Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

ROAD TEST: Mid-size Mazda CX-30 has comfort and quality in spades

Post Thumbnail

I’ve got to admit I didn’t really see the point of the CX-30 the first time I drove it.

Mazda’s mid-size crossover is only slightly larger than its little brother the CX-3 and a good bit smaller than the CX-5, the Japanese firm’s biggest SUV.

Having spent a lot more time with it over the past week it now makes much more sense and, in fact, may be my favourite car in its class.

I’ve always thought the CX-3 was a great looking car with a nice interior, but poor refinement, a cramped rear and small boot make it hard to recommend over rivals from Seat or Volkswagen.

The CX-30 adds just enough extra space in the rear and the boot to make it a proper family car. It has an even better interior than its smaller sibling, while it knocks refinement into the stratosphere.

It shares similar good looks with Mazda’s other SUVs, having flowing, almost coupe-like lines and nicely worked proportions.

You can have it in two or four-wheel drive but this isn’t a car you’re likely to go off roading in and I was perfectly happy with the two-wheel drive version.

CX-30 ownership starts at £22,670 and I drove the 2.0 litre petrol GT Sport model, which cost £29,140.

Although Mazda do good diesels they’ve always been proud of their petrol technology and with the push away from diesel this has stood them in good stead.

With 0-62mph taking 8.5 seconds there’s plenty of performance and official MPG is a healthy 47.9.

On some country roads in Fife the CX-30 proved a confident handler, taking sharp bends in its stride. Where it really shines is on longer journeys, where a smooth ride couples with superb sound insulation for an excellent overall package.

This, coupled with a top quality interior and an easy-to-use infotainment system make it a car that feels like it belongs in Audi and BMW territory.

I was sad to hand back the keys after a week with it.


jmckeown@thecourier.co.uk