Mazda CX-30 Review & Prices

Small SUVs don’t have to be staid, boring cars to drive, and the Mazda CX-30 is a prime example of a properly fun family car. It looks great, drives well, it’s well equipped and it has a nice interior, but it could do with some smoother engines and a bit more boot space.

It’s a bit like owning a race horse to plough a field. Yes it can do it, it’s beautiful and it’s more fun in the right moment, but day-to-day you’ll be better off with a bigger, more sensible workhorse, such as the BMW X1, Cupra Formentor and Peugeot 3008.

But the CX-30 really is handsome. It looks lithe and agile, with a chiseled, sculpted front grille, slender headlights, curves down its flanks and minimalistic taillights. The plastic cladding is a bit awkward, but it looks fantastic otherwise - especially in Mazda’s signature red paint.

The interior looks lovely too, again minimalist in its design. The wraparound dashboard is trimmed in soft leatherette with a set of solid-feeling climate and audio controls underneath. You get a small 8.8-inch infotainment system on top of the dash, though oddly it’s only touchscreen-capable when phone mirroring; a rotary knob takes care of the native interface.

Front-seat passengers have loads of room and loads of seat adjustability to get comfortable, but there isn’t a great deal of cubby storage. The centre-console glovebox has a fiddly lid to operate, too. Space in the back is a bit limited; not much in the way of legroom and the sloping roofline impact headroom for tall occupants. The 430-litre boot trails behind its BMW and Peugeot alternatives.

The Mazda does have a very sporty drive, and it’s not too compromised around town as a result, either. The steering isn’t as light and easy to twirl as in the Cupra Formentor or Renault Captur, but it dispatches most speedbumps and potholes well with only the sharpest imperfections causing a thump.

Motorways are less comfortable, as the CX-30 tends to seek out dips and ruts at high speed - feeling less settled at a motorway cruise than the Volkswagen T-Roc and Skoda Kamiq. It’s worth opting for the more powerful 186hp engine over the 140hp engine for high-speed journeys. You can choose an automatic gearbox, or - rare for this type of car - a manual, which is frankly excellent to use.

Twisty roads are where the CX-30’s weighty steering and stiff suspension come into play, because it feels properly sporty on a country lane. There’s plenty of grip from the front wheels and little body lean, but the CX-30 still gets jiggled about by bumpy roads.

As a left-field, stylish choice to the norm, the Mazda CX-30 is well worth considering as a family SUV. You can browse new Mazda CX-30 deals on Carwow, as well as Mazda CX-30 lease deals. There are loads of used Mazda CX-30s to choose from, as well as other used Mazdas available through our network of trusted dealers. Carwow can even help you sell your car when the time comes to switch.

The Mazda CX-30 sits bang on the middle when compared to other stylish family SUVs, with the entry-level Prime-Line coming in at around £2000 less than the Volkswagen T-Roc but around £1,000 more than the Peugeot 2008. The interior quality is on par with the Peugeot, but it’s less stylish, and better than the Volkswagen.

Prices increase dramatically up the trim range, with the top-spec Takumi model costing around £6,000 more with the same 140hp engine, sitting atop the Exclusive-Line, Homura and Centre-Line trim levels.

A top-of the range all-wheel drive Homura with the 186hp engine and automatic gearbox is just over £38,000, and comes equipped with 18-inch diamond-cut alloys, Bose surround sound, heated steering wheel, adaptive LED headlights and 360-degree parking cameras - making it better equipped than a similarly priced - but bigger - Peugeot 3008 or Cupra Formentor.

The Mazda CX-30 is great fun to drive, but it does come at the expense of comfortable ride and offers middling levels of refinement

In town

The CX-30 is based on the company's Mazda 3 small family hatch and it shows in how high, or rather how low, the driver sits in the car. We’re all for a sporty driving feel, but the CX-30 falls short of offering the raised SUV seating that many will want from this class of car.

The flipside to this is the CX-30 is very comfortable and superbly well made. Every model comes with a height adjustable driver’s seat with tilting base and, along with a steering wheel that can be altered for height and reach, almost anyone will find the ideal spot behind the Mazda’s helm.

