Guys look, I understand there will be different takes on this car. Some will love the styling and some will love the use case. For me, the entire package is a letdown. The Honda-e and MINI SE that I love so much don’t seem to offer much more on paper, yet the cars have a character. This is just a car that was a true let down for me although the on-limit driving dynamics were amusing and actually fun! What do you think, was I too harsh on the little electric Mazda? Out of Spec Podcast: kzfaq.info

Guess who won't be invited to future Mazda press events? LOL

This would have been an good buy and an amazing EV in 2012. When the first Leaf and Volt hit the streets they were slightly more expensive than this Mazda and the Leaf had less range. It's as if this entire EV concept was started 10 years ago but just got stuck in development and they are now finally getting around to releasing it with no changes.

In a few years, this will make a great $8k used car.

This should be a $23,000 EV before incentives.

A bit of a late comment, with some background. Last year I went and tested almost all available EVs... multiple brands... Mazda was one of them. I did't get out of the parking lot before asking myself if I should even drive another yard, the car was that bad. they gave me the car with 50% battery and it was already chiming the low battery... hated the car, made a video, called it a waste of parts. but a few tested cars later, here I was in a Mercedes EQA. decent range, over +350 km... and I found myself rethinking MAZDA. The MX30 drives better, is 2-3 times cheaper, looks better, and this will maybe sound not real, but Mazda materials, on the interior, way better. Really bad plastics in the Mercedes, it felt like a cheap toy, with bad visibility. So, for most journeys, now I am rethinking the Mazda. I would rather recharge every 150 km, if I have a longer journey, like 5 times a year, and keep the 40k euro/usd difference. The Mazda is the better car in every aspect, if you are ok with the range, for daily commute.

Huge letdown from Mazda.

Finally someone that gives a honest review. When I first saw it and looked at the specs, I got the impression that this is a "we have an electric car" position from a company that really does not want to get involved with electric cars

I bet Mazda’s CEO will have a word with the engineers after hearing about how this car was launched…

If you loved your 2010 EV and are nostalgic you'll love this... Slaps roof

It seems to be a nice looking car. However, I have a 2013 Ford Focus Electric that still has around 75 miles range that I paid $4,500 for because it had an infotainment system problem. I fixed it with a screen recalibration. This offering is a bit pricey for the range. I'll keep looking.

Finally somebody who says it directly. It is really bad EV! Maybe considerable as a second car and for half of the price.

It’s the honesty about crappy cars and first impressions that make me respect his opinions on good cars

This vehicle (and I have been to Mazda dealers asking about it) represents a unique form of insanity - start with gasoline car, make an electric compliance car out of it, THEN add back gasoline "range extender" or make hybrid. Frankenstein's monster.

I think your point about leasing is spot-on. If I saw a dealer with a good lease deal on this car, I'd probably consider picking one up as a second city car for my Model 3. AC charging at home only would be just fine.

with Calif evz credits the price is $17,000. I will take one to complement my hybrid road trip car and I will still have less than $43K total for all my transportation needs

Ran into a tech at an EA station and he said to always look for "Complimentary Station" because they leave them like that all the time.

Holy smokes, Mr Conner, the way you’re throwing that around the mountain road, did you ever work as a stuntman??

Fundamentally Mazda was the slowest of the Japanese manufacturers to offer hybrid offerings - I suspect being the smallest and least supplier connected manufacture also limits their ability to quickly ramp up and go into EV production. Be patient, give them time.

I’ll be going to Out of Spec for reviews on new EVs. Excellent knowledge with fun low key delivery. ThankU. Cameras/mounts used?

Great that you quoted motor power in kilowatts. Let’s dump bhp for EVs. :)

This should be the CX-5 with AWD, 200kw of power and a 65kwh battery. Even if it doesn't have a frunk it would be the electric Mazda everyone wants. The whole car just screams "we don't want to do this, so here is what you get".

Excellent job Kyle. I especially appreciate the candid approach that you professionally exhibit. Mazda has broad-spectrum issues.

I feel sorry for the poor bastards that paid full MSRP for these. I saw one at a dealer here in Northern, CA with only 1k miles for $20k. I can’t even imagine how upside down on the loan that original owner is.

Looks like Mazda need to get their EV shit together asap.

There's so much space in the engine bay because they're also coming out with a serial plug in hybrid version, which they've been calling a "range extender"...and in using that term, the electric range has to be greater than or equal to the gas range, so that's likely why the electric range is limited to 100 miles (because the gas range likely won't be more than 100 miles). And since it's only on sale in California, they likely want all the ZEV credits CA offers, and to get them the EV rage can't be more than the gas range. So basically what BMW did with the i3.

