LIKES
- Great proportions and styling
- Polished powertrain
- Standard active-safety suite
- Spacious interior layout
DISLIKES
- More expensive than alternatives
- Frustrating options packages
- Lacks a touchscreen
BUYING TIP
The 2021 Mazda CX-30 is great-looking, spacious, and more polished and fun-to-drive than other compact competitors, but it’s a step behind in value and features.
What kind of vehicle is the 2021 Mazda CX-30? What does it compare to?
The 2021 Mazda CX-30 is just one digit away from the CX-3, but it’s a completely different vehicle. As a compact crossover, the CX-30 offers an unexpectedly ample amount of space in a compact-car footprint, and rivals other pint-sized utility vehicles like the Honda HR-V, Nissan Kicks, and Hyundai Venue.
Is the 2021 Mazda CX-30 a good car?
Value factors aside, the CX-30 is a great fit for Americans who want roominess and refinement but only have a compact-car parking space. It’s the best-driving model in its cohort when you consider the level of polish in the whole driving experience, and the lack of any rough edges that give away its relatively reasonable price. But its features and pricing don’t add up at face value compared to rival models, and that can be a hangup.
As such, the 2021 Mazda CX-30 earns an overall rating of 6.0 here, for its better than average performance, comfort, and quality, and a big boost for cohesive styling and details that help make it feel like an effort from a premium brand.
What's new for the 2021 Mazda CX-30?
Although mechanically related to the latest Mazda 3 sedan and hatchback, the CX-30 takes virtually everything we’re not so fond about in the 3 hatchback and fixes it—and we see no reason why it won’t be much more popular. The CX-30 is a nicely proportioned tall hatchback, with a roofline that bows gracefully enough toward the rear as the greenhouse tapers inward. The stance is a little taller than low-set passenger cars like the Mazda 3, and so is its ground clearance of about 8.0 inches.
The CX-30’s interior feels high-quality but not flamboyant, and its cabin if far quieter than most of its competitors. The dash wraps around in more of a cockpit layout compared to other crossovers, and there’s an 8.8-inch center infotainment display atop the dash—although it’s not a touchscreen. Four adults will fit comfortably in the CX-30 with room for tall legs in back, and there’s 20 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats up.
Every CX-30 gets standard automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitors are standard on all but the base model. It earned a Top Safety Pick award from the IIHS and a five-star crash-test rating from the federal government.
How much does the 2021 Mazda CX-30 cost?
The base CX-30 2.5 S, in front-wheel-drive form, costs $23,000, including the $1,100 destination fee, and ranges up to a starting price of $29,650 for the top-trim Premium model. Our favorite would be the Select model, which starts at $25,000 and adds to the base model synthetic leather upholstery, rear climate vents, larger 18-inch wheels, and blind-spot monitors. Across the lineup, adding all-wheel drive costs $1,400 extra.
Where is the 2021 Mazda CX-30 made?
Salamanca, Mexico.
Styling
The 2021 Mazda CX-30 is one of the most refined-looking vehicles in its class, and it fits right into a long line of tidy-looking Mazda small cars.
Is the 2021 Mazda CX-30 a good-looking car?
Most definitely. The CX-30 manages to grow a handsome, sporty, and nicely proportioned vehicle up from its compact small-car footprint. There’s a lot of personality and curb appeal in this vehicle, from the tight creasing and serious look in front to the elegance and sporty cues that combine hot-hatch cues with those from luxury SUVs. There’s no slab-sidedness here, and the smooth sheet metal below the beltline is complemented by a small amount of weekend-adventure cladding at the bottom—the same cladding you’ll find in the larger CX-5.
Surfaces and interior trims in the CX-30 are better and more handsome than the affordable price tag will otherwise suggest. The dash is covered in plenty of soft-touch material and there are more quality-feeling touchpoints around controls and storage. Overall, the layout feels simple and uncluttered, although beware of the high-gloss black plastic. Call it piano black or not; it can show scratches and smudges very easily.
Performance
The Mazda CX-30 was already more fun to drive than cars costing much more; and for 2021 there’s a quicker turbo model.
The 2021 Mazda CX-30 is one of the strongest examples in today’s vehicle markets for how vehicles can be far better than the sum of their parts.
How fast is the Mazda CX-30?
In its base form, with a 186-horsepower, 2.5-liter inline-4 and a 6-speed automatic transmission, the CX-30 2.5 S is fast enough for the purpose—around 8 seconds to 60 mph—but not blisteringly quick by any means.
That said, there is a quicker model on the way late in the year. A CX-30 2.5 Turbo model will add a 2.5-liter turbo-4 that makes 227 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque on regular-grade gas or 250 hp and 320 lb-ft on 93-octane.
Every detail supports that mission, in addition to the smooth and rev-happy engine, the transmission’s bigger gaps won’t be any issue as shifts are so nicely timed. Sport mode holds them a little longer if you want, and there are steering-wheel paddle-shifters if you get really inspired.
