This is a great example of what most cars on the road should be. Stop trying to get the general public to think they need a fast 0-60 time. Put the time money and effort into making cars as easy to live with as possible.
I agree, i have had evs for five years a leased tesla 3 a leased kia soul and now i own a bmw i3 rex to stop wasting money on leasing, i will never use public charging i will never plan a journey around a charger, yep no hunt the charger for me but i love evs so the i3 or the mazda is fine for me , the downside of the mazda, why put the petrol engine in the front, i don't want to hear it , the i3 has a noisy engine engine but i can't hear it as it is burried under the rear floor...
@@PetrolPed you "agree" yet one of your content tittles is "not a performance car". Would have a content tittle on a Porsche 911 review be "not a package delivery car" ?? or "not a family car"? nope, because you and your posting peers are all essentially the same.. "must have fast car".. not unlike a 17 year old. Not to mention someone demonstrating zero sense of style themselves, commenting on car styling...
I am 12000 miles into the ownership of a 2018 BMW i3 REX. Same idea but built on a carbon fibre and aluminium chassis and with 120 to 150 miles of pure plug in range. I’ve done several 300 mile days and one trip over 500 miles with no issues and no range anxiety. It’s a great idea for your first electric car. My commute now costs me 95p as opposed to £5 and I only ever use the range extender 650cc engine on long trips.
The i3 still hasn't been surpassed and should have been used as the design philosophy for future BMW EVs rather than forcing the EV issue into combustion engine designs. The i3 with improved battery tech and a 250 miles range would be 👌🏻👌🏻
I have 2 of these! So my wife and I don’t fight for the keys! Imagine how good the I3 would be with a more modern battery. Of course the reality is that they were just way too expensive to build. Shame.
Hi Stephen can you confirm what the range is on a single charge and using the engine please? I have looked at these before but discounted them because of the maximum range.
@@al1356 BMW have three battery sizes and in the UK only the smaller two were available with the range extender. Mine is the middle battery size and offers a minimum of 120 miles in winter on pure electric and up to 150 miles in Summer. You can also play with the modes and push for more mileage if needed
I bought one. On a 90% charge did 122 miles and returned 60mpg with 45% still in the battery on return. Electrically, it did 4.4miles/kwh also and on 90% in the battery, did 32 miles before the engine kicked in at 40% charge. So it definitely works! If you’re a motorway cruiser spending hours on the motorway, it’s no good, you’ll get south of 40mpg. But if you do regular short trips with the odd long one, and then short trips from that destination and you can charge, it’s great. And yesterday, a 122mile trip, showed it was great for the occasional extended trip too. And it’s lovely to drive too and personally, the rear doors don’t bother me, I rarely carry passengers. So far, very pleased.
I have this car. It’s great but this review on its economy misses the point. You always use EV mode when your drive takes you within a circular drive back to your wall charger. You can use ‘Normal’ and in this mode the car will run on electric to about 40% (20 miles) when the engine kicks in keeping the battery at this 40% level. The trick is to work out how many miles back to base. If there are 25 miles of battery charge left and you are within 25 miles of home, switch from ‘Normal’ back to EV. For longer runs, use ‘Normal’ and settle for, say 40% of charge. This will stay more or less constant for the entire trip. I never put the car in ‘Charge’ mode. Why? Petrol consumption increases (about 36-38 mpg) as the engine works harder to increase the battery charge level and drive the car. I would only use ‘Charge’ mode if I was expecting to drive across a city and felt my green credentials should put me into EV mode - that is increasing my electric range from 40% (the point at which the engine is running) to, say, 80% which will give me 20+ miles of EV before I click back to ‘Normal’ again with the engine just sustaining that 40% level. For those long drives, I leave the car in ‘Normal’ and let it take care of itself but always being aware that I have 20+ miles of electric that I need to use up before recharging again. Recharging at a public charge point isn’t worth it as the cost per mile is far more than the car charging itself. Love the car.
I have done 1200 miles (2000km) mostly local but several longer runs. I have spent about £45 on fuel (about 30 litres). That works out at an average mpg of about 180. This will improve over next three weeks as I have no long drives (more than 60 miles in day. Electric costs are 2 pence a mile. Overall, this is a cheap car to run if you are not spending life on a motorway. Ideal for two people and occasional two in rear. My last phev managed about 58 mpg as EV range was 32 and a big engine to haul around when battery empty. Don't forget that depreciation can be a big financial loser that wipes out petrol costs. This car suits my life style. Running costs are low. Good to drive and excellent interior. Avoid Charge mode. Some supermarkets have charging costs lower than fuel and useful for a top up.
Two advantages to all electric drive train is ( as you mentioned) eliminate the complexity and cost of a gearbox Secondly the petrol engine runs at its most efficient because it only has to run at its most efficient speed.
One more advantage : In the future the petrol engine (generator) could be replaced with one that runs on biofuels or hydrogen without needing to touch the drivetrain at all.
@@KTPurdy I see where you are coming from, but . . . Human nature (laziness) now comes into play. I plug in once a week to cover 5x30 miles. This Mazda needs to be plugged in nightly. After a while people don’t bother, and just treat it like a petrol car.
Had an overnight test drive of one of these from Hendy in Eastbourne a couple of days ago and loved it. On a 50mile journey of mixed motorways and up and over the hills of the South Downs and then Beachy Head, I got 50mpg and 4.2miles/kwh. And I didn’t hang about! Mightily impressed. Will be ordering one after the bank holiday.
At last, a manufacturer that has used their technology to produce an efficient, compact, practical car rather than a 0-60 in 2 seconds monster. Great car, well done Mazda and great review, well done you PP.
I was with Mazda for nearly 5 years and when the normal MX30 came out it didn’t do very well. When this came out I sold more of these in 3 months than I sold EV 30’s the whole time I was there! It’s a great car! I own a CX30 myself. Had a Mazda 3 also! The CX5 is probably one of the best looking, reliable and affordable SUV’s on the market! Great cars! Mazda are really overlooked in many ways! I have more spec in my mid range CX30 than a high spec X2 with no packs on it! Drives nicer too!! Love it!! 🥰
Another Mazda man here, nearly 30 years with them now retired. I have a CX-5 a CX-30 and 3 MX-5's in the family. This MX-30 seems an ideal compromise for those who don't need a huge car with a heavy battery.
When I saw the original mx30 and the news that there'll be a REX version, I thought the pure electric one makes no sense but the REX is a great car and decided to wait. Now I bought a used pure electric, the 15k$ price tag & government policies in Germany changed the equation...
Mazda is kind of what Honda were back in the 90's when it comes to cleaver ideas. Here in New Zealand you can buy that car in a dark metallic red ( think raspberry ) with a silver roof. Looks great. However, 1800kg. I remember when I raced my series 1 Rx7 it was under 1000kg. Modern cars are heavy.
@@thereformer They only have the previous MX-30 in Canada ( the all electric one). I think this new version makes way more sense but I don't know if they are going to release it in North America.
@@jamierose4088Toyota are a force beyond anything on the road, having owned 3 Mazdas each for over 200k miles, nothing negative to report on their quality. Toyota are currently facing numerous major recalls in many of their products...I hope their tie-up with Mazda doesn't negatively impact Mazdas reputation. A happy 'old skool' Toyota owner!!
@mr.g702 That's anadotal. Toyota goes top 5 reliability for 20 years. Mazda doesn't even get top 10. Mazda's start needing repairs at 100K. Toyotas are just getting broken in at 100K. Tundra, Corolla, Camry, Prius and 4 Runner are the most reliable vehicles made. I drove my Trundra 200K miles. $2000 in bearing and an AC compressor. Tires and brakes. It depreciated $16K (50%) in 10 years. It's in its own class compared to all the 40 plus vehicles I've owned. My 2nd Tundra has 150K miles. Nothing but brakes and tires. The oil doesn't even get dirty. You can barely see it on the stick.
If you look at what japanese brands live the longest there are loads of 20+ year old Mazdas and no Toyotas here in Sweden where we have problems with salt on the roads because of snow in winter. Toyotas rust up very quickly.
