2024 Mazda CX-30 G25 GT SP review

At the smaller end of Mazda's extensive SUV range, the Mazda CX-30 provides a smart stepping-stone from the sporty, but low-riding, Mazda 3 hatch, without the need to move all the way to the bigger CX-5.

It's not just Mazda's own range that's congested. In the mainstream small SUV under $45,000 class, where the CX-30 sits, the Mazda is one of 22 vehicles available. In order to give it the widest appeal possible, the CX-30 comes in a broad spread of 10 different variants, with a choice of two engines, plus front- or all-wheel drive.

At the upper end of the range, the CX-30 G25 GT SP pairs the higher-performance 2.5-litre engine with black trim highlights and a bold red interior for a look that's more premium, and just a little sporty.

The Mazda CX-30 runs up against a wide range of competitors, including the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Kia Seltos, Nissan Qashqai, Renault Arkana, Subaru Crosstrek, Volkswagen T-Roc, and more.

There are a few price points to note in the CX-30 range. The cheapest G20 Pure model starts from $33,940 with a 2.0-litre engine, a six-speed automatic, and two-wheel drive. To move up to the more powerful 2.5-litre model means stepping up to the CX-30 G25 Touring from $41,140.

Only the bigger-engined G25 models are available with all-wheel drive, and then only in the two top GT SP and Astina grades, from $45,140 to $48,340 – all before on-road costs.

Opt for the CX-30 G25 GT SP as shown here with two-wheel drive and the price starts from $43,140 plus on-road costs, plus $595 for the premium Zircon Sand paint colour shown here, and an optional Vision Technology Pack – but at the time of writing Mazda was running a $3000 discount on the on-road costs for a new CX-30, bringing the drive-away price of this car down to a reasonable $45,892, though final costs may vary by location.

The step up to GT SP brings upgrades like dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, heated front seats and steering wheel, a powered driver's seat, and tilt-slide glass sunroof. Some of the 'SP' touches centre around black 18-inch alloy wheels, gloss black mirror caps, and burgundy leather seat trim.

At just a touch under 4.4m long and 1.8m wide, the CX-30 is a close match to the Mazda 3 hatch. Height is the key difference, at 1.54m for the CX-30 and 1.34m for the Mazda 3.

Because the CX-30 offers crossover-SUV ride height and access, it's an easier car to get into. The seat base is positioned a little higher, and head room is a touch more generous, but despite the taller stance, the sleek design still doesn't offer the truly open and airy cabin feel of some rivals.

Mazda's interior design is sleek and modern, but some elements of the brand's adherence to a sportier style may not click with everyone. The cockpit-like wrap-around dash and low-rise infotainment screen won't suit everyone, but does help bridge the gap between hatchback and SUV.

Interior space is most generous in the front seats, with good head and leg room, and reasonable width. Interior storage may not hit the mark for pack rats, but there's a small open tray ahead of the gear selector that houses a wireless charge pad, and a pair of cupholders. Under the lidded armrest, there's another compact space, and the door pockets are slim but do have a bottle holder recess.

The front seats are quite comfortable, but broad-shouldered occupants may find them a snug fit. Power adjustment for the driver's seat and two-position memory make getting set and saving your preferred position a breeze – great for households who share driving duties.

Rear seats are less spacious, with knee room on the short side, but the head room is more typical for the small SUV segment. The rear seats are sculpted to more readily accept two occupants, with a raised centre section that reduces accommodation.

The rear seats have vents in the back of the centre console, a fold-down armrest with cupholders, and bottle holders in the doors, but no USB ports or window shades. Two ISOFIX and three top-tether points are also fitted in the rear.

Boot space isn't particularly generous either, but should do the job for a couple's weekend-away luggage. The boot measures 317 litres, smaller than the 407-litre Kona and 418-litre Qashqai.

The rear seats have a 60:40 split and can be folded to free up additional space. There's no hidden under-floor storage and no bag hooks, but there are tie-down points to secure cargo. Under the boot floor is a space-saver spare wheel.