It's kind of shocking to see them put that much effort into tuning the car and the interior (yet have so little back legroom when cargo didn't look that bad) and be worse than the Bolt or Kona in the most important ways while demanding the same price for less than half their range. Surprised to see it handled as well as it did when so little effort and care went into making a product that even makes any sense to exist. They should have never released this as a pure EV and waited until the range extender was ready and then maybe it would compete with used i3s. But at this point I just don't see why you would buy that over a Bolt or a Kona, and if you raised your budget just a little, a base spec ID.4.

Mazda really didn't try to hide that this is only a compliance car. It's a shame.

Great review. Really good at interpreting and communicating. I'm guessing there was a press embargo, as I received myriad MX-30 previews today, though yours was the first I clicked on. (Make of that what you will!) It'll be interesting to see if other KZfaq reviewers arrive at similar conclusions as yourself! 🤔..😉 • 👍😎👌

I know I shouldn't, but I really like this thing. The interior looks like a great place to spend time. I think it makes sense as a city car or a household's second car provided they have a short commute. With that said, I think it should start below $30k. If the lease deals are good I would consider one. Granted, I am a known contrarian and lover of quirky cars others seem to hate (i.e. BMW i3, Kia Soul, etc).

I’m a Mazda fan. On my third Miata and always loved their direct handling, their new Kodo design, and appreciate their value of their heritage. That said this car was a huge letdown. I’ve seen several reviews now and my first impression is: why would mazda even make this. In my opinion they should’ve taken this to market via a hybrid option in either their CX-30 as you said or CX5 with the 2.5 turbo. I think that’s the only way they’re gonna get any “guts” out of the Hitachi driveline. Hope they do more in the future and don’t botch electrification of the Miata/Mazda3 (it’s inevitable).

I love the thumbnail/title combo. Kyle all excited about the worst EV! lol

Seriously, in spite of the exterior and interior design of this car, I think Mazda quite obviously only made this car to throw shame at electric cars and as an attempt to stop electric cars from saving our planet, just by showing how bad they can really be, because Mazda is not letting go of gas engines as it's their main focus.

The title tells me everything I need to know.

Kyle, you're not too harsh at all. I am a Mazda fan myself, had been driving Mazda 3 for 8 years / 160k miles and it had never let me down. But this car is just - mildly spoken - subpar (wanted to give it a more definitive characteristic which begins with the word "piece" but my mom might read this so I won't). 33 kWt*h of usable capacity in a 2022 EV, seriously? That is good for a PHEV at best. Those silly small rear doors? Huge long hood half empty inside? C'mon folks, you can do much better than a full size car with interior size of a small city car and ridiculously low range. Seems like they had to quickly put something together with a battery inside and call it EV to declare they produce one.

Every time Kyle say a car rippes or is ripping drink, You will die 😅😅. The charging did not rip so I’m still alive

The hybrid could be a great car if it has a big enough fuel tank

Got one...its real nicee! Not meant for heavy commuters who drive long distance, or crazy speeding, but perfect for local drivers. I recommend only leasing.

One of the best and most interesting reviews I have seen of this car. Personally, I love this EV. The way it looks, the interior style and quality are all awesome but the deal breaker to me is the battery size which relegates it to 2nd or 3rd car status for most people and totally rules it out for me. If they release a 50kwh version, I'd buy it for sure.

wait, so my instinct to set more regen on my Clarity as I enter a corner is kinda right? Little more weight up front to help those tires really pull... That's cool!

It has a lot of specs in common with the later VW egolf. The battery is almost exactly the same size, but that car gets 25% better epa range. This must not be very efficient

Mazda just needs to electrify the CX-5. Leave everything else about it the same as the ICE version; it's a best in class car, particularly the premium interior for the price point. The MX-30 is the Chevy Colbalt of EVs - it's crappy, last in its class, and won't appeal to anyone other than those Mazda fans who are too die-hard to look at another brand. I'd easily choose a Leaf or Bolt over the MX-30. This suggests Mazda is taking the Toyota approach to EVs. Which is too bad because I think they have (or rather, had) the opportunity to corner the EV market on the direction they've taken their ICE lineup: most premium feeling car you can get from a non-luxury badge. I have been in the CX-5 and it blows the likes of the CRV, RAV4, Equinox, Tiguan, etc away.

This car is really cute. Love the styling and color. Hope Mazda gets serious about it in the future, or drops about $10k off the price.

Gaddamn it I love the Mazda look and their interior quality but this is definitely a joke.

Best review I’ve seen on this!

"It drives great but just can't go anywhere "is a crazy complement Kyle hahahahaha

What an excellent review! Wow, you seem to know what you’re talking about. Great job. 👍

I really enjoy your videos but I have one criticism - they are simply too long. Can I suggest that you either cut them short or issue an abridged version together with your extended version.