Excellent review. I drive a 23 plate Mazda CX-30 Skyactiv-X MHEV with a petrol engine. It has a supercharger, but in the same way it’s not for performance, but economy and regularly returns 52+ mpg. It’s also slightly more powerful and has more torque than the Skyactiv-G MHEV engine, which doesn’t have the supercharger. I love what Mazda have done with the MX-30 rotary engine and Bev drivetrain. They are one of the few manufacturers recognising pure BEVs are not the whole answer or the perfect solution. Whilst they have no tailpipe emissions, they still negatively impact the environment across the whole lifecycle. NB. Land Rover have addressed the slow electric front seat issue for access to 2nd row passengers on the Defender 90 by introducing a manual tilt and slide front passenger seat on the latest model ;)
According to the specs, it’s got a 51 litre tank, circa 11.2 gallons in old money. It costs me around £70 to fill up from empty, based on £1.40 for a litre of unleaded, so sounds about right.
Do you know why french guys (like me) love this TH-cam channel ? 1. ALWAYS interesting content 2. The driver speaks slowly (excellent for french speaking people) 3. The 'P' of the channel logo is made of the french flag colors ('bleu' 'blanc' 'rouge') To summarize: j'adore cette chaîne TH-cam 👍
Finally a decent balanced review. This vehicle didn't last long in the United States but we also never got the rotary engine model. I love the exterior styling and the interior as well. I think if they had offered the range extender rotary in the US, I would be driving this today. And thank you for addressing the issue of acceleration times. Just because some EVs can get to 60 in 3 seconds doesn't mean that kind of acceleration is needed and in some situations, I would say it isn't wanted. Many drivers are no ready to handle that type of acceleration.
Yea the small range of the all ev version, killed that car in the states. I'm hoping that once Mazda gets enough of these sold elsewhere, and work out the bugs, that they re-introduce the car in the states. I use to own a 2014 Chevy volt and this is the same thing in how it operates but bigger.
I agree 100% that this drivetrain is the best for plug-in hybrids. Easy for me to say, as I drive a 2013 Chevy Volt that has exactly this setup - the gas motor never touches the wheels, just extends the range of the battery. The battery always keeps the electric motor driving the wheels. I would love to see you do a side-by-side comparison of a Volt with this Mazda! GM had such a good PHEV, they kept making it until 2019, then killed it. Sarcasm intended. Another thought - what if Mazda did a sports version? An 1100 cc rotary gas motor should push it a lot faster. One more note: since the 87 mph limit is computer controlled, can you disable the limiter and get the true top speed? Thanks again for your report, your fan, Tom Gearing
@@jaaklucas1329 Yeah GM is scrambling to get back to where they were seeing how Toyota is doing so well with their Prime and HEV options, pretty much is 10 year old GM gen 2 Voltec numbers. If GM kept developing Voltec and offered an HEV and PHEV version in their small pickups and CUVs they would be doing pretty well right now, especially considering how battery constrained they are right now!
Love the car, I’ve had 5 Mazda’s over my lifetime and they’ve always been very reliable and fun to drive. I’ve got the new Mazda 3 takumi on order. Hoping you get more Mazda’s on the channel soon. 😊 Great and informative review Pete, Keep up the hard work.
Great, concise film Peter . I remember working with Mazda and I had many RX8 demos. As you said, terrible oil and fuel consumption, but great performance from a little 1300cc Wankel engine. This car seems to have figured out how to take away the range anxiety, but still giving you a choice of how you power it. Well done Mazda for thinking outside of the box. 👏
As a former RX8 owner I'd be interested to know what the oil consumption of that rotary is, also how often it needs the oil changed. The doors bring back happy memories though.
The second gen Voltec was even better, GM should have stuck with developing it, they would be so far ahead of everyone else by now. But in typical GM fashion they ignored the engineers and gave the suits and bean counters the reigns for short term gains instead of long term vision. I'm all for full BEV, but they just don't have the battery production numbers to role out millions of them the way they can with HEVs or PHEVs. 1 BEV = 4+ PHEVs = 40+ HEVs.
Recharging the battery using a small, lightweight rotary engine is a stroke of genius. A great way to solve the range anxiety conundrum, and it comes wrapped in Mazda's beautiful design language. I generally detest EVs, but I can honestly see myself living with one of these. Love the doggy!
It isn't, it gets terrible fuel economy has a tiny range due to small battery so it ends up working all the time on petrol. Watch some other TH-cam videos on it, you will see
Sounds very interesting. We've ran Mazdas since 1997. They do build very reliable cars. Our current Mazda is the CX30 which from an infotainment perspective is very similar and just works brilliant. The top models do come fully loaded, and even at £39+ do represent excellent value. Residual values have always been good. Sounds like an excellent car. Can't understand why BMW didn't put a bigger tank on the I3.
I have a plug-in Honda Clarity that works very similar to this vehicle. I have found the best use of this vehicle is not to run the battery all the way down. When you travel, put the vehicle in hybrid mode. Save battery for all your local driving when you arrive. We do almost all our daily driving on EV mode. The engine in the clarity is an Atkinson cycle engine, and never really ever idles. The transmission is an EVCT that has two electric motors. There is no traction belt. The electric motors do almost all the propulsion. If you do happen to use the entire battery and don’t have the ability to plug it up the car can’t charge itself while you’re driving. You just have to put it in the charge vehicle mode. Works great. We love it.
Yep, can't wait for them to put a performance hybrid two or three rotor version with an h shift in a modified Miata chassis for another fun RX driver's car!
@@anydaynow01So what would that look like? 13B N/A with 850 cc single rotor ADU charging the batteries for electric drive motors or 13B turbo with the ADU helping both spool the turbo and charging batteries depending on ECU settings?
Love that series hybrids are hitting the tipping point for value now. Same idea behind the 2025 Dodge Ramcharger. And touchscreen + physical buttons seems like a perfect combo to me. Thanks for the review!
This and the I3 Rex are where I want the hybrids to be. I live in rural Canada and would want something that has about a 300 KM all electric range and then the ability to have another 150 KM available through gas if needed. These are getting close to what I hope to see.
I believe it'll be more and more common. The new Ram 1500 in the US is an electric hybrid, where the engine is a range extender, with no drive train linkage.
I'm a Mazda owner, on my second 3 and I like how they do things. I was a bit concerned that they took so long to get on the EV bandwagon but as usual they've obviously looked at the real world (politicians take note) and found a slightly different route. This looks like a brilliant first step into EV's - my own opinion is that we aren't far enough down the engineering route just yet - batteries are still too big and slow to charge, and charging is still an issue for a big percentage of the population, so perhaps we should reign back the crazy deadlines (especially given how little the UK contributes to global warming), buy things like this, and give ourselves a better chance of getting it right first time. I really like this car although I do kinda wish it was a tad faster...
I think you slipped up by not using all of your electric range before getting to the hotel. It would have reduced your fuel burn as much as possible. As someone who drives 10-20 (regular) miles a day, this makes much more sense than a 200 mile Bev and is simpler and has better range than a phev. We need more cars like this (maybe a more practical minivan/MPV). Maybe the futuristic BMW i3 rex really was ahead of it's time, and will become a future classic. Thanks for the review.
Spot on. The most efficient way to use the car is to run in normal mode. Then if you know you have charging at your destination, switch to EV mode once within range if the destination.
On my PHEV depending on settings, it will sometimes count electric miles as free so an 80 mile trip that is 40 mpg on the engine with 40 electric miles and 40 gas miles will look like 80 mpg. So when he says 37.5 mpg, is that totally separate from the electric miles used?
