Mazda is set to launch a plug-in hybrid engine for its MX-30 crossover - and that’s big news for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, up until now, the MX-30 has been powered by electricity only. And that has brought with it certain challenges.
The MX-30 certainly looks the part, with its coupe-like sloping rear-end and rugged exterior body protection.
But with a range of up to 124 miles between charges, the MX-30 might not appeal to lease customers who spend a lot of their time commuting on motorways. It’s a similar story with the Honda e urban commuter.
All that is set to change, however, with the introduction of a new petrol plug-in hybrid powertrain, which has been announced this week by Mazda, and which should open-up the MX-30 to a whole new tranche of motorists.
The second thing that’s really interesting about this new engine is that it’s a ‘rotary’ unit - something Mazda is famous for.
What’s a rotary engine when it’s a home, we hear you ask?
Well, a rotary engine is an alternative to a traditional piston-powered internal combustion engine.
Rather than having pistons hammering up and down to create an engine’s trademark ‘suck, squeeze, bang, blow’ - aka ‘intake, compression, combustion, exhaust’ - you have a triangular-shaped rotor spinning inside a chamber instead.
What are the benefits of a rotary engine compared with a piston-engine?
Mazda says it’s all about the smoothness of the power delivery and ease of acceleration.
An article about Mazda’s love of a rotary engine explains how it can give drivers a ‘smooth, powerful acceleration that seems to increase endlessly the more you press on the pedal’.
The last time we saw a Mazda rotary engine - the ‘Wankel’ rotary mill, stop sniggering at the back - was in the RX-8 sports car (below), which developed power of up to 231 bhp and fell out of the Japanese firm’s range in 2012.
Now, however, Mazda is bringing it back - allied to a plug-in hybrid system - in the MX-30, and here at Select we can’t wait to see the results.
A Mazda spokesperson explains:
“Faithful to its multi-solution approach to the global challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Mazda will introduce a new powertrain option for its MX-30 at the Brussels Motor Show 2023.
“Available on the European market from the spring this year the unique plug-in hybrid powertrain of Mazda’s compact crossover will feature an electric generator powered by a newly-developed rotary engine.”
It’s set to be unveiled properly later this month - so watch this space.
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