engines indeed make the CX-30 fun to drive, however, they lose out on fuel economy. The fuel economy figures for the base CX-30 stand at 26,33 and 39 MPG for city, highway, and combined respectively. 

Having an engine that has the maximum displacement does have its advantages in the performance segment but the Mazda CX-30 loses out to its rivals when it comes to fuel efficiency whether in city, highway, or the combined figures. It also has the lowest range among the 3 rivals in all three conditions. The 2024 Volkswagen Taos is the most fuel-efficient vehicle in this segment with its 1.5L Turbocharged Inline-4 engine resulting in a combined fuel economy of 29 MPG. However, the Subaru CrossTrek offers the highest range because of its large fuel tank capacity of 16.6 gallons. 

The Mazda CX-30 is as stylish and sleek on the inside as it is on the outside. It has a handsome, subtle, well-crafted interior which is similar to the one we have seen in the Mazda 3. Sitting in the center, we have an infotainment system that is controlled by a knob that is placed in the center console. Everything control is within the reach of the driver and the car is ergonomically sound, you also get an option of choosing between an eight or twelve-speaker audio system according to the trim you opt for. 

The seats are comfortable and if you go for the top-of-the-line, premium trim, you will get luxury features like leather upholstery, a power-operated rear liftgate, and a lot more premium features which puts it in the league of upper variant cars like the Mini Countryman or say the Lexus UX. One thing where it loses out though, is its cargo space. 

The Mazda CX-30 has the lowest capacity when it comes to the trunk at 20.2 cubic feet while the Seltos wins it here at 26.6 cubic feet. The Volkswagen Taos is the most spacious of all the cars here when we take front-row and second-row space into consideration. Although CX-30 or even the other cars would not be much of an issue if you are an average-sized human. Apart from that, no car in this segment will provide you with a major difference when it comes to space or seating management.

Key features of the Interior: 

• Leather upholstery
• Power-adjustable driver's seat with memory functions
• 12-speaker audio system 
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Heated steering wheel

How intuitive is the 2024 Mazda CX-30’s infotainment system?

The Mazda CX-30 has a standard 8.8-inch infotainment screen which comes loaded with a lot of features like connected car services, which itself has a lot of features like locking and unlocking the car from the user’s smartphone, monitoring the live location of the car through the MyMazda app among others. Apart from that it comes with Apple CarPlay / Android Auto, standard Bluetooth, Wi-Fi hotspot capability, and two front USB inputs, and users have the choice to choose from an 8 or 12-speaker sound system according to the trim they opt for. All these features make the Mazda CX-30’s infotainment system extremely useful and it is designed in such a way to make every journey more enjoyable, safe, and convenient. 

Key Features of Infotainment System:

• Standard Mazda Connected Services
• 8.8-inch infotainment screen
• Navigation system
• Wi-Fi hotspot capability
• Apple CarPlay/Android Auto integration and SiriusXM satellite radio 
• 12-speaker audio system

The 2024 Mazda CX-30 remains unchanged in terms of exterior design if we compare it to the previous model year, and we do not have any problem with that. The car looks sleek and stylish with that quirky front and it maintains a great design overall. It manages to give you an SUV look with that raised ground clearance, and the car looks good being curvy and having no sharp lines seen throughout its body, Although the additional trim you get in the 2024 variant which is the Carbon Turbo trim gets you additional exterior enhancements like Zircon Sand paint job and black painted wheels. Apart from that, everything remains more or less the same about the CX-30 in terms of exterior design! 

Compared to its rivals in terms of dimensions, the CX-30 fares marginally well, and looks similar to them as well, in terms of body dimensions. Being the heaviest of all the cars in the comparison here, the Mazda CX-30 weighs around 3,424 lbs. The lowest in terms of weight is the Volkswagen Taos at 3,181 lbs. The Subaru CrossTrek is the longest, widest, and tallest vehicle amongst all the vehicles with a length of 176.5 inches, 71.0 inches of height of 71.0 inches. It also boasts of the highest ground clearance at 8.7 inches which aids in practicality. The Volkswagen Taos has the longest wheelbase at 105.9 inches. 

