Mazda MX-30 R-EV Review (2024)

Introduction

Remember the Mazda RX-8 – the noughties sports car with the reverse-mounted rear doors that used the (somewhat awkwardly named) Wankel rotary engine? And who could forget the awesome, but thirsty, RX-7 before that?

Well, the engine is back - the rotating part, at least.

If that comes as a shock in an age in which the glow of the combustion lump appears to be fading with its last embers, then the following fact may shock you even more.

Mazda has put this rotary mill in a car that was, until now, all-electric.

We see the surprise on your face. So far, it looks like time is going backwards - but it's not as drastic a move as it first appears.

Firstly, this is Mazda – the Japanese manufacturer that's always been known for doing things differently.

Secondly, the whole reason for putting the engine in the car is to create a plug-in hybrid version of the MX-30, which has been available for several years now as an all-electric car.

In truth, the original wasn't incredibly well received.

It didn't excel in any area, and its real-world range meant that anything more than an hour's journey down the motorway would leave you in danger of being stranded due to a depleted battery.

So, now that it's combined with an electric motor and a petrol unit, things are looking up.

We will see if it’s made much of a difference.

At a Glance

Given the R-EV has been designed from what was originally an all-electric car, it may not surprise you that the looks are slightly different to most Mazdas.

The large front grille, previously a trademark of many Mazdas in the range, is gone, replaced with a subtle, thinner grille, although it still spans the entire width of the vehicle.

The single cutout, sitting directly beneath the bonnet, also accommodates the headlights, with, largely, blank bodywork beneath it. There is some SUV-style cladding towards the bottom, with two large holes, too.

The cladding continues along the wheel arches around the side, but it's especially thick at the bottom of the doors (the rear doors are unusual, but we'll explain that later).

The sloping roofline features a modest roof spoiler above the back window. At the same time, the car's posterior is quite bulbous, featuring tapered taillights, a large indentation to accommodate the rear number plate and a dark cladded bumper.

Like many Mazdas, it's pretty nice to look at, but its shape arguably takes a step towards family-friendliness rather than the more aggressive, angular designs that have appeared on other vehicles in the automaker’s range.

Very few details distinguish the R-EV from the all-electric version, although the latter has some modest green stripes, and a few badges are slightly different.

Key Features

If you’ve already considered the MX-30 electric version, then you’ll be familiar with the trim levels as, apart from the colour of the alloys, they’re precisely the same on the R-EV.

The entry-level Prime-Line features 18-inch grey metallic alloys, an 8.8-inch infotainment touchscreen with SatNav, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, digital radio, radar-guided cruise control, air conditioning, heated steering wheel, LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, light and dark grey cloth upholstery, a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, and a head-up display.

The mid-range Exclusive-Line gets 18-inch black diamond-cut alloys, light grey cloth upholstery with stone leatherette and heated front seats, eight-way electrically adjustable driver's seats with adjustable lumbar support, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, keyless entry, and rear privacy glass.

The top-of-the-range Makoto trim adds a Bose premium sound system (which doubles the number of speakers), a 360-degree camera, adaptive LED headlights, paddles for regenerative braking, and a tilting and sliding sunroof.

Mazda is renowned for its radical engineering approach, and, therefore, the MX-30 R-EV is rather unusual in several ways.

Firstly, prices are the same as the all-electric version – typically, electric cars command a premium over equivalent plug-in hybrid models.

Secondly, whereas most plug-in hybrids have a petrol engine and an electric motor that do the same job for all intents and purposes, the R-EV is different.

The engine in the R-EV doesn’t drive the wheels at all – only the electric motor does.

As such, the petrol engine effectively acts as a generator to help top up the battery, maximising the car's range.

This isn’t unheard of – Nissan's e-Power units work on the same principle – but it's still a rare setup.

Thirdly, the engine is a small 0.8-litre rotary mill with no pistons, although rotary engines are generally smoother and take up less space.

And fourthly, there’s those rear doors, which we’ll explain in a bit.

Range & Batteries

One of the biggest criticisms of the electric version was that its range needed to be better for most to lease one.

At just 124 miles – in practice, you'd struggle to do more than 100 miles – meaning you couldn't travel further than an hour along the motorway without being in danger of running out of juice if you weren’t near any services.

The R-EV version fixes that. Although the R-EV has a battery half the size of the electric version (17.8kWh instead of 35.5kWh), it'll go much further, with a total range of 400 miles, though, of course, that includes the petrol power.