The CX-30 is built on the same platform and running gear as the new Mazda 3 hatchback and sedan, and that’s a good thing. With shocks and struts up front and a spring and rear torsion beam setup in back, the CX-30 handles much better than the rest of its class. Steering is also among the best; it’s accurate and positive, quick yet rather light, without the need to make small adjustments.
The entire lineup of CX-30 models is available with a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, at a premium of $1,400, but the upcoming CX-30 2.5 Turbo will come only in AWD form. There are 7.9 inches of ground clearance plus an off-road mode that can help scramble up tougher tracks, but it’s not the main mission here.
Comfort & Quality
The CX-30 makes good use of space, and in all the little details it escapes cheap-small-car stigma.
If the somewhat smaller CX-3 and soured over its curb appeal for its lack of space and general refinement, keep in mind that the CX-30 adds one digit to its badge but is very, very different.
Don’t just the CX-30 by its measurements and specs, which don’t stand out as anything particularly special over rivals. Inside, for comfort, space, and general refinement, it’s fantastic and makes most other models in this class look like Happy Meals.
We give the CX-30 a bonus point for its use of interior space, as six-footers in back can fit behind six-footers in front. It’s a 6 for comfort, but there’s a more nuanced story that deserves some off-protocol bonus points.
Cargo space is ample, at 20.2 cubic feet behind the second row, and the rear seatbacks flip forward to a surprisingly wide, low load floor.
The nuance isn’t lost here, and it’s the key to what makes the CX-30 so appealing. It’s serenely quiet versus others in this class, it rides with the well-damped sophistication of larger German rivals, and it’s a class above in fit and finish, with the tactile experience not forgotten in everything from switchgear to surfaces. About the only exception is the glossy-black surface that’s used on some models and overly smudgy and scratch-prone—seemingly out of place in a model that’s going to be popular with city-dwellers with kids and/or dogs.
Safety
Excellent crash-test scores and standard active safety tech give the CX-30 sound safety credentials.
How safe is the Mazda CX-30?
The 2021 Mazda CX-30 aces crash tests from the IIHS and NHTSA, and it has all the requisite active-safety features. Here, that’s an 8 out of 10.
Automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and active lane control are included on all versions. Blind-spot monitors are standard on Select models (the model we’d recommend) and higher.
Although the CX-30 achieved top five-star crash-test results from the NHTSA and an IIHS Top Safety Pick award, the IIHS notes that the headlights included in the top Premium trim caused too much glare.
Features
A few missing small features on the Mazda CX-30 keep it from scoring higher.
Feature by feature, the 2021 Mazda CX-30 is priced somewhat higher than some of its rivals, and it simply doesn’t offer as much for the money.
Base CX-30 2.5 S models cost $23,000 and include an 8.8-inch infotainment display, 16-inch wheels, and cloth upholstery. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not included across the model lineup.
Starting from an average score, the CX-30 gets a point above for its screen size but loses one for the lack of simple touchscreen control for the smartphone interface, which most of our staff finds kludgy. It’s a 5 for features.
Our favorite would be the Select model, which starts at $25,000 and adds to the base model synthetic leather upholstery, rear climate vents, larger 18-inch wheels, and blind-spot monitors.
How much is a fully loaded 2021 Mazda CX-30?
Prices range up to $29,650 for the top-trim Premium model, but that doesn’t include options—and there are a few, like a wireless charging pad. Add that, metallic paint, and all-wheel drive ($1,400 across the lineup) and you’re up to $31,820.
One step above the base models are CX-30 Selects that offer more equipment—although not necessarily better value. The CX-30 Select adds better-looking 18-inch wheels, smartphone software for infotainment, blind-spot monitors, synthetic leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, and rear climate vents. And to get heated seats and premium audio you’ll need to step up to the Preferred level.
Mazda’s infotainment system revolves around a clickwheel controller, not a touchscreen. While there’s a frustrating learning curve to this, you will learn them and become comfortable with where things are without taking your eyes off the road as much—which is Mazda’s goal. What they’ve forgotten about, however, is that drivers aren’t going to forget about their phones, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto operate in a touchscreen-friendly world. Cranking through icons using a rotary controller just doesn’t work.
The CX-30 includes Mazda’s 3-year/36,000-mile vehicle warranty and 5-year/60,000 powertrain warranty, plus 3-year/36,000 roadside assistance coverage. That’s about par for a non-luxury brand today.
Fuel Economy
The 2021 CX-30 is rated no better than 28 mpg combined.
Is the 2021 Mazda CX-30 good on gas?
Premium versions of the 2021 CX-30 come with cylinder deactivation, but it doesn’t make enough of a difference in the EPA cycle to warrant different ratings. And overall, considering the compact size, those ratings aren’t so impressive.
The 2021 CX-30 is rated by the EPA at 25 mpg city, 33 highway, 28 combined. That’s the most fuel-efficient model in the lineup—the front-wheel-drive version—and it’s a 5 on our scale. All-wheel-drive versions of the shave 1 or 2 mpg from each of those figures.
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