@@Molishious Surely the way to 'cost' your mileage is by simply addding the cost of charging the car to the cost of petrol used. If you charge at home that can be very cheap, away from home the costs vary greatly.. Petrol seems to vary almost daily and by place. For me cost per mile is the best measure in my BEV. Most miles are at 2ppm, whilst when away from home it can rise to 19ppm. For the short trip in this video the price would have been 2ppm , and depending on the overnight charger cost not much more for the return trip. (The charger at the hotel appears to be free! putting the return price at 1ppm)
@@solentbum I’d like reviewers to focus on efficiency as cost is going to depend on the price of gas and electricity in your area. I have yet to find the MPG for this car. No review mentions it. PHEV’s really need to be looked at with two efficiency’s, Gas and electricity. Gas, MPG, is easy in an ICE car, but it gets muddled in a PHEV as electric miles get mixed with gas miles. To get the MPG you need to drive the car once your have used up the EV range and the car has to move on gas power. So my car has 3 numbers, my actual MPG is around 38 MPG, my ev efficiency is 2.9 mile/kWh. Then I have the fake MPG that shows when it adds all of my electric miles into my gas miles acts as if the electricity is free. That’s 60 mpg. Ppm means parts per million to me so I’m not sure if it has a different meaning here. To me those numbers would be about tailpipe emissions maybe. I like looking at the efficiency numbers on my car but in reality with the amount I drive it’s not a big part of my expenses. I like to feel like I’m wasting less energy, but honestly, what keeps me driving electric is that it is so damn fun.
I think this is a really interesting car and a little more unique to look at than other mass produced vehicles. I believe Nissan have a similar range extender models, perhaps it would be an idea to ask Hendy group nicely for a quick drive of an example. Keep up the good work, hope you are feeling better.
When you compare this road test against the Peugeot 3008 Phev last week, where you depleted the battery on the outward journey and had no charge for the return. This car is so clever and makes a lot of sense.
Very impressed by the car and your road test. Just taken collection of a Skoda Enyaq and whilst I love it, I am already experiencing range anxiety as I might need to do a 400 mile round trip in the near future! I have an iPhone loaded with about 15 apps and I’m sure that one day I’ll make sense of them. This little Mazda sounds like what I should have gone for, a great piece of engineering.
Interesting review of this car and you are one of the few reviewers who think this car is very good.As a Mazda 3 owner who doesn't do big mileage I would be interested in this car if I had a home charging box which is not possible. The full electric MX30 can be picked up for bargain prices used with very low mileage now also.
Finaly someone did it! electric power train + a generator for better range and much lower weight, since a huge battery wont be needed, besides 50M is perfect for everyday use
Not sure it pleases both sides, rather it would have them both hating it. However, for the vast majority of motorists who aren't in either camp, this is a great idea. Nice video Pete.
I think the reason not many production vehicles have rear doors like that is because the front edge of the door and its latching mechanism have to be strong enough to act as a surrogate for the missing 'B' pillar. The 'B' pillar is vital in giving the body shell its resistance to side impacts. Doors are expensive to make anyway, and the extra functionality here must increase the cost considerably. Also, to get a reasonable vertical spacing between the hinges of the rear doors, the pivot point has to be well forward of the intrusion of the rear wheel arch - hence the small size of the doors. Re: miles per kWh, on anything other than short journeys with minimal intervention from the IC engine, this is largely irrelevant. On a long journey once the initial charge has been exhausted, the battery is purely acting as a buffer to help the IC engine run at the best possible efficiency, so the mpg figure is more relevant. Sorry for yet another issue. The car is nearly as heavy as a Tesla Model Y, and nearly as expensive - but not as practical for transporting more than two people. I wish I could find a positive reason for liking the car, but I think Mazda might have backed a loser here.
Ped. An excellent and balanced review (so many devour this car and its full EV sibling). I have owned the MX30 full EV for the past 2 years and the majority of my travels are inter county (Ireland) and I have also owned an RX8 so just a few thought and observations. The MX30 is ideal for me as the majority of the time it is just myself in the car and occasionally +1. Any prospective buyers should avoid the electric front seats if there are going to be rear passengers and if rear passengers are going to be a regular occurrence give serious thought to your final purchase. In reality with non aggressive driving the summer range is 180kms (110miles) and winter drops to 160kms (100miles) so for the Rotary I’d expect half these values on pure EV. In relation to regenerative braking I toggle between normal and minimum and let inertia move the car along (a lot of my journeys is on B roads with undulating roads). The ride on the MX30 is indeed as you say really good and I test drove some notable brands when deciding and it excelled - it doesn’t have that “boat” feeling. Because of the overall weight you are spot on with about 3.6 miles/kw. Having had an RX8 the scary reality of rotary ownership would make me somewhat anxious but your assessment of why they all pretty much failed is a very valid point…my RX is currently at the rear of the shed with the engine in trays and corners..it will never run again😢 (and I have built many piston engines since). One thing I had hoped you would have told us was how long it took to get back to the 70% charge from 43%..I think it was…by my calculations that would be a requirement of approximately 5kw (ish) so your normal home wall box would need about 45mins to charge…I am wondering what is the electrical power output from the rotary?
Great vid, but did I understand the figures correctly, 100mile journey with net fuel efficiency (presumably including being supplemented) of just under 40mpg for a small car with average performance , it still seems to stack up poorly against a small diesel polo ? Or equivalent which would offer more performance and more efficiency?
I drive a CX-30 and have been waiting for the rotary extender version of the MX-30 to come out. Sadly, Mazda pulled even the EV version from the US market. This car makes so much sense for commuting. I'm hoping Mazda brings it back in the US with the range extender.
It may not be zippy, but how does it do when you need to pass one of those lorries on the motorway? I used to have a rotary engine pick-up in the 9170’s. One of the most reliable vehicles I ever had. Could certainly handle big loads for a small pick-up.
Anyone who lives in a condo or apartment don't have access to a charger. This makes owning electric very attractive. If the rotary quits, you can still charge at a station. Smaller battery means more efficient due to less weight and less tire wear. This is an attractive car.
Very good job, by the way. You sell me the intelligence of this car, and that's the way it as to be. I add to that, the transition the public as to made, as the industries as to do. Again, bravo and thanks!
n Australia we have a completely different drive train, it's a 2.0L 4cyl petrol, with mild Hybrid it has a 6-speed Skyactiv-Drive automatic, vehicle weight is less than yours at 1400kg, it's called MX-30 M Hybrid
Great review, that car actually interests me, which is unusual for a modern car. Attractive styling, practical bumpers, The only thing I don’t like is the fact it’s not a proper 4 door, the size of it should allow rear people to get in without disturbing the front.
A great review and in today’s driving conditions with all the speed restrictions, this car’s performance is ample. It’s definitely a car that I would buy.
So it's like having a petrol generator for the battery? That's a cool idea! Because it keeps the car light by not having massive batteries and will keep the cost down when you eventually need to replace the battery because it's small.
Funny you say that, I have always been surprised how few Mazdas are on the roads in the UK. The Mazda 6 is a huge seller in Aus and yet when l see one in the UK, l always do a double take, because they're so rare. Not sure why because they build awesome cars.
I love this approach to PHEV, using the engine strictly as a generator while enjoying a pure electric drive train. I wish this car would have come out 15 years ago, I would have bought one. I've long believed that rotary type generator was the best option for powering a generator in a car (small and smooth). It will be interesting to learn more about the different ways this Mazda can leverage its generator. One winter driving feature that I love about the Chevy Volt is the option to heat the cabin purely from the generator. Car heaters can really suck juice out the battery so when I'm on longer trips, I heat the cabin with the generator and focus the battery purely on powering the drive train. Not only is this the most efficient approach to winter driving, but it allows me to use the generator to warm the battery to its optimal temperature. Even though I love my Volt, I would have chosen this Mazda, complete with rotary, if that option would have been available.
However, the Chevy Volts were discontinued before heat pumps could be included to even further improve heating efficiency before the gas engine warmed up enough.
Wow, have Mazda found the Holy Grail? I was a bit concerned when you mentioned rotary engine, but was ahead of you thinking of how it’s used here. For the average motorist, I can’t see anything not to like with this. It looks great from the front, that colour combo works brilliantly. I love the badging as you mentioned. The suicide doors are a marmite thing, but personally I think they’re cool. A small negative, the interior looked quite dark, a lighter headlining would be good, and all dashboards seem to have gone down the “slab” look, but they’re minor gripes. Well done Mazda, this deserves to do well 👍🏻
@@kevincross9206 As you say, in the eye of the beholder. It's no Ferrari, or even Mazda 6, but it's a whole lot better than many euroboxes, or KoreanContainers; (and let's just not mention the Juke.... Oh Damn.)