Lower-spec versions of the CX-30 range come with a slightly smaller 8.8-inch colour display, but the G25 GT SP is one of the upscale variants fitted with a larger 10.25-inch screen (which can be optioned onto models with the smaller screen). All variants come with satellite navigation, AM/FM/DAB+ radio, plus wireless (and wired) Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

In the GT SP, mobile phone connectivity can be via a wired or wireless connection, and audio is pumped through an eight-speaker unbranded sound system.

As part of a 2024 update, Mazda has added Mazda Connected Services to the CX-30 range, allowing owners to remotely lock their car, flash the headlights, or start the car remotely. Stolen vehicle tracking and SOS calls are also included. Access to connected services is complimentary for the first three years of ownership.

Mazda's low and wide infotainment display doesn't feel like the most ideal solution. The in-house software is high-contrast white text on a black background, and moving through the on-screen menus is quite simple and intuitive.

A rotary dial allows the driver to move through the system without needing to take their eyes off the road, and shortcut buttons for maps and music work for both the Mazda infotainment system, or for apps within CarPlay and Android Auto when connected. Although not designed as a touchscreen, the system can be used as one when stopped, or turned to a full-time touchscreen via a setting that's not active by default.

The CX-30 range carries a five-star ANCAP rating, first issued in 2019. As ANCAP imposes stricter test criteria every few years, a more recent five-star result and an older five-star vehicle may not meet the same standard.

In the individual assessment section, the CX-30 received a 99 per cent adult occupant protection rating, an 88 per cent child occupant protection rating, plus 80 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 76 per cent for safety assist systems. This rating is set to expire in December 2025.

The CX-30 is fitted with seven airbags, including driver and passenger front, front-seat side, full-length curtain airbags and a driver's knee airbag.

For 2024, the CX-30 range is equipped with autonomous emergency braking (AEB, with pedestrian and cyclist detection) called Smart Brake Support, plus rear AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, speed sign recognition, auto high beam, radar cruise control with stop-and-go, a reverse camera and rear park sensors.

The GT SP also includes front park sensors. Features bundled in with the optional Vision Technology Package include front cross-traffic alert, cruising and traffic support cruise control, which adds a wider scope of adaptive cruise-control functions, and a 360-degree camera.

The upgrade to the $1300 Vision Technology Package is worth it for the addition of the 360-degree cameras and front cross-traffic alert, but the low-speed cruising and traffic support features of the cruise control aren't the most fluent or natural. It's possible to switch to regular adaptive cruise control easily enough.

Features like the lane keeping are stringent, and don't like when the driver pulls to the side of a lane to let filtering motorcycles through, but as speed picks up, the system behaves well, and feels fluent and natural. In my time with the car, there were no false alerts from the AEB system, although the blind-spot alert and cross-traffic systems do tend to chime in situations that don't always feel necessary.

The speed sign recognition system does a good job of capturing fixed (painted) speed signs, and can even alert you if a speed zone is conditional or time-based (like in a school zone). Overhead digital speed signs on highways weren't always accurately detected, so 80km/h zones could be detected as 60 or 30km/h zones.

Mazda offers a capped-price service program to allow you to preview service pricing before your car is due. In the case of the CX-30, services are set every 12 months or 15,000km, and the first five service visits are priced at $352, $552, $427, $552, and $352 for each service as they progress.

CX-30 servicing is not too far afield from key rivals, with five years totalling $2235 compared to a Hyundai Kona 1.6T costing $2535 over five years, and a Nissan Qashqai costing $2916 over the same period.

The Mazda range is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, matching rivals that mostly offer five-year warranties, although some brands have longer terms.

Looking at insurance costs, we were quoted $1616 annually using a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male, living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances. Curiously, insuring the same variant without the Vision Technology package is slightly cheaper, at $1607 per year.

Those same details for a similarly priced Hyundai Kona Premium N Line were slightly cheaper at $1502, while a Nissan Qashqai ST-L was quoted at $1545.

The larger 2.5-litre engine in the Mazda CX-30 is rated at 6.6 litres per 100 kilometres, with front-wheel drive. The 2.0-litre models in the range claim 6.3L/100km, while the all-wheel-drive 2.5-litre is rated at 6.8L/100km.

