2026 Mazda CX-30 Turbo: Plenty of kicks from kicking it old school
The one where Mr. Driver’s Seat realizes he was right all along on the way of the upshift and is charmed by the ergonomics and oomph in this pocket-rocket crossover.
2026 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus vs. 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Limited Hybrid: Tiny all-wheel drive face off.
Price: The top-of-the-line Premium Plus starts at $37,900. The CX-30 starts at $25,975.
Conventional wisdom: “Highs: Interior gives off luxury vibes, seriously speedy for its segment, all-wheel drive is standard. Lows: Snug-fitting rear seat, fuel economy belies its small size, infotainment learning curve,” says Car and Driver.
Marketer’s pitch: “Go in style.”
Reality: Go, with smiles.
What’s new: A larger touchscreen and new Aire editions with more black stuff highlight this year’s model. It hasn’t really gotten much new since its 2020 debut.
Competition: In addition to the Subaru Crosstrek, there are the Buick Encore GX, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Honda HR-V, Ford Bronco Sport, Hyundai Kona, Kia Seltos, Toyota Corolla Cross, and Volkswagen Taos.
Up to speed: If you think a little vehicle like the Mazda CX-30 Turbo is right in Mazda’s wheelhouse, you’d be correct. The tall vehicle with the narrow stance and short wheelbase feels like driving a foal, but a foal with plenty of sprint.
The small crossover and its 227-horsepower turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine gets to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, according to Car and Driver. It feels, maybe not faster, but definitely funner. (The horsepower jumps to 250 if you want to take out a second mortgage and pay for 93 octane fuel.)
Shifty: Part of the fun comes from the tried-and-true driver setup. It took me a minute to get everything arranged when I received the car, but after a short bit, I realized the best way to drive was the old-fashioned way — one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on the shifter.
I’ve lost my interest in shifting most vehicles these days, mainly paddle shifters, but in many cases shifter levers as well. First, the ergonomics are wrong, with shifters that are not shaped for hanging onto or sitting in the right place, and, second, shifters push to upshift rather than pull.
I used to shout from my “upshift = pull” soapbox when I was a Mr. Driver’s Seat noob in the early 2010s, but most manufacturers went with the push-to-upshift model, and so I shut up about it. Sorry, but I’ve come to realize that’s wrong, you’re all wrong, except for Mazda and I think BMW. And it’s the CX-30 that helped me see.
The six-speed transmission doesn’t have enough ticks, and Mazda has it tuned to shift too early in Normal mode and too late in Sport mode, so thank heavens it’s fun to shift it yourself.
On the road: Oh the places you’ll go … too fast. I was just zipping here and flying there over narrow roads and old lanes all around Chester County. I even took corners at lively speeds. Yeehaw! Watch out everyone, here I come!
Highways were no sacrifice, though, as is often the case with small sporty units. The turbo has plenty of passing power and the suspension could hold up to most of the rough surfaces Pennsylvania could throw at it. The standard all-wheel drive — on every CX-30 model — helps on all counts.
Driver’s Seat: The seats were not fancy and certainly not large, but the ride was comfortable. The padding was just this side of stiff but my back and leg soreness from stringing Christmas lights and browsing Christmas Village were not worsened.
The gauges are standard Mazda, with real dials for speed, engine speed, and even fuel and temperature. The old analog display is a much better idea, something driven home by all the stories of fancy digital dashboards going blank — one that I lived my own self.
Friends and stuff: We took Sturgis Kid 4.0 and a friend to Philly from Chester County. It was snug for them, but no real complaints. (A third passenger may have raised the sadness level to 11, though; this narrow vehicle would be quite snug.)
Cargo space amounts to a cozy 20.2 and 45.2 cubic feet, with seats up or down, respectively.
In and out: The CX-30 height is quite nice, just like most of the competition.
Play some tunes: Sound from the system is a delight, about an A.
Operation features a touchscreen and dial and buttons, so there’s something for everyone. Unlike Car and Driver, I’ve always found the dial and buttons to be a snap to use.
Keeping warm and cool: Dials control the temperature and buttons control everything else. A small display that’s not far down the dashboard at all makes it easy to know what you just did.
Fuel economy: I averaged just under 24 mpg in an extremely spirited week of testing.
Where it’s built: Salamanca, Mexico
How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the CX-30 reliability to be a 3 out of 5.
Next week: How does this compare to Subaru’s new Crosstrek Hybrid?
