Mazda CX-30 long-term test review: report 3

The car Mazda CX-30 2.0 180PS 2WD GT Sport Run by Alastair Clements, special contributor

Why it’s here Slotting in between the smaller CX-3 and the family-friendly CX-5, the new CX-30 offers plenty of style, but can it be as practical as the best family SUVs?

Needs to Blend style with a rewarding driving experience and enough practicality to justify its purchase over more conventional rivals

Miles covered 5634 Price £29,140 Target Price £28,346 Price as tested £29,930 Official economy 47.9mpg Test economy 36.0mpg Options fitted  Soul Red Crystal Metallic Paint (£790)

14 October 2020 – Changing up a gear

The Skyactiv-X engine in my Mazda CX-30 is undoubtedly a groundbreaking motor, but it brings with it some curiously diesel-like traits. Actually that’s not all that curious, bearing in mind that it’s the world’s first production petrol engine to use compression ignition technology, which is more familiar among diesels.

Most irritating is its tendency to stall with monotonous regularity. I initially put it down to user error, but have since spoken to more than one colleague who has suffered the same frustration, and when I recently drove a more conventional Skyactiv-G petrol engine in a CX-5 large SUV, I had no such problem.

It got bad enough that I began to wonder if I should have specified an automatic gearbox for my car, so when the chance came to sample one recently I jumped at it. But far from being seduced, I found that it changed the whole feel of the car to make it a more relaxed cruiser, where the sweet-shifting six-speed manual fitted to my CX-30 gives it an urgent, lively character. Perhaps I made the right decision after all, then.

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