While other manufacturers have long since jumped on the electric car bandwagon, Mazda just revealed its first near-production concept at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. It’s called the Mazda MX-30 — a model name which explains a trademark application filed earlier this year, now bestowed on this EV crossover. Fittingly for the brand’s first offering without an internal combustion engine, the MX-30 looks totally different from Mazdas of yesteryear. It does share some resemblance with the company’s Kodo design, though Mazda says it went in a different direction
“more in touch with emerging new lifestyles and values.”
To that end, one of the Mazda MX-30 highlights is its Freestyle rear-hinged doors. If that looks familiar to you, it’s a styling cue reminiscent of the old Mazda RX-8. While that car remains in the automotive graveyard, it’s nice to see one of its styling cues live on. The doors open 82 degrees in the front and 80 degrees in the rear, which should help with front and rear access a bit easier given the MX-30’s small stature.
The interior uses a wide range of sustainable materials, according to Mazda. The raised center console sports a chunky gear shifter and rotary dials for the infotainment system, but not much else. As is fashionable in modern cars, there’s a screen just ahead of the shifter for climate controls, including the heated seats.
In terms of performance, the Mazda MX-30 has a 35.5 kWh battery pack and a single electric motor, but Mazda did not mention any specific figures. The company did say it supports CHAdeMO or Combo DC fast charging, as well as 6-kWh AC home charging. While it is front-wheel drive only, it does have “Electric G-Vectoring Control Plus”, a new iteration of the brand’s torque vectoring technology.
There’s no word on how much the Mazda MX-30 will cost or when it will be available. We’re looking at the European version here, and it may change slightly for the U.S. market. That’s if the MX-30 makes it to the U.S. market at any point in the near future, which is an unknown quantity at the moment. Perhaps a longer range version will come along — this is more of an urban car with its smaller battery — and that will make it more palatable to American customers. With 35.5 kWh on tap, it’s likely the car lands somewhere in the 100 to 125-mile ball park on range.
