CX-30 Review, 2020 Mazda CX-30 Premium
2020 Mazda CX-30 AWD w/ Premium Package in Polymetal Gray Metallic – 2020 Mazda CX-30 Premium

2015 Audi Q52020 Mazda CX-30 Premium AWD

Class: Compact Crossover SUV

Miles driven: 537

Fuel used: 20.8 gallons

CG Report Card
Room and ComfortB
Power and PerformanceB+
Fit and FinishA-
Fuel EconomyB-
ValueB
Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup.
Big & Tall Comfort
Big GuyB
Tall GuyB-
Big & Tall comfort ratings are for front seats only. "Big" rating based on male tester weighing approximately 350 pounds, "Tall" rating based on 6'6"-tall male tester.
Drivetrain
Engine Specs186-hp 2.5-liter
Engine Type4-cyl
Transmission 6-speed automatic
Drive WheelsAWD

Real-world fuel economy: 25.8

Driving mix: 45% city, 55% highway

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 25/32/27 (city, highway, combined)

Fuel type: Regular gas

Base price: $29,600 (not including $1100 destination charge)

Options on test vehicle: none

Price as tested: $30,700

 

Quick Hits

The great: Peppy engine, nimble driving dynamics, classy interior trim

The good: Impressive collection of standard safety features

The not so good: Difficult-to-master/frustating infotainment controls; modest small-items cabin storage space

More CX-30 price and availability information

 

John Biel

Whenever automakers produce a progression of vehicles to blanket a category, ideally those products advance from smaller to larger and cheaper to costlier in an orderly way. Adjacent vehicles of the same type should present buyers with a clear, but obtainable, hierarchy of capacity, power, and price.

Somehow that didn’t quite happen for Mazda’s small crossover sport-utilities. The subcompact CX-3 and compact CX-5 wound up far apart in terms of size and cost. Now, for 2020, the manufacturer plugs that gap with the CX-30.

CX-30 Review
With its bobtailed proportions, sinuous body shapes, and relatively low overall height, the CX-30 is one of the swoopiest small SUVs around, though the prominent satin-black body cladding adds some visual ruggedness.

Here’s how the new vehicle does it:

  • Positioned amid the 5-inch difference in wheelbase between the CX-3 and CX-5, the CX-30’s 104.5-inch stretch hews closer to that of the larger model.
  • Meanwhile, at 173 inches overall, the CX-30 leans nearer to the CX-3 than toward its bigger brother.
  • The CX-30 engine is the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter 4-cylinder standard in lower-line CX-5s, with 38 more horsepower than the CX-3’s 2.0-liter four.
  • Where in 2019 there was a base-price gap of $9700 between the top-trim all-wheel-drive CX-3 and the corresponding CX-5, the AWD Premium Package CX-30 tested by Consumer Guide starts at about $8100 more than the 3 (which has been reduced to a single trim for ’20) and $7000 less than the 5.

Mazda stands back from what it has created and sees a subcompact SUV. We deem it just big enough to be considered a compact. No matter how you look at the CX-30, it delivers sporty handling, upscale interior trimmings, and accommodating passenger space.

Test Drive: 2020 Honda CR-V Touring

CX-30 Review
In keeping with Mazda’s recent upmarket push, the 2020 Mazda CX-30 Premium cabin has a rich, high-end feel, though some of our testers dislike the Commander Control infotainment control system. Rear-seat space is much improved over the subcompact CX-3; the room isn’t generous by compact SUV standards, though average-size adults can fit.

Just don’t get some CGers started on “Commander Control,” the console-mounted access to the infotainment system. This was your reviewer’s experience at trying to set up the radio stations to which he hoped to listen during the test: He tapped . . . he twisted . . . he nudged the console dial up, down, and sideways. Words came up. “Favorites,” it said, with no context, and no obvious link to what those favorites are where they might be kept. The only way anyone is going to master this thing is to be brought blindfolded to a secret subterranean lair and made to learn the “great and hidden knowledge” and the secret handshake first. As colleague Rick Cotta pointed out in his First Spin report on the CX-30, Mazda trusts that once an owner does set preferences, changes will be few, and some basic adjustments can be made via steering-wheel controls. But initial setup and moving from one function to the next have to be done through the controller—because the display screen isn’t a touchscreen—and this knob-twiddling is an attention-robbing exercise.

The CX-30 Premium takes what the lower-rung models have to offer and adds a head-up driving display, perforated-leather seat upholstery, steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, power moonroof, signature LED headlights and taillights, adaptive front lighting, power liftgate, and roof rails for starting prices of $29,300 with front-wheel drive or $30,700 with all-wheel drive. A short list of other key standard items includes 18-inch alloy wheels, a Bose audio system, satellite radio, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility, Wi-Fi hotspot, keyless access and starting, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, blind-spot and rear-cross-traffic alerts, and Mazda’s iActivsense suite of safety tech.

Test Drive: 2020 Jeep Compass Trailhawk

CX-30 Review
Though the sloped roofline cuts into overall volume, the 2020 Mazda CX-30 Premium still offers a decent 20.2 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the rear seats. The rear seat backs fold (at a slightly upward angle) to create more space.

One additional feature that is exclusive to the Premium Package is cylinder-deactivation capability; per the EPA, it adds one mpg to the city and highway fuel-economy ratings of AWD models. Thus, the test vehicle was pegged at 25 mpg in the city, 32 in highway driving, and 26 combined. After putting 180.8 miles on the test truck, with 45-percent city-type driving, this reviewer recorded 24.9 mpg.

The 2.5-liter engine develops 186 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque, enough to move the CX-30 with pleasing briskness, even in highway driving. The 6-speed automatic transmission downshifts quickly, and it includes a “Sport” mode for different shift behavior. Alert handling—with light but responsive steering—nicely contained body lean, and a stable ride round out the little ute’s driving-dynamics profile.

Test Drive: 2020 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

Mazda CX-30 Review, Wheels
The CX-30’s sole powertrain is a 186-hp 2.5-liter 4-cylinder paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The combo provides smooth, ample acceleration. Premium-Package models come standard with 18-inch alloy wheels.

CX-30 ups the ante of interior room for people and things. There’s fine stretch-out space in the front seats, and plenty of headroom, too. The rear seat has space for two adults. Tall folks may find themselves pinched for legroom, but a good many builds will fit without cramping. Driver sightlines aren’t bad, save for the rear corners.

The Premium cabin welcomes passengers with lots of attractive soft-touch material and that roster of amenities we mentioned previously. They may find themselves a little short of room to stash the personal items they bring along, however. There’s a modestly sized glove box, and limited space in the sliding-top console box. (Device inputs are housed within the latter.) There is a storage pocket in each door, but just a single seat-back pouch for the benefit of rear-seat occupants. Paired cup holders reside in the console and pull-down center armrest.

While it presents an improvement over the cargo capacity of the CX-3, the CX-30’s cargo hold (20.2 cubic feet behind the second-row seats) is hardly cavernous. The 60/40-split rear seats fold at a bit of an angle, and at a slight offset above the cargo floor, but a filler panel smooths out the transition.

In a crossover-SUV market that seems to abhor a vacuum, the CX-30 gives Mazda the vehicle it needed to suck up customers it was missing.

Test Drive: 2020 Chevrolet Equinox Premier

CX-30
If you’re a fan of Mazda’s characteristic “Zoom-Zoom” driving dynamics and interior/exterior styling, but a CX-3 is too small and impractical and a CX-5 is a bit too big and expensive, then a CX-30 should be just what you’re looking for.

Check out the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast

CX-30 Review

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