The concept is the same as a diesel train which is actually a diesel electric train. E motors drive the wheels and the diesel engine is an electricity generator.If only they could run the generator on clean burning fuel though!
An interesting concept but after our ownership experience of a Mazda 3 with a rattle and the stereo sound system not wanting to work regularly we punted it fairly quickly never to return to the marque. I'm not sure you could class it as a family car as there is no chance anyone is sitting behind you in that car. I do like the rotary wheel controlling the functions that I carried from my Mazda to my next car being the JCW.
I like the concept. Well presented. It makes a lot of sense, looking at the current infrastructure to recharge EV‘s. How fast can the battery be charged at a powerline?
Almost bought one… but it has very limited space for rear passengers, so the car disappeared from my shortlist. It‘s a pity, because the technical concepts are really very good engineered by Mazda
Hi Pete and glad to see your non performance side. Very interesting motor. I as an Aussie, big distances over here, so I have never felt pressured about driving my all Electric Volvo C40. Good planning and never miss a planned charge point on the journey takes that aspect away.
The Lexus CT200H never needed plugging in. 1800cc engine?. Charged the battery itself. I averaged 50mpg with nearly 100k miles on the clock and 10 years old before I sold it.
Full credit to Mazda for producing a car that focuses on efficiency and range instead of out and out performance, along with what, in the current market, is a ‘sensible’ price point. If manufacturers are going to entice people across to EVs this is what is needed. I personally think that it again proves the point that for anyone who regularly does longer journeys a hybrid is the obvious practical choice. My ‘daily’ is a Toyota RAV4 hybrid which, in the 2.5yrs I’ve owned it, has averaged 50mpg which is fantastic efficiency for a comfortable family sized SUV and I have my ‘toys’, a V8 and a couple of motorbikes for my thrills! 😊
So with a full change and 20 quid of fuel in it how far will it go? Let's say 40/60 town/motorway. In short What is the fuel cost to charge the battery to do the 50 miles ish
Great video review of this Mazda model. Same drivetrain technology as the BMW i3 Rex from 2014-2021. Glad to know a manufacturer continued to use this drivetrain setup. I love my 2014 BMW i3 Rex!
On our 70mph roads the actual flow of traffic is at least 80. It’s not quite fast enough. But as a city car it seems perfect. Except that the Prius exists.
I live in 80mph territory, though the flow doesn't average much higher. Personally, I'm not a fan of such high speeds. Great to get places a bit faster but my van doesn't seem to like it and my mpg takes a big hit.
Sorry Ped - think you have misunderstood how the consumption dials work in a PHEV - the more you use the petrol the higher the miles/kWh will increase so the reason it’s 3.8 at the end is because it’s been on the petrol a fair bit hence why under 40mpg. Do like the car and it has a use case if only have to do the odd long journey but I think I land more where JayEmm has with this one
It a normal PHEV I agree, if it gave you the figure that is. That’s not how this PHEV works though as the petrol engine never powers the wheels so the kWh/Mile figure (Miles/kwh) is totally independent of petrol consumption.
I still think there will be a connection - I would run it in ev mode only and compare the mile/kWh figure as then it won’t be potentially tainted by the REX element - it should do well for a PHEV but wouldn’t expect more than 2.5 miles/kWh in reality
Same drivetrain as my Honda HRV, but the Honda has a 4 cylinder Atkinson Cycle engine. Love the electric drive and 60+ mpg. Took me a while to choose the Honda, but a year in I am delighted with it. I am sure the Mazda is just the same. Good vehicles for the transition to EV journey. 👍😎❤️
I was given one of these as a company car, had it for two weeks and swapped it for an eNiro. The Mazda is well screwed together, and it drives very well in EV mode. Trouble is the EV mode doesn't last long enough and when the battery is depleted the rotary engine fires up and sounds horrendous, think early 2000s Prius and you won't be far off, it drones away at a constant and annoying pitch. It is also incredibly thirsty, on a run of 230 miles the first 40 of which were just using the battery it averaged 32mpg.
Yeah, this isn't really a car to put tons of miles on, its made to handle your daily commute exclusively in ev mode then have the engine be available if you go on a trip. If you are trying to put >50mi a day on it just get a parallel hybrid
My (massive) Passat GTE with a 1.4 litre petrol engine and 10kW battery weighs about 1800 Kg. Given the size, I'm surprised the MX30 R-EV isn't a bit lighter, but I guess it's the bigger battery capacity. Interesting idea though. Not sure what the efficiency losses are charging the battery with the engine as opposed to driving the wheels?
I love the idea of this thing. This is the way PHEVs always should have been. However, those performance numbers would make this car frustrating to use in several of the major metro areas here in the states. There have been times when I needed to push our Prius past 90 to deal with traffic. A bit better 0-60 time would be helpful too, and I think Toyota has recognized this, since the new Prius does it in 7.2s. My preferences maybe. Also my preference...I hate the dial control in my CX-5. I don't think it's any more safe than a touchscreen, and it's less convenient than having real buttons. It is wasting space in the center console. On this one at least, it's less likely to have drink spilled into it.
Thanks again for another interesting piece on a very interesting car. I absolutely love the concept and I've been saying for a while that my ideal car would be exactly what this Mazda provides: a self charging electric car with around 50 miles of EV only range. But.... And there have to be 3 buts: 1. The weight! 1.8 tons! It's a tiny car with a small battery which weighs the same as my S4 diesel. Lordy, what have they built it from? 2. The efficiency! It's not all that great, is it? I'm guessing the battery range was being supplemented by the engine providing some electrical power directly to the motors. Your end battery efficiency was so much better after engine use than when it was on battery only. And that petrol consumption is terrible for a generator. A generator should run very efficiently in a set optimised rev range. I'd have expected 80+ mpg from a 70hp motor in those conditions. Btw, on the run you did, I'd expect my S4 to do around 45mpg. 3. Size. An occasional 4 (uncomfortable) seater is not an adequate compromise to reduce weight and gain efficiency, particularly when neither weight not overall efficiency are anything to get excited about. Lovely looking car, interesting take on the plug-in hybrid concept but ultimately it's a compromise that currently doesn't seem to work fully. I'm still waiting for that EV or hybrid Holy Grail and until then I'll be sticking to my "dirty" diesel. Sorry about that everyone.
I just hope Mazda rethinks the 3 with this tech. I ADORE the MX-30 concept and it makes complete sense for the kind of driving we do on our second car (mostly runabout kids taxi, but occasionally I go on a longer trip to the airport for a business trip). I'd be in EV most of the time but have the capability to do longer journeys. However, the MX-30 is just too small to drop and collect kids/teens. I want a Mazda 3 R-EV!
I have had mine for 5 months. Shares the garage with a Supra. Couple of points. The top spec car is just over £35k. Compare that to the Astra you ran at the same time. And the 0 to 62 figure. The car isn’t the most efficient in petrol terms but I do 95% of my journeys in EV mode and it’s very cheap to run, averaging over 3miles per kw. If it fits your usage profile it’s a great car. But if you do lots of long journeys there are more efficient choices. Lastly. The drive and dynamics for a non performance car are great.
Inspired copy 10 years after the BMW i3 - except the i3 REx weighs 1300kg, does 100miles on battery and 9Litres charges the battery for another 100 miles (and obviously quickly refilled)
79mpg and 3m/kwh are brilliant figures on their own, but the Mazda consumes both at the same time, so as good as it might suggest. Having said that a small light charging motor in an EV is a probably the most efficient hybrid.
Speed sign recognition is an assistance, you can't rely on it to get out of a speeding fine Pete, you need to use your own eyes as well! Greta video though and I really like the sound of this car as a daily proposition.
This is a great example of what most cars on the road should be. Stop trying to get the general public to think they need a fast 0-60 time. Put the time money and effort into making cars as easy to live with as possible.
