At first glance, you may wonder---is it a hatchback or a small crossover or what?
You can be forgiven for asking those questions about the 2023 Mazda CX-30. Unlike its larger sibling, the CX-50, the CX-30 doesn't quite telegraph "SUV" with the same broad-shouldered design language. Ultimately, the answer is yes. To both. And it's that blend of attributes that makes it Mazda's second-best selling vehicle so far this year, behind the excellent CX-5.
There's not much new to report for 2023. Non-turbo versions of the CX-30 get a five horsepower jump to 191, the turbos like our tester continue to make 227 horsepower (250 if you feed it 93 octane premium), which means 0-60 sprints in the low 6-second range and a combined EPA city/highway fuel economy estimate of 25 miles per gallon. All CX-30s are all-wheel drive.
Our tester takes the CX-30 formula as far as it can go---the CX-30 2.5 Turbo AWD with Premium Plus package. Premium Plus means something, since even Mazda's base interiors show premium design-think as well as premium materials and workmanship.
Base price is $36,675 including destination and that price brings a power liftgate, heated steering wheel with paddle shifters, available black or white leather seats, Bose 12-speaker premium audio, Mazda Navigation, Active Driving Display with Traffic Sign Recognition, Adaptive Front-lighting System, shark fin antenna, frameless auto-dim rearview mirror, heated door mirrors with memory positioning, and windshield wiper de-icer. This package also includes LED signature illumination headlights and taillights, gloss black exterior accents, black metallic 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels, a 360° View Monitor with front and rear parking sensors, Rear Direction Base Safety, which includes Smart Brake Support-Rear and Rear Cross-Traffic Braking, Traffic Jam Assist, Homelink added to the frameless auto-dim rearview mirror, and auto-dim driver's door mirror.
And apart from $595 for the Machine Gray Metallic paint and $135 for a stainless rear bumper guard, that's it. The as-tested price of the 2023 Mazda CX-30 2.5 Turbo AWD with Premium Plus Package is $37,405.
That bottom line of the window sticker actually puts the top-of-the-line CX-30 below the average price of a new car these days---making it a bargain for the performance and feature content it offers.