On electric power alone, the R-EV can travel 53 miles, a reasonably impressive figure for a hybrid.

Performance & Drive

The MX-30 R-EV produces 170PS at a 0-62mph time of 9.1 seconds.

That's not amazingly quick, but it is 0.6 seconds faster than the electric version, which only has 145PS – and the performance is perfectly adequate for a family car based on a small hatchback.

Most hybrids and electric cars get an instantaneous burst of torque when you push the throttle pedal, and that’s true of the R-EV, which accelerates pleasingly briskly at low revs.

While, in theory, its superior performance over the electric version means it’s better suited to overtaking, the difference between them is negligible and barely noticeable.

Mazda tends to set its cars up with a slightly firmer suspension than many of its rivals.

This means some of its competitors may offer a more comfortable ride, but the MX-30 R-EV is by no means uncomfortable and still adept at smoothing out pocks and creases in the road surface.

As a result, it feels more stable and well planted – and any inferiority in ride comfort will only be noticeable on longer journeys when your back starts to hurt – or on roads in very poor condition.

What’s more, a firmer suspension setup should mean keener handling.

Around bends, body roll is well controlled, and, despite the higher centre of gravity compared with a conventional family hatchback, it doesn't lean as much as some of its rivals.

That helps with cornering, meaning you can tackle bends more quickly without fearing the car will topple over or spin off into a ditch.

It is also helped by the excellent steering, which weights up nicely in the bends, providing decent feedback and a good sense of assurance that the car will go in the direction you’re pointing.

There isn't much noise at quicker speeds, although it is inevitably more noticeable when driving in all-electric mode without the engine.

Regenerative braking can be set using the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. This helps to recharge the batteries during deceleration.

On the whole, it’s reasonably predictable and consistent.

We are pleased to say that although the MX-30 R-EV may seem sluggish on paper, it feels quick in a straight line and tackles corners with impressive agility for what's ultimately being marketed as a small SUV.

Charging

While all-electric cars can charge fairly rapidly nowadays, most plug-in hybrids' speeds are comparatively slow.

Happily, the MX-30 R-EV bucks the trend with a relatively fast (by PHEV standards) 36kW charging speed, which means a 20-80% top-up takes only about 25 minutes.

The same will take around an hour and a half if you use a 7.4kW home wall box.

Running Costs & Emissions

If you opt for the all-electric version, there's no refuelling and no emissions to consider.

If you're looking at the MX-30 R-EV as a company car, you won't be able to beat the all-electric version regarding Benefit In Kind tax savings.

Nevertheless, a plug-in hybrid is the next best thing, so the leasing price should please you if you're not prepared to ditch the petrol engine just yet.

On that note, the R-EV emits just 21g/km of CO2, while Mazda claims fuel economy figures of 282.5mpg.

Achieving that figure relies on keeping the battery topped up, though. Failing to do so, and you'll be looking at something in the region of 35 to 40mpg in practice.

Reliability-wise, Mazda falls short of most other East Asian manufacturers in the dependability league tables but does reasonably well, beating many of its rivals, including Volkswagen.

Interior & Technology

The good thing about electrification is that it's brought a wholesale change in how manufacturers look at interior design.

Nowadays, simplicity and minimalism are the order of the day, and Mazda has embraced them wholeheartedly in the MX-30.

A strip of silver trim runs along the whole of the very straight dashboard, and silver surrounds the lower touchscreen, gear lever, and steering wheel spokes.

Things are further brightened by the choice of upholstery colours, which mixes light and dark grey on Prime-Line, light grey and stone on Exclusive-Line, and a choice of dark grey and brown or dark grey and black on top-of-the-range Makoto trim.

These hues appear not only on the seats but also on the doors, giving off a very nice, premium feel. If you're environmentally conscious, then you'll be pleased to know that Mazda uses vegan-friendly synthetic leather (called 'leatherette').

The 8.8-inch infotainment screen is very wide and peers up from the top of the dashboard, offering a responsive interface and an easy-to-navigate menu layout.

Speaking of navigation, every trim level gets SatNav as standard, too, although our mid-range test car lacks the Bose premium sound system, which is only included on the top model.

Even better, the system is also controlled by a rotary dial, which makes it easier to use on the go.

Beneath the infotainment screen, the climate control screen looks impressive. Physical buttons sit on each side of the display to control the air conditioning.

The 7.0-inch digital instrument screen is also pleasing to look at. It offers a head-up display that puts essential information right in front of you - and that feature is included as standard on all versions, too.