This is why we love your channel Kyle. No BS, instead we get trustworthy journalism.

34:28 The fake engine sound reminds me of the original "Need for Speed" game from 1994. Was that on the Amiga? Probably, because it was a huge jump from the audio of 8 bit games. 😋

Have tried it, did love it! Great littlecar in so many ways. But it needs to dubble up in the range department, badly! That small battery is such a shame on an otherwise great little car.

Straight shooting review that’s spot on.🎯

Personal opinion!!!! I think if they made a striped out base model for 23-25K after tax insensitives it would be… ok but if this was my first car and I didn’t pay for it I wouldn’t mind but I rather have an i3 or Id-4

I like the style of it but not having at least 200 miles of range is a no go in 2021.

Thanks for the honest review, Kyle, and the display of driving skills that aren't usually seen in tests of non sports cars. Sadly, the MX-30 seems to be a half-hearted effort at best, which is a shame, because I've owned 4 Mazdas and loved them, but there's no way this one will be the 5th.

I’m interested to know if you made it to the charger and what speed you got?

Painful to see such a bad EV in 2021. Nice styling, great interior but poor range and charging ruin it. I’m sure Mazda is going to be like “Well people clearly don’t want EVs…” I wonder why…

The back doors are just a horrible decision. I purchased a 2016 Leaf, 30 kwh battery Christmas of 2018 for $15k with 15k miles on it, it's lost 22% on the battery and I still get over 90 miles in mild weather. I don't understand how MX-30 is so inefficient? I was very excited in finding about the details of this vehicle for months. I don't understand the decisions. I'm pushing for everyone to make a compelling EV. This would have been compelling in 2011. NOT in 2021

Currently I would only consider an EV as a second car then who needs more? I regularly have to make journeys of approx. 700 km one way (approx. 2-3x a month) so at the moment current EV‘s would be a pain. With my second car a normally make trips of 10-20 km, and those mainly in town traffic, for this the MX30 would be ideal.

A front-drive car with a major rearward weight bias (?!) may work okay in Southern California, but they're smart to keep it there. It would be a disaster during the winter here in Colorado. I get by with my front-drive hybrid, but most everyone in my rural, 7500' altitude neighborhood has AWD. Still leaning toward a Model Y as my next car.

If this range and other lack of specs seem laughable, it's because it's a compliance car. They wanna sell profitable Crossovers and this is what California requires. Mazda technically now has a full EV to stay in compliance in CA (it's only being sold in CA now).

Yeah, I’m thinking of getting one…. The elephant in the room is that the range goes as far as AA batteries. Sad really as it’s stunning but under neath is weak and short falls in distance. The reality is my mate has one and he struggles in driving it 80 miles. His words are he cannot wait to get rid of it…… take into account he may drive it like a mad man

nice to see this video, and an honest not-hype review, but CONSTANTLY moving the camera in hand-held was annoying

I love how they plaster their silly "Skyactiv" moniker all over the car, engine, and even the charge cord bag, as if it were some type of valid "technology". It's nothing more than a synonym for "Mazda powertrain". :D

Unless there are sub $80 per month leases offered Mazda will not be able to move all 560 units this year. Totally agree with Kyle.

So this is a year old video, but KZfaq put it at the front of my recommended list, so I watched it all the way through. And yes, I thought you were very harsh on Mazda with the title, and your overall comments. Let's face it, you tested the car in an urban area, and only went up in the mountains for an enthusiast's drive. As an urban vehicle, I would certainly consider it. I liked the full exterior, front and back. And the interior, where a driver will spend his or her time, was excellent; even you liked it. Slow charging, but most of my charging is level 2 at home and I have a solar PV system to charge "for free" on sunny days, and I don't drive every day since I'm a retiree. I'd only use commercial DC charging if I drove for several hours inter-city here in Florida. I have two deposits on Fisker's cars: Ocean and Pear. I think that we'll find out that the Pear is in the same general category as this Mazda, and selling for below $30k MSRP, so it will give Mazda a run for the money. By the time the Pear is in production, I probably wouldn't consider this Mazda, but who knows what they'll be selling by then. I'd be interested to know the feedback you got from Mazda after you returned the car and they saw your review.

Great journalism! I like really your honesty and knowledge!

Hey Kyle, I have to take my comments yesterday back - you finally found a vehicle that you don't fall in love with!

I would definitely buy this car if it weren’t for the range, but I’m still looking forward to see what Mazda will bring in the future. I see this just as a compliance car.

This is a perfect car for people who mostly drive in cities, but need a bigger car. In Norway the sell this car for around 22.000$ brand new.

There are no gas powered struts for the hood but the "rod" is visible at about the 5:11 mark (but impossible to operate with one hand holding the camera and the other one holding the hood, I get it :) ). Don't let Sandy Munro see under that hood by the way :-D Also: holy lens flare, Batman.