You also get rear parking sensors with all CX-30 models, but you need to skip the base Prime-Line if you want front parking sensors and a reversing camera included. These are a big help as the CX-30’s low driving position can make it tricky to judge where the corners of the car are.

On the move in town, the CX-30 has a firm ride that jitters more over potholes than a Skoda Karoq. It’s not jarring, but definitely something you notice.

The engines might have mild hybrid assistance, but they don’t have any electric range and need to be revved harder than feels acceptable to give decent acceleration. Still, the manual and automatic gearboxes are both very smooth as they go about their business.

On the motorway

The firm ride that makes itself known in town becomes more of an issue at higher speeds. In the Mazda CX-30, you will feel many more ridges and ripples than you would in a Volkswagen T-Roc or Audi Q3.

The unsettled sensation in the CX-30 undermines its otherwise creditable performance on the motorway, where it is stable in crosswinds and gives good steering feel.

With the 122hp engine, it needs working hard to get the CX-30 up to speed but, thankfully, relaxes at a cruise. The 186hp motor is much better at pulling towards the motorway limit, but still needs more revs than the turbocharged engines in most other cars in this class.

On a twisty road

If you like driving and brighten up when a country road opens up in front with no other traffic, the Mazda CX-30 is a family SUV you should consider.

The firm ride in town and on the motorway becomes an ally on these roads, keeping body lean very much in check. However, the kids in the back might well have a very different opinion as the CX-30 still jiggles over anything but very smooth surfaces.

There’s also excellent steering, which turns the car in promptly to bends to make the most of decent grip.

With all-wheel drive versions, the CX-30 is good for cold and wet roads, but forget any notions of driving up muddy tracks.

Lovely to look at and beautiful to hold, but the CX-30 is not the biggest all told

Mazda has a knack of making cars with excellent driving positions and the CX-30 is not about to upset that fine tradition.

Its driver’s seat may be lower slung than many in this class, but it makes it very easy to get in and out through a wide door aperture.

Once you are sat in the CX-30, you’ll find there’s height adjustment for the driver’s chair in all models. This is uprated to electric movement in GT models, which also enjoy a heated steering wheel as standard that is very welcome on chilly mornings.

Every CX-30 trim other than the entry-point Prime-Line comes with heated front seats, and they warm up very quickly to take the edge off winter starts.

The steering wheel moves up and down, and in and out, so tinkering to get the right driving position is simple in the CX-30.

The wide centre console has a tray in front of the gear lever with a flip-up lid that’s ideal for stashing your phone, and there’s a USB charger in there. This is also where you’ll find the two cupholders built into this space.

Behind the gear stick is a cubby with lifting lid that doubles as an armrest for the driver and front passenger.

More storage comes in the door pockets that will hold a small bottle of water.

Space in the back seats

If the front of the Mazda CX-30 is very good for this class, the rear seats are not nearly as generous.

Any adult of average height or more is going to find legroom on the cramped side of bearable, and there’s only just enough elbow room for a pair of grown-ups back here.

As for head space, there’s enough for adults, but the roof slopes in at the sides due to the CX-30’s styling, so you do feel a bit claustrophobic. This sensation is compounded by the high window line and, if you stick with black upholstery, a gloomy feel.

Mazda redeems itself by supplying ISOFIX child seat mounts on both outer rear seats, but anyone sitting in the middle will find there’s not much space for their feet due to the transmission tunnel.

One last mark against the CX-30 for rear passenger comfort is the back doors don’t open very wide and the gap to get in and out is fairly narrow as a result. 

Boot space

The Mazda CX-30’s boot is a reasonable size at 430 litres with the rear seats in place, but the back bench doesn’t slide to alter load volume as it does on some other small SUVs, such as the Renault Captur.

The Cupra Formentor has 450 litres, while the BMW X2 also beats the Mazda at 560 litres. The Lexus LBX only has a 402-litre boot though.

Nor does the Mazda have anything more than a 60-40 split and fold back seat, whereas many others now have 40:20:40 divided seats for more versatility.

Unlike the CX-5, the CX-30 misses remote release levers to fold its rear seats, but they do tumble to leave a large load volume of up to 1,406 litres.