In case you were wondering, the cabin is the same if you opt for the all-electric version instead, apart from the latter's lack of a drive mode switch and fuel gauge.

Boot Space & Practicality

Getting comfortable in the MX-30 is very simple, as the adjustable lumbar support and plentiful travel in the driver’s seat and steering wheel make things as easy as possible.

Unless you opt for entry-level Prime-Line, you'll also get electric adjustment in the driver's seat.

The minimalist interior makes the cabin look more spacious – and in practice, there's undoubtedly enough legroom and headroom in the front for just about every shape and size, even if you're very tall.

Things aren't quite so rosy if you're in the rear, though. The combination of the tall front seat occupant and tall back seat passenger will limit legroom, while the relatively high rear floor reduces under-thigh support.

The headroom is pretty decent. Although the car has a substantial slope in the roofline, the drop-away is mainly behind the heads of those in the rear.

It is worth noting that the MX-30 has 'reverse-hinged' doors, meaning they open out the opposite way to most cars.

In theory, this sounds great. With both front and rear doors open, there's no pillar at all, giving you all the room you need to make a dignified exit, especially as rear seat passengers can move the front seats forward to make more room.

However, in practice, the rear doors are - quite literally - impossible to open without the front seat door also being open because they contain the locking mechanism for the front doors.

This may not be an issue on your driveway, but it could be a very big problem if you're forced to park next to a large SUV in a car park.

From the driver’s point of view, visibility is pretty good out of the front, but at the rear, the pillars on either side of the back window are very thick, while the window is on the small side, hampered further by its very diagonal angle.

Thankfully, fore and aft parking sensors come as standard on all trims, while Prime-Line and Exclusive-Line get a rear-view camera, with the Makoto grade getting a 360-degree surround view camera.

The cabin features many places to store belongings, including a generously sized glovebox and a tray in a gap in front of the central armrest, which sits on a lower tier than the gear lever and rotary dials

The boot space measures 350 litres (reduced to 332 litres if you have the Makoto trim due to the space taken up by the Bose sound system).

It expands to 1,155 litres (1,137 litres in the Makoto version) with the rear seats down, which fold in a 60/40 split.

The boot's shape makes most of its capacity usable if you have relatively square or rectangular items, such as suitcases, to load in, although there is a bit of a boot lip.

Safety

The Mazda MX-30 was put through its paces by crash-testing experts at Euro NCAP in 2020, earning a five-star rating.

It scored 91% for adult occupants, 87% for children and 73% for safety assists.

The latter score was based on features including radar-guided cruise control with stop-and-go, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, and blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, which are standard on all models.

All MX-30s also get driver attention alert, dynamic stability control, emergency stop signalling, hill launch assist, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, pre-crash safety braking, traffic sign recognition and tyre pressure monitoring.

The top-of-the-range Mokoto trim adds cruising and traffic support and a 360-degree surround-view camera.

Options

Mazda offers a wide range of optional extras.

The MX-30 comes in ‘arctic white’ as standard, although ceramic silver, jet black, grey and dark grey are also available for an extra fee.

You can have accessories such as floor mats, cycle racks, roof boxes, alloy wheels in various designs, exterior styling kits, and Mazda-branded tyre valve caps.

Numerous coloured key covers, pedal designs, illuminated door sills, puddle lights, cable bags, boot nets, and even coat hangers are also available.

Rival Cars

There are plenty of alternatives in this segment of the market.

Indeed, the MX-30 gets intense competition from other plug-in hybrids, including the Audi Q3, Kia Niro and the DS 4 E-Tense.

The MG HS is also worth considering.

Verdict & Next Steps

Overall, the Mazda MX-30 R-EV puts up a very good fight for itself.

While some of its foes offer a more absorbing ride, it's still reasonably comfortable yet offers impressive handling. The excellent infotainment system complements a very upmarket, premium-looking interior.

There are downsides, though. The space in the back is not as generous as its rivals, and the rear-door arrangement, while looking lovely in photographs, isn't as practical in the real world as it appears on paper.

However, these are mere gripes – it's an excellent car, on the whole.

Moreover, the MX-30's Achilles heel in the all-electric version – its terrible range – is no longer a consideration.

As such, the R-EV should deserve to be high up on your car leasing shortlist.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Mazda MX-30 R-EV.

**Correct as of 10/05/2024. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 48 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £2,910.42 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.