What is wrong with car companies? Why invest in trash when they have examples in the market of what will sell?

I honestly don't know why they bothered with this version. BUT, an EREV version would be compelling if they increased the power while they were at it. If it's fun on a back road but lacks the range to get you home, well, a rotary range extender solves that problem, and it would still be fully electric for 90% of your trips.

Clearly this will work out when they include the range extending rotary engine. Releasing this without it was not good for public perception with the range anxiety it will cause. I know EV buyers think PHEV's are dumb, but they have a purpose. Not everyone lives in homes where they can charge overnight, or just drives short distances in cities, or has fast chargers available everywhere they go. If I can get better range and lower fuel consumption than a regular ICE with a hybrid or PHEV that doesn't cost too much, it's still a win. I've crunched the numbers and for me, the cost of an EV doesn't make up to the cost of running comparable hybrid over a 10 year period where I live (i.e. Niro vs e-Niro). At least not yet.

I'd suggest that before you review a car you should do some research into the facts and features of the car. The reason the drivers seat has switches is because it electrically adjustable where as the passenger seat is not, it's manually adjustable.

Watching you drive this car brings back memories of driving a corvair.

Well here it is a few years later and it’s not selling for 8000 or anywhere close. This is a fantastic small electric car. A whole lotta people never drive more than 100 miles a day or anywhere near. Car is awesome.

Kyle, love your show and the unbiased pragmatic views. For this Mazda, outdated technology, below par battery, range and charging system, inadequate interior space, inefficient utilization of space (engine bay and seating), underpowered electric drive. As for the marketing and product specialist boffins who presented this vehicle to you and media, seems that they lack the automotive knowledge and enthusiasm.

It seems like perhaps they should've released the hybrid first, which would still have practical range and day to day use and then keep working on the all EV model. This is essentially at the point the KIA Soul EV was at in 2017, at least range wise. It is light years behind most pure EVs in 2022. Mazda is not a big car manufacturer and I think it would have behooved them to work on an EV power train with Subaru as a joint venture, and that would have shared some costs to come up with something better...

2010 called, they want their compliance EV back.

Thanks for the effort on this one Kyle. Someone had to do it... I see this as even less of an effort than Nissan made with the Leaf. It's so half-hearted, Mazda made their mark and got known for good performance with the rotaries. This, is a non-event.

Not sorry I skipped this one 😃

I kinda like this Mazda, maybe too replace my smart electric if these show up off lease in 3 years for a decent price.

The strut bar is in the front. It’s that long black thing right in front of your face. If it was any bigger it would have bitten you.

I like it. Better range than my 2018 Honda Clarity and more features than the Honda. Looks like a great around town car, not a road tripper unless you want to fast charge every 100 miles. Not sure if the battery is actively cooled?

Since its an electric car yet has a big thick console between the front seats, I wonder if they could also include a great big hump in the floor between the back seats.

I don't really see the appeal of this car, but they are fairly common here in Germany. There seems to be a market for them

From your EA charging session, it looks to be about 32 KWh net. That should give it around 115 miles or so of range.

Does the MX-30 come with low rolling resistance tires?

Kyle, if you are testing cars in Orange County, may I suggest the Ortega Highway state route 74 that cuts through the Santa Ana mountains? You wouldn’t have to drive through Orange and Los Angeles Counties just to get to Angeles Crest Highway. I drove this route when I test drove the Audi e-tron. Definitely a good route for elevation changes and swerving through mountain canyons.

My Goodness that bottom side of the car plastic looks like a huge Bumper all the way around. Also this is great video Kyle! I love hearing the truth!

22:42 that chime is absolutely terrible

Can you get one with a rotary? Does anyone know?

I can't wait until the range extender phev comes out. I had a Chevy Geo metro sedan 4 cylinder that I used to drive in the Colorado mountains and fling around curves using the same driving technique. I wonder what the phev rotary engine when they put it up front will do to the weight distribution and handling.

That is the same EVSE the Prius Prime comes with. It also works at 240V 12A if you adapt it to a 240V receptacle.

Ha, I have that same L1 charger with my Honda Clarity PHEV. Use it all the time.

When you pop the hood, I can see that pole or bar thing running along the front that would hold the hood up. I guess usually it’s on the left hand side but this one is stored along front edge.

Just checked the US car shopping websites and I’m unable to find a new MX-30 anywhere in the United States. Did Mazda discontinue it?

I own a mild hybrid mx-30..I love the car and the driving experience. As long as they put a range extender I would trade it in a heartbeat.

Geeez. I get 125 in my 2016 Kia Soul EV and bought in in 2020 for $10k. This is a nope.