I agree 👍
I agree, i have had evs for five years a leased tesla 3 a leased kia soul and now i own a bmw i3 rex to stop wasting money on leasing, i will never use public charging i will never plan a journey around a charger, yep no hunt the charger for me but i love evs so the i3 or the mazda is fine for me ,
the downside of the mazda, why put the petrol engine in the front, i don't want to hear it , the i3 has a noisy engine engine but i can't hear it as it is burried under the rear floor...
The second raw space is a killer for many
The total range with both motors fully topped off, is only 230 miles. I don't get this one.
No for me.
@@PetrolPed you "agree" yet one of your content tittles is "not a performance car". Would have a content tittle on a Porsche 911 review be "not a package delivery car" ?? or "not a family car"? nope, because you and your posting peers are all essentially the same.. "must have fast car".. not unlike a 17 year old. Not to mention someone demonstrating zero sense of style themselves, commenting on car styling...
I am 12000 miles into the ownership of a 2018 BMW i3 REX. Same idea but built on a carbon fibre and aluminium chassis and with 120 to 150 miles of pure plug in range. I’ve done several 300 mile days and one trip over 500 miles with no issues and no range anxiety. It’s a great idea for your first electric car. My commute now costs me 95p as opposed to £5 and I only ever use the range extender 650cc engine on long trips.
Nice. Ahead of its time 👌
The i3 still hasn't been surpassed and should have been used as the design philosophy for future BMW EVs rather than forcing the EV issue into combustion engine designs.
The i3 with improved battery tech and a 250 miles range would be 👌🏻👌🏻
I have 2 of these! So my wife and I don’t fight for the keys! Imagine how good the I3 would be with a more modern battery. Of course the reality is that they were just way too expensive to build. Shame.
Hi Stephen can you confirm what the range is on a single charge and using the engine please? I have looked at these before but discounted them because of the maximum range.
@@al1356 BMW have three battery sizes and in the UK only the smaller two were available with the range extender. Mine is the middle battery size and offers a minimum of 120 miles in winter on pure electric and up to 150 miles in Summer. You can also play with the modes and push for more mileage if needed
I bought one. On a 90% charge did 122 miles and returned 60mpg with 45% still in the battery on return. Electrically, it did 4.4miles/kwh also and on 90% in the battery, did 32 miles before the engine kicked in at 40% charge.
So it definitely works! If you’re a motorway cruiser spending hours on the motorway, it’s no good, you’ll get south of 40mpg. But if you do regular short trips with the odd long one, and then short trips from that destination and you can charge, it’s great. And yesterday, a 122mile trip, showed it was great for the occasional extended trip too. And it’s lovely to drive too and personally, the rear doors don’t bother me, I rarely carry passengers. So far, very pleased.
How much range do you get from a full charge when you run it in pure EV mode?
I have this car. It’s great but this review on its economy misses the point. You always use EV mode when your drive takes you within a circular drive back to your wall charger. You can use ‘Normal’ and in this mode the car will run on electric to about 40% (20 miles) when the engine kicks in keeping the battery at this 40% level. The trick is to work out how many miles back to base. If there are 25 miles of battery charge left and you are within 25 miles of home, switch from ‘Normal’ back to EV. For longer runs, use ‘Normal’ and settle for, say 40% of charge. This will stay more or less constant for the entire trip. I never put the car in ‘Charge’ mode. Why? Petrol consumption increases (about 36-38 mpg) as the engine works harder to increase the battery charge level and drive the car. I would only use ‘Charge’ mode if I was expecting to drive across a city and felt my green credentials should put me into EV mode - that is increasing my electric range from 40% (the point at which the engine is running) to, say, 80% which will give me 20+ miles of EV before I click back to ‘Normal’ again with the engine just sustaining that 40% level. For those long drives, I leave the car in ‘Normal’ and let it take care of itself but always being aware that I have 20+ miles of electric that I need to use up before recharging again. Recharging at a public charge point isn’t worth it as the cost per mile is far more than the car charging itself. Love the car.
Hi
Thanks for your feedback.
How do you reach the 1 litre per 100km claimed by Mazda ?
I have done 1200 miles (2000km) mostly local but several longer runs. I have spent about £45 on fuel (about 30 litres). That works out at an average mpg of about 180. This will improve over next three weeks as I have no long drives (more than 60 miles in day. Electric costs are 2 pence a mile. Overall, this is a cheap car to run if you are not spending life on a motorway. Ideal for two people and occasional two in rear. My last phev managed about 58 mpg as EV range was 32 and a big engine to haul around when battery empty. Don't forget that depreciation can be a big financial loser that wipes out petrol costs. This car suits my life style. Running costs are low. Good to drive and excellent interior. Avoid Charge mode. Some supermarkets have charging costs lower than fuel and useful for a top up.
Sounds awful!😂
What happen if you keep driving the car in EV mode? I assume the engine charging will force kicking-in around certain percent?
Two advantages to all electric drive train is ( as you mentioned) eliminate the complexity and cost of a gearbox Secondly the petrol engine runs at its most efficient because it only has to run at its most efficient speed.
bingo
One more advantage :
In the future the petrol engine (generator) could be replaced with one that runs on biofuels or hydrogen without needing to touch the drivetrain at all.
Except it is not efficient. It gets terrible cost per mile. My Honda Civic gets better mileage.
@@flattire707 How so? First 30+ miles can be all electric.
@@KTPurdy I see where you are coming from, but . . . Human nature (laziness) now comes into play. I plug in once a week to cover 5x30 miles. This Mazda needs to be plugged in nightly. After a while people don’t bother, and just treat it like a petrol car.
Had an overnight test drive of one of these from Hendy in Eastbourne a couple of days ago and loved it. On a 50mile journey of mixed motorways and up and over the hills of the South Downs and then Beachy Head, I got 50mpg and 4.2miles/kwh. And I didn’t hang about! Mightily impressed. Will be ordering one after the bank holiday.
What a cracking car! No stupid iPad screens. Proper dash. A gear knob as well. And a rotary engine as well. Delightful. Ticks all the boxes.
Cheers 👍
... more like, the worst of both worlds.
That car is inefficient both as an EV and as a hybrid ...
Yes it ticks all the wrong boxes
@@USUG0 you are so missing the point of this car
@@Wacky_Races its only point is just using a rotary with no benefit at all. That will cost more to run the pretty much every other phev in its segment
At last, a manufacturer that has used their technology to produce an efficient, compact, practical car rather than a 0-60 in 2 seconds monster.
Great car, well done Mazda and great review, well done you PP.
Indeed 👍
i guess this is a knock at tesla, but tesla is far more efficient than this...
Practical? 4.4 metres long and no room for adults to sit in the rear..
@@PHADAVIES It's a fair point, but I'm still reasonably impressed.
you do relise a tesla is more efficient, more practical than this mazda...
I was with Mazda for nearly 5 years and when the normal MX30 came out it didn’t do very well. When this came out I sold more of these in 3 months than I sold EV 30’s the whole time I was there! It’s a great car! I own a CX30 myself. Had a Mazda 3 also! The CX5 is probably one of the best looking, reliable and affordable SUV’s on the market! Great cars! Mazda are really overlooked in many ways! I have more spec in my mid range CX30 than a high spec X2 with no packs on it! Drives nicer too!! Love it!! 🥰
Another Mazda man here, nearly 30 years with them now retired. I have a CX-5 a CX-30 and 3 MX-5's in the family. This MX-30 seems an ideal compromise for those who don't need a huge car with a heavy battery.
When I saw the original mx30 and the news that there'll be a REX version, I thought the pure electric one makes no sense but the REX is a great car and decided to wait.
Now I bought a used pure electric, the 15k$ price tag & government policies in Germany changed the equation...
Mazda is kind of what Honda were back in the 90's when it comes to cleaver ideas.
Here in New Zealand you can buy that car in a dark metallic red ( think raspberry ) with a silver roof. Looks great.
However, 1800kg. I remember when I raced my series 1 Rx7 it was under 1000kg.
Modern cars are heavy.
It is a hybrid, therefore, it is heavy
This type of EV makes the most sense to me, especially given the current state of the charging infrastructure in the US.
Is this available in the US? I don't see it on Mazda's website.