You get a split-level boot floor in every CX-30 other than the base Prime-Line model to help with flexibility. As for the load sill, it’s one of the lowest in the class, though it doesn’t sit flush with the boot floor.

High class, high grade, and highly equipped in the top trims, although the main screen isn’t the biggest, and isn’t a touchscreen

Mazda knows how to put a car’s interior together in a way that outshines most others. It also uses materials that look, feel, and even smell classier than most cars costing the same sort of money.

For this reason, the CX-30’s interior exudes a sense of quality that has more in common with Audi and BMW than the Mazda’s usual compatriots like the Ford Puma or Nissan Juke.

Even in the most basic trim, the grey fabric upholstery gives the impression of being a cut above the common herd. Move to the top-spec models of CX-30 and they have leather trim as standard to further the Mazda’s upmarket ambience.

All of this would be for nothing if the CX-30 didn’t deliver with a decent amount of standard kit. Luckily for Mazda, it comes good and all models have a 7.0-inch main dash display to augment the large round speedo dial. The digital display can be switched between functions and used to read traffic signs, speed limits, and for the radar cruise control that’s included with all CX-30s.

In the middle of the dash, Mazda sticks with a pair of round dials to adjust the cabin temperature. This is also where you’ll find the buttons for the heated seats and steering wheel, if fitted to your CX-30.

Above the heater controls in the centre of the dash top is the 8.8-inch infotainment screen used in every CX-30. Mazda bucks the trend by not using a touchscreen for its own operating system and, instead, you scroll through logical menus with the rotary controller positioned just to the rear of the gear stick, and it’s easy to use.

Strangely, you can opt to turn on touchscreen functionality when using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but the screen is a bit hard to reach, so you’re best off using the rotary knob. There’s also a separate, smaller dial here for the stereo’s volume, or you can use the steering wheel controls for this.

On the face of it, the Mazda CX-30 range is simple as there are only two engines to choose between. However, you also have the option of an automatic gearbox with both engines, and two- or four-wheel drive with the more powerful 186hp motor.

The 140hp 2.5-litre engine gives an official 47.1mpg with the six-speed manual ’box. Or, with the auto transmission, you get 42.8mpg combined economy.

The punchier 186hp engine delivers better economy than this with a manual gearbox, giving 48.7mpg. Go for the auto and you get 44.8mpg instead. If the four-wheel drive CX-30 appeals, the manual manages 45.6mpg, while the auto delivers 42.8mpg.

All of the CX-30 range sits in the same bracket for annual road tax in the middle of the range, and it’s only highly-specced top-of-the-range models which are subject to the luxury vehicle tax. As there's no PHEV or all-electric version of the CX-30, Benefit-in-Kind is quite high; company car drivers should look elsewhere for a cheaper smart, small SUV.

Mazda doesn’t hold back when it comes to the safety equipment in the CX-30. You get seven airbags, which includes a driver’s knee ’bag, which earned it a full five-star rating in Euro NCAP safety tests and a hugely impressive 99% mark for adult occupant safety.

This is helped along by all CX-30s coming with a lane keep assist and departure warning, plus intelligent speed assistance and traffic sign recognition. There’s also blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic warning to let you know if vehicles are approaching unseen from either side as you reverse out of a space.

A driver attention alert is included, as well as automatic emergency braking, and Mazda’s radar cruise control.

Once past the base time you get keyless entry, and automatic models add a 'stop and go' feature to the cruise control for slow-moving traffic. These trims also have front cross traffic alert, and a 360-degree parking camera to offer a bird’s eye view on the infotainment screen.

Mazda has a strong reputation for reliability, shown by their impressive seventh place finish in the 2024 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, out of 32 manufacturers entered. You shouldn’t have any concerns during your ownership, as a result.

The three-year warranty is about average for what you will find in the UK, and is the same as that on most of the similar cars you might consider. You can pay extra for an extended warranty, but Hyundai and Kia offer more out of the box at five years and seven years respectively, while Toyota and Lexus offer up to ten years/100,000 miles if you maintain a yearly dealer service.