Mazda MX-30 review

There are three levels of spec for the MX-30, each one equipped with radar cruise control, most of the active safety tech you’d want, a reversing camera and the biggest touchscreens Mazda offers.

Prices start at £30,050 for the base-spec Prime-Line model, but be advised that as of June 2022 the plug-in car grant no longer exists, so every penny of that figure is coming out of your pocket. That’s still not bad given the Honda e is a £37k car these days, while the similarly-ranged (you know what we mean) Mini Electric is only a grand or so less. If you’re after an SUV specifically, only the MG ZS EV comes close on price.

Next up is the mid-spec Exclusive-Line trim from £31,950, which brings fancier 18-inch alloys, heated front seats, heated and power-folding door mirrors, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and keyless entry.

The top-spec Makoto trim is a big leap up at £34,350, adding adaptive LED headlights, a 360-degree parking camera, sunroof, a heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 12-speaker Bose sound system and various additional active safety gizmos.

Exclusive-Line is probably the way to go for most buyers, but remember you’ll need to keep some money aside for a nicer paint-job to really make the most of the MX-30’s dashing looks. Only you can decide if £1,800 is money well spent on ‘soul crystal red’.

As ever, there’s an app to help keep you on top of battery charging and suchlike, while a 20 to 80 per cent charge now takes just 26 minutes thanks to a 2022 upgrade lifting the max charging rate up from 40 to 50kW on the kind of DC charger becoming ever more typical at our service stations. On a standard 7kW AC home wallbox charger, you’re looking at something like five hours for a full top-up.

In short, you’re buying into the sparsest fully charged range in the class, but getting some of the highest tech and equipment levels in return.