@@brainfloss9710 Nope, they only sold it for 1 year due to poor sales. They do sell it in Canada.
@@thereformer They only have the previous MX-30 in Canada ( the all electric one). I think this new version makes way more sense but I don't know if they are going to release it in North America.
They don't sell the phev version up here unfortunately, only pure ev@@thereformer
Mazda actually builds very underrated cars that not only drive well, but are well-built and very reliable.
Not reliable compared to Toyotas. Toyotas last twice as long with half the repairs.
@@jamierose4088Toyota are a force beyond anything on the road, having owned 3 Mazdas each for over 200k miles, nothing negative to report on their quality. Toyota are currently facing numerous major recalls in many of their products...I hope their tie-up with Mazda doesn't negatively impact Mazdas reputation. A happy 'old skool' Toyota owner!!
@@jamierose4088 Well, I've owned both brands and I believe they are equally good, but noticed Mazda tends to use more metal on their cars.
@mr.g702
That's anadotal. Toyota goes top 5 reliability for 20 years. Mazda doesn't even get top 10.
Mazda's start needing repairs at 100K. Toyotas are just getting broken in at 100K. Tundra, Corolla, Camry, Prius and 4 Runner are the most reliable vehicles made.
I drove my Trundra 200K miles.
$2000 in bearing and an AC compressor. Tires and brakes.
It depreciated $16K (50%) in 10 years. It's in its own class compared to all the 40 plus vehicles I've owned. My 2nd Tundra has 150K miles. Nothing but brakes and tires. The oil doesn't even get dirty. You can barely see it on the stick.
If you look at what japanese brands live the longest there are loads of 20+ year old Mazdas and no Toyotas here in Sweden where we have problems with salt on the roads because of snow in winter. Toyotas rust up very quickly.
Excellent review. I drive a 23 plate Mazda CX-30 Skyactiv-X MHEV with a petrol engine. It has a supercharger, but in the same way it’s not for performance, but economy and regularly returns 52+ mpg. It’s also slightly more powerful and has more torque than the Skyactiv-G MHEV engine, which doesn’t have the supercharger. I love what Mazda have done with the MX-30 rotary engine and Bev drivetrain. They are one of the few manufacturers recognising pure BEVs are not the whole answer or the perfect solution. Whilst they have no tailpipe emissions, they still negatively impact the environment across the whole lifecycle. NB. Land Rover have addressed the slow electric front seat issue for access to 2nd row passengers on the Defender 90 by introducing a manual tilt and slide front passenger seat on the latest model ;)
👍
Like the look of c-30 x but I hear fuel tank is only 40L ? Is that correct thanks
According to the specs, it’s got a 51 litre tank, circa 11.2 gallons in old money. It costs me around £70 to fill up from empty, based on £1.40 for a litre of unleaded, so sounds about right.
Do you know why french guys (like me) love this TH-cam channel ?
1. ALWAYS interesting content
2. The driver speaks slowly (excellent for french speaking people)
3. The 'P' of the channel logo is made of the french flag colors ('bleu' 'blanc' 'rouge')
To summarize: j'adore cette chaîne TH-cam 👍
And France is may favourite country, I used to live in Paris and when I did I spoke pretty good French !
Suicide doors, no thanks.
Finally a decent balanced review. This vehicle didn't last long in the United States but we also never got the rotary engine model. I love the exterior styling and the interior as well. I think if they had offered the range extender rotary in the US, I would be driving this today.
And thank you for addressing the issue of acceleration times. Just because some EVs can get to 60 in 3 seconds doesn't mean that kind of acceleration is needed and in some situations, I would say it isn't wanted. Many drivers are no ready to handle that type of acceleration.
Glad you liked it!
Yea the small range of the all ev version, killed that car in the states. I'm hoping that once Mazda gets enough of these sold elsewhere, and work out the bugs, that they re-introduce the car in the states. I use to own a 2014 Chevy volt and this is the same thing in how it operates but bigger.
I am absolutely fascinated by this vehicle now it sounds like an amazing combination of features
I agree 100% that this drivetrain is the best for plug-in hybrids. Easy for me to say, as I drive a 2013 Chevy Volt that has exactly this setup - the gas motor never touches the wheels, just extends the range of the battery. The battery always keeps the electric motor driving the wheels. I would love to see you do a side-by-side comparison of a Volt with this Mazda! GM had such a good PHEV, they kept making it until 2019, then killed it. Sarcasm intended. Another thought - what if Mazda did a sports version? An 1100 cc rotary gas motor should push it a lot faster. One more note: since the 87 mph limit is computer controlled, can you disable the limiter and get the true top speed?
Thanks again for your report, your fan, Tom Gearing
The early Rotary engined Mazdas, the R100, RX2, RX3 and RX4 were super fun cars to drive. And they sounded awesome!
Sounds like our 2017 Chevy Volt. We love ours
Chevy Volt one of the pioneers in this concept in cars.
@@jaaklucas1329 Yeah GM is scrambling to get back to where they were seeing how Toyota is doing so well with their Prime and HEV options, pretty much is 10 year old GM gen 2 Voltec numbers. If GM kept developing Voltec and offered an HEV and PHEV version in their small pickups and CUVs they would be doing pretty well right now, especially considering how battery constrained they are right now!
I drive this car and I really love it. It looks great. Drives great. Overall I'm very happy with it. ❤
Love the car, I’ve had 5 Mazda’s over my lifetime and they’ve always been very reliable and fun to drive. I’ve got the new Mazda 3 takumi on order. Hoping you get more Mazda’s on the channel soon. 😊 Great and informative review Pete, Keep up the hard work.
Will do 👍
Great, concise film Peter . I remember working with Mazda and I had many RX8 demos. As you said, terrible oil and fuel consumption, but great performance from a little 1300cc Wankel engine. This car seems to have figured out how to take away the range anxiety, but still giving you a choice of how you power it. Well done Mazda for thinking outside of the box. 👏
Indeed 👍
BMW did this better in 2014 with the I3 REX
As a former RX8 owner I'd be interested to know what the oil consumption of that rotary is, also how often it needs the oil changed. The doors bring back happy memories though.
I talk about this in the video. Constant duty cycle helps a lot 👍
This technology has fascinated me since the Vauxhall Ampera. Great video!
Thanks for watching!
and the bmw i3 rex
The second gen Voltec was even better, GM should have stuck with developing it, they would be so far ahead of everyone else by now. But in typical GM fashion they ignored the engineers and gave the suits and bean counters the reigns for short term gains instead of long term vision. I'm all for full BEV, but they just don't have the battery production numbers to role out millions of them the way they can with HEVs or PHEVs. 1 BEV = 4+ PHEVs = 40+ HEVs.
Recharging the battery using a small, lightweight rotary engine is a stroke of genius. A great way to solve the range anxiety conundrum, and it comes wrapped in Mazda's beautiful design language. I generally detest EVs, but I can honestly see myself living with one of these. Love the doggy!
👍
It isn't, it gets terrible fuel economy has a tiny range due to small battery so it ends up working all the time on petrol. Watch some other TH-cam videos on it, you will see
That stupid. Not efficient and the rotary burns as much oil as gasoline 😂
Sounds very interesting. We've ran Mazdas since 1997. They do build very reliable cars. Our current Mazda is the CX30 which from an infotainment perspective is very similar and just works brilliant. The top models do come fully loaded, and even at £39+ do represent excellent value. Residual values have always been good.
Sounds like an excellent car. Can't understand why BMW didn't put a bigger tank on the I3.
phev fan here, I am well pleased with this video, cheers
My pleasure 👍
I have a plug-in Honda Clarity that works very similar to this vehicle. I have found the best use of this vehicle is not to run the battery all the way down. When you travel, put the vehicle in hybrid mode. Save battery for all your local driving when you arrive. We do almost all our daily driving on EV mode. The engine in the clarity is an Atkinson cycle engine, and never really ever idles. The transmission is an EVCT that has two electric motors. There is no traction belt. The electric motors do almost all the propulsion. If you do happen to use the entire battery and don’t have the ability to plug it up the car can’t charge itself while you’re driving. You just have to put it in the charge vehicle mode. Works great. We love it.
Well done to Mazda for holding their faith in the rotary engine; it looks like we are finally entering the rotary era.
It's called flogging a dead horse...
Yep, can't wait for them to put a performance hybrid two or three rotor version with an h shift in a modified Miata chassis for another fun RX driver's car!
@@anydaynow01So what would that look like? 13B N/A with 850 cc single rotor ADU charging the batteries for electric drive motors or 13B turbo with the ADU helping both spool the turbo and charging batteries depending on ECU settings?
Love that series hybrids are hitting the tipping point for value now. Same idea behind the 2025 Dodge Ramcharger. And touchscreen + physical buttons seems like a perfect combo to me. Thanks for the review!
This and the I3 Rex are where I want the hybrids to be. I live in rural Canada and would want something that has about a 300 KM all electric range and then the ability to have another 150 KM available through gas if needed. These are getting close to what I hope to see.
I believe it'll be more and more common. The new Ram 1500 in the US is an electric hybrid, where the engine is a range extender, with no drive train linkage.
I'm a Mazda owner, on my second 3 and I like how they do things. I was a bit concerned that they took so long to get on the EV bandwagon but as usual they've obviously looked at the real world (politicians take note) and found a slightly different route. This looks like a brilliant first step into EV's - my own opinion is that we aren't far enough down the engineering route just yet - batteries are still too big and slow to charge, and charging is still an issue for a big percentage of the population, so perhaps we should reign back the crazy deadlines (especially given how little the UK contributes to global warming), buy things like this, and give ourselves a better chance of getting it right first time. I really like this car although I do kinda wish it was a tad faster...
I think you slipped up by not using all of your electric range before getting to the hotel. It would have reduced your fuel burn as much as possible.
As someone who drives 10-20 (regular) miles a day, this makes much more sense than a 200 mile Bev and is simpler and has better range than a phev. We need more cars like this (maybe a more practical minivan/MPV).
Maybe the futuristic BMW i3 rex really was ahead of it's time, and will become a future classic.
Thanks for the review.
Spot on. The most efficient way to use the car is to run in normal mode. Then if you know you have charging at your destination, switch to EV mode once within range if the destination.
Very true 👍
On my PHEV depending on settings, it will sometimes count electric miles as free so an 80 mile trip that is 40 mpg on the engine with 40 electric miles and 40 gas miles will look like 80 mpg. So when he says 37.5 mpg, is that totally separate from the electric miles used?
@@Molishious Surely the way to 'cost' your mileage is by simply addding the cost of charging the car to the cost of petrol used. If you charge at home that can be very cheap, away from home the costs vary greatly.. Petrol seems to vary almost daily and by place. For me cost per mile is the best measure in my BEV.
Most miles are at 2ppm, whilst when away from home it can rise to 19ppm. For the short trip in this video the price would have been 2ppm , and depending on the overnight charger cost not much more for the return trip.
(The charger at the hotel appears to be free! putting the return price at 1ppm)
@@solentbum I’d like reviewers to focus on efficiency as cost is going to depend on the price of gas and electricity in your area. I have yet to find the MPG for this car. No review mentions it. PHEV’s really need to be looked at with two efficiency’s, Gas and electricity. Gas, MPG, is easy in an ICE car, but it gets muddled in a PHEV as electric miles get mixed with gas miles. To get the MPG you need to drive the car once your have used up the EV range and the car has to move on gas power. So my car has 3 numbers, my actual MPG is around 38 MPG, my ev efficiency is 2.9 mile/kWh. Then I have the fake MPG that shows when it adds all of my electric miles into my gas miles acts as if the electricity is free. That’s 60 mpg. Ppm means parts per million to me so I’m not sure if it has a different meaning here. To me those numbers would be about tailpipe emissions maybe. I like looking at the efficiency numbers on my car but in reality with the amount I drive it’s not a big part of my expenses. I like to feel like I’m wasting less energy, but honestly, what keeps me driving electric is that it is so damn fun.
I love the general design and styling of Mazdas.
I think this is a really interesting car and a little more unique to look at than other mass produced vehicles. I believe Nissan have a similar range extender models, perhaps it would be an idea to ask Hendy group nicely for a quick drive of an example. Keep up the good work, hope you are feeling better.
When you compare this road test against the Peugeot 3008 Phev last week, where you depleted the battery on the outward journey and had no charge for the return. This car is so clever and makes a lot of sense.
Yep 👍
Very impressed by the car and your road test. Just taken collection of a Skoda Enyaq and whilst I love it, I am already experiencing range anxiety as I might need to do a 400 mile round trip in the near future! I have an iPhone loaded with about 15 apps and I’m sure that one day I’ll make sense of them. This little Mazda sounds like what I should have gone for, a great piece of engineering.
Just make sure you stop before you get to 20% to give you options 👍
I value your continual honest approach to car reviews… thanks man.
I appreciate that!
Interesting review of this car and you are one of the few reviewers who think this car is very good.As a Mazda 3 owner who doesn't do big mileage I would be interested in this car if I had a home charging box which is not possible. The full electric MX30 can be picked up for bargain prices used with very low mileage now also.
Finaly someone did it! electric power train + a generator for better range and much lower weight, since a huge battery wont be needed, besides 50M is perfect for everyday use
👍
Not sure it pleases both sides, rather it would have them both hating it. However, for the vast majority of motorists who aren't in either camp, this is a great idea. Nice video Pete.
Just like the 2013 Chevy volt, no transmission at all. Bought mine in 2015 and it's never giving me a problem EVER 👍👍👍
I think the reason not many production vehicles have rear doors like that is because the front edge of the door and its latching mechanism have to be strong enough to act as a surrogate for the missing 'B' pillar. The 'B' pillar is vital in giving the body shell its resistance to side impacts. Doors are expensive to make anyway, and the extra functionality here must increase the cost considerably. Also, to get a reasonable vertical spacing between the hinges of the rear doors, the pivot point has to be well forward of the intrusion of the rear wheel arch - hence the small size of the doors.
Re: miles per kWh, on anything other than short journeys with minimal intervention from the IC engine, this is largely irrelevant. On a long journey once the initial charge has been exhausted, the battery is purely acting as a buffer to help the IC engine run at the best possible efficiency, so the mpg figure is more relevant.
Sorry for yet another issue. The car is nearly as heavy as a Tesla Model Y, and nearly as expensive - but not as practical for transporting more than two people.
I wish I could find a positive reason for liking the car, but I think Mazda might have backed a loser here.
Ped. An excellent and balanced review (so many devour this car and its full EV sibling). I have owned the MX30 full EV for the past 2 years and the majority of my travels are inter county (Ireland) and I have also owned an RX8 so just a few thought and observations. The MX30 is ideal for me as the majority of the time it is just myself in the car and occasionally +1. Any prospective buyers should avoid the electric front seats if there are going to be rear passengers and if rear passengers are going to be a regular occurrence give serious thought to your final purchase. In reality with non aggressive driving the summer range is 180kms (110miles) and winter drops to 160kms (100miles) so for the Rotary I’d expect half these values on pure EV. In relation to regenerative braking I toggle between normal and minimum and let inertia move the car along (a lot of my journeys is on B roads with undulating roads). The ride on the MX30 is indeed as you say really good and I test drove some notable brands when deciding and it excelled - it doesn’t have that “boat” feeling. Because of the overall weight you are spot on with about 3.6 miles/kw. Having had an RX8 the scary reality of rotary ownership would make me somewhat anxious but your assessment of why they all pretty much failed is a very valid point…my RX is currently at the rear of the shed with the engine in trays and corners..it will never run again😢 (and I have built many piston engines since). One thing I had hoped you would have told us was how long it took to get back to the 70% charge from 43%..I think it was…by my calculations that would be a requirement of approximately 5kw (ish) so your normal home wall box would need about 45mins to charge…I am wondering what is the electrical power output from the rotary?
Great vid, but did I understand the figures correctly, 100mile journey with net fuel efficiency (presumably including being supplemented) of just under 40mpg for a small car with average performance , it still seems to stack up poorly against a small diesel polo ? Or equivalent which would offer more performance and more efficiency?