In my week with the car, consumption was 7.3L/100km over a mix of start-stop commuter traffic and lower-speed open-road runs, plus the short shops-and-back trips that make up an average week.

It's a figure that could probably be sharper. The CX-30 comes with an idle-stop system to switch off the engine when stationary and cylinder deactivation to shut down two cylinders when cruising to reduce consumption, but their impact isn't as noticeable as something like a fully-fledged hybrid.

The latter of the two, the cylinder deactivation, also makes the engine run roughly, shaking the cabin with a sensation that's similar to an engine misfire. There's no way to switch this system off either, so on longer high-speed trips, it's a constant annoyance.

There's a certain polish, or a little extra effort, that Mazda puts into its mainstream cars to give them a more fluent feel on the road.

The CX-30 benefits from this. It's quiet and refined in most situations, and can handle sub-20km/h peak-hour grinds without breaking a sweat, but when conditions improve, out of town it has settled suspension, connected steering, and fairly pert handling.

Performance from the 2.5-litre engine is decent but not record-setting. There's 139kW and 252Nm, but because this engine isn't turbocharged, the latter figure needs plenty of revs to access. Turbo rivals have more mid-range urgency.

You'll likely notice this around town. Moving off from a stop is fluent, and brisk enough, but the rolling traffic that sits anywhere from 20 to 80km/h on suburban streets and arterial roads forces the Mazda to work a little harder.

It's not a massive problem, but the nicely serene interior does give way to a tinny engine sound as you increase revs. It's not terrible, but it does dial back Mazda's premium feel just a little.

The six-speed automatic transmission is nice and smooth. It's great at parking and low-speed moves, free from jerking and hesitation, and because it's not a CVT it avoids droning if you need a burst of acceleration to rush up to speed for a freeway on-ramp. There's a sport mode too, which holds onto gear longer and kicks down more eagerly if you'd like.

There's an underlying tension to the ride quality. It's not exactly stiff, and deals with bumps and potholes quite well, but it's also quick to settle and not as wallowy as some might like.

Its steering is nicely balanced. The CX-30 feels confident on long straights, with no twitching or nervousness. Bring things down to parking speeds and there's plenty of assistance to make slotting into tight confines easier.

Forward visibility is good, with slim windscreen pillars making it easy to see what's around you at intersections. Over-the-shoulder visibility is impacted by the wide rear pillars, and not helped by small door mirrors that make it hard to check blind spots effectively.

Both front- and all-wheel-drive variants of the CX-30 are rated to up to 1200kg with a braked trailer or 600kg unbraked. That's a decent amount for a small SUV, and enough to allow you to move a garden trailer, golf cart, or jet ski, but sees most camper trailers or compact caravans off-limits. The towball limit is just 80kg, though, which can limit towing potential.

With a very likeable presentation and an upmarket-feeling interior, the CX-30 leaves a strong impression. Add in a long list of luxurious features, and nimble handling, and the CX-30 builds a strong case for itself.

That case is, however, slightly conditional. This isn't the roomiest SUV you can buy at this size, but for singles or couples who don't need to fill the boot and back seat regularly, it fits the bill.

With some quibbles on the open road that are better hidden around town, urban dwellers may find the most to like in this package. The small SUV market in Australia is a busy one, though, and a compelling range of similarly near-premium mainstream models make the CX-30's job of standing out from the crowd just that little bit harder.

Mazda has a broad range of CX-30 models to pick from, and for most buyers the 2.0-litre G20 would be fine, but the added punch from the larger-engined G25 models is just a little more enticing. The GT SP tested here has plenty of equipment included, making the move up to the top-spec Astina feel a little unnecessary.

Mazda dealers have a good selection of stock on hand, with new cars arriving regularly, so finding your ideal car shouldn't be a lengthy process. You can configure a CX-30 on the Mazda website. Once you've locked in your preferred colour and trim combo, you can find a Mazda dealer here and book a test drive.

You can also find Mazdas for sale at Drive Marketplace. For the latest Mazda CX-30 updates since this article was published, you'll find all your Mazda CX-30 news here.