Mazda MX-30 First UK Drives Take Place in Yorkshire

Mazda has brought its first ever electric vehicle, the MX-30 crossover, to Yorkshire for a first drive event — one of four scheduled around the UK this month.

After resisting electrification longer than most manufacturers, save the mild-hybrid “iELOOP” system in some cars, Mazda has finally brought its first fully battery-powered car to the market.

That makes it quite the landmark car for the brand, which had been focussing on improving the efficiency of its combustion engines with a view to minimising lifetime emissions. Its SkyActiv-X engine was the most recent step along that path.

The event, based at Broughton Hall near Skipton, would be a first chance for many to get up close with the car.

MX-30 is only the fourth car to bear the “MX” name, shorthand for “Mazda Experimental”, after the MX-3 and MX-6 coupes of the mid-1990s and, most famously, the MX-5 convertible which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. It further harks back to some Mazda heritage by way of the rear “suicide” doors, as with the RX-8 coupe.

In another example of “right-sizing”, the MX-30 comes with a relatively small battery pack. It has a capacity of just 35.5kWh, equating to around 124 miles of range, but Mazda says this is to keep battery costs and weight — and the emissions penalty from dragging a large battery pack around — down, given that the UK average journey is just 26 miles.

That should mean you can get your weekly driving done on one charge of the MX-30, if you’re careful with the 105kW (141hp) motor which drives the front wheels. However, there are plans for a version with a range extender petrol engine, which — in another throwback — will be a rotary unit.

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