Perfectly sensible solution. Small, lightweight rotary for backup and long-range driving. Been thinking of that awhile.
👍
I drive a CX-30 and have been waiting for the rotary extender version of the MX-30 to come out. Sadly, Mazda pulled even the EV version from the US market. This car makes so much sense for commuting. I'm hoping Mazda brings it back in the US with the range extender.
It may not be zippy, but how does it do when you need to pass one of those lorries on the motorway?
I used to have a rotary engine pick-up in the 9170’s. One of the most reliable vehicles I ever had. Could certainly handle big loads for a small pick-up.
There is a reason diesel electric has been around for so long. This design makes so much sense.
Anyone who lives in a condo or apartment don't have access to a charger. This makes owning electric very attractive. If the rotary quits, you can still charge at a station. Smaller battery means more efficient due to less weight and less tire wear. This is an attractive car.
Why can't we have this in the US?
Because you are supposed to buy Jeeps and other American junk cars or you will be a traitor to your country.
Very good job, by the way. You sell me the intelligence of this car, and that's the way it as to be. I add to that, the transition the public as to made, as the industries as to do. Again, bravo and thanks!
Thanks! 👍
n Australia we have a completely different drive train, it's a 2.0L 4cyl petrol, with mild Hybrid it has a 6-speed Skyactiv-Drive automatic, vehicle weight is less than yours at 1400kg, it's called MX-30 M Hybrid
Great review, that car actually interests me, which is unusual for a modern car. Attractive styling, practical bumpers, The only thing I don’t like is the fact it’s not a proper 4 door, the size of it should allow rear people to get in without disturbing the front.
Really good application of a rotary engine and no other make is more suited than Mazda to do it.
A great review and in today’s driving conditions with all the speed restrictions, this car’s performance is ample. It’s definitely a car that I would buy.
I never thought a car manufacturer would mass produce a series hybrid in my life but, Mazda need to be applauded !
2014 bmw i3 rex , same system but better
@@whocares264 My oversight, you're right.
The pretenders EV :) :)
If you can charge at home ( and are not lazy;) plug in hybrids are fabulous vehicles I own a Prius Plug In from 2021 and absolutely love it.
Fascinating stuff. A real eye-opener. Thanks Ped.
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
this is like the 2014 BMW I3 REX....except the mazda has shorter electric range...and slower...and noisier...and uses more fuel.
@@whocares264 Mazda also costs less and will be far more reliable.
So it's like having a petrol generator for the battery? That's a cool idea! Because it keeps the car light by not having massive batteries and will keep the cost down when you eventually need to replace the battery because it's small.
Funny you say that, I have always been surprised how few Mazdas are on the roads in the UK. The Mazda 6 is a huge seller in Aus and yet when l see one in the UK, l always do a double take, because they're so rare. Not sure why because they build awesome cars.
Depends where they're made. Quality here in Canada took a dive when they outsourced to Mexico vs when they were made in Japan.
I love this approach to PHEV, using the engine strictly as a generator while enjoying a pure electric drive train. I wish this car would have come out 15 years ago, I would have bought one. I've long believed that rotary type generator was the best option for powering a generator in a car (small and smooth).
It will be interesting to learn more about the different ways this Mazda can leverage its generator. One winter driving feature that I love about the Chevy Volt is the option to heat the cabin purely from the generator. Car heaters can really suck juice out the battery so when I'm on longer trips, I heat the cabin with the generator and focus the battery purely on powering the drive train. Not only is this the most efficient approach to winter driving, but it allows me to use the generator to warm the battery to its optimal temperature.
Even though I love my Volt, I would have chosen this Mazda, complete with rotary, if that option would have been available.
it did come out 10 years ago with the bmw i3 rex...
I suspect the heat pumps on modern Teslas are a lot more efficient.
However, the Chevy Volts were discontinued before heat pumps could be included to even further improve heating efficiency before the gas engine warmed up enough.
@@whocares264 The i3 rex still had a short range of I think 120 miles. To go beyond that you have to drive
Wow, have Mazda found the Holy Grail?
I was a bit concerned when you mentioned rotary engine, but was ahead of you thinking of how it’s used here.
For the average motorist, I can’t see anything not to like with this. It looks great from the front, that colour combo works brilliantly. I love the badging as you mentioned.
The suicide doors are a marmite thing, but personally I think they’re cool.
A small negative, the interior looked quite dark, a lighter headlining would be good, and all dashboards seem to have gone down the “slab” look, but they’re minor gripes.
Well done Mazda, this deserves to do well 👍🏻
My BEV BMW i3 is 1300 Kg. That should be a target for all small EVs. No wonder the current crop of big heavy EVs are so inefficient.
@@johnbb99 trouble with the i3 is it’s been smacked with the ugly stick - multiple times!! #beautyintheeyeofthebeholder 😆
@@kevincross9206 As you say, in the eye of the beholder.
It's no Ferrari, or even Mazda 6, but it's a whole lot better than many euroboxes, or KoreanContainers; (and let's just not mention the Juke....
Oh Damn.)
@@johnbb99 🤣
The concept is the same as a diesel train which is actually a diesel electric train. E motors drive the wheels and the diesel engine is an electricity generator.If only they could run the generator on clean burning fuel though!
Nice review Ped. The Mrs has booked a test drive in one at our local Mazda dealer on the strength of this.
Nice one!
An interesting concept but after our ownership experience of a Mazda 3 with a rattle and the stereo sound system not wanting to work regularly we punted it fairly quickly never to return to the marque. I'm not sure you could class it as a family car as there is no chance anyone is sitting behind you in that car. I do like the rotary wheel controlling the functions that I carried from my Mazda to my next car being the JCW.
I like the concept. Well presented. It makes a lot of sense, looking at the current infrastructure to recharge EV‘s. How fast can the battery be charged at a powerline?
Almost bought one… but it has very limited space for rear passengers, so the car disappeared from my shortlist. It‘s a pity, because the technical concepts are really very good engineered by Mazda
Hi Pete and glad to see your non performance side. Very interesting motor. I as an Aussie, big distances over here, so I have never felt pressured about driving my all Electric Volvo C40. Good planning and never miss a planned charge point on the journey takes that aspect away.
Cool, thanks
The Lexus CT200H never needed plugging in. 1800cc engine?. Charged the battery itself. I averaged 50mpg with nearly 100k miles on the clock and 10 years old before I sold it.
I own a 2014 i3 Rex. I just did a 400 mile drive, 400 back. Very comfortable, 2 gallon tank quick to fill.
Full credit to Mazda for producing a car that focuses on efficiency and range instead of out and out performance, along with what, in the current market, is a ‘sensible’ price point. If manufacturers are going to entice people across to EVs this is what is needed. I personally think that it again proves the point that for anyone who regularly does longer journeys a hybrid is the obvious practical choice. My ‘daily’ is a Toyota RAV4 hybrid which, in the 2.5yrs I’ve owned it, has averaged 50mpg which is fantastic efficiency for a comfortable family sized SUV and I have my ‘toys’, a V8 and a couple of motorbikes for my thrills! 😊
So with a full change and 20 quid of fuel in it how far will it go? Let's say 40/60 town/motorway. In short What is the fuel cost to charge the battery to do the 50 miles ish
Great video review of this Mazda model. Same drivetrain technology as the BMW i3 Rex from 2014-2021. Glad to know a manufacturer continued to use this drivetrain setup. I love my 2014 BMW i3 Rex!
There skyactiv rotor engine? What did they do to it? Isn't the rotor engine like super thirsty? For 75hp wouldn't it be better to use a 3cyl 1.0?
And with it being a small battery it hasn't harmed the planet in its production which ev lovers seem to forget
It is now September 2024.....any news/insights into the 2025 model or possible upgrades?
On our 70mph roads the actual flow of traffic is at least 80. It’s not quite fast enough. But as a city car it seems perfect. Except that the Prius exists.
I live in 80mph territory, though the flow doesn't average much higher. Personally, I'm not a fan of such high speeds. Great to get places a bit faster but