Key Design Features: 

• Zircon Sand paint job and black painted wheels on the new Carbon Turbo trim.
• Raised ground clearance for SUVish appeal.
• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Tinted rear windows
• Power liftgate
• Roof rails

The Mazda CX-30 comes loaded with a lot of safety features on offer, starting from the connected car tech features which can be controlled via the MyMazda app itself, and has features like online location monitoring and lock/unlock of the car from the app itself. You also get a lot of driver-assistance safety features that come standard in every Mazda CX-30 like adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, lane departure warning, and automatic emergency braking in panic situations. If these are not enough for you, you also get a heads-up display and blind-spot monitoring system as an option. It is safe to say after looking at these safety features on offer, the Mazda CX-30 is an absolutely safe vehicle to choose!

Some of its advanced safety features include: 

• Adaptive cruise control
• Connected car tech
• Lane-keeping assist
• Lane departure warning
• Automatic emergency braking
• Traffic sign reader

2024 Mazda CX-30 vs. 2024 Kia Seltos 

The Kia Seltos looks much better in terms of styling and exterior design language if we compare it to the 2024 Mazda and might also be the one that is better feature-loaded of the two, but it falls short when compared to the driving dynamics section. The Mazda handles much better through the corners and feels much more stable than the Kia at higher speeds. The Seltos comes with a decent 2.0L naturally aspirated engine in its base trim which is not oriented for performance and loves to be driven sedately and stands nowhere close to the Mazda’s 2.5L base engine in terms of outright acceleration or overall performance. However, the Seltos also comes with a more powerful 1.6L turbocharged petrol engine in its higher trims which directly rivals the CX-30’s 2.5L turbocharged engine. 

2024 Mazda CX-30 vs. 2024 Subaru Crosstrek

The Mazda CX-30 is better than the Subaru Crosstrek in terms of acceleration, handling aspects, and overall driving feel and feedback. But where the Crosstrek beats the CX-30 is by being a more practical car of the two by offering more ground clearance to go on any kind of terrain, comfortable ride quality, being a better off-roader, and much better space management inside. Apart from that, it also has the best braking performance when compared to the cars in this segment. Hence if you are looking for a more practical car of these two, get the Subaru eyes closed which will help you reach any destination without breaking a sweat! But if driving feel and feedback is what excites you the most, the Mazda is the car to go for. 

2024 Mazda CX-30 vs. 2024 Volkswagen Taos

The Volkswagen Taos is the biggest car in this segment if we go by the dimensions, and as a result, it also has the most space inside and feels roomier not only than the Mazda CX-30 but also from the other cars in this segment. However, it has the smallest base engine if we compare displacement-wise, although it is turbocharged, unlike all other cars in this comparison, it is let down by a transmission which can be frustratingly slow to downshift when pushing the car to its limit. The CX-30 might be small, but definitely not the smallest. It offers better interior quality, is better to handle, and is much more fun to drive thanks to its amazing engines and transmission on offer. However, the Mazda CX-30 is comparatively expensive too but it definitely is the value for money deal here if you can compromise on the space inside. 

The 2024 Mazda CX-30 should be at the top of your buying list if you looking for a small SUV that has great performance along with great driving dynamics, ride, and handling thanks to its couple of powerful engines on offer paired with great transmissions. It also offers superior interior quality and has a long list of safety features and planted rides as compared to its competitors, to ensure you a safe drive while going on longer journeys. However, if you want a more practical vehicle, you must have a look at its rivals like the Subaru Crosstrek or the Volkswagen Taos as the CX-30 is not the most spacious in its segment. Apart from that, it offers the least fuel economy from its otherwise powerful engines and this could be a dealbreaker for some customers who are looking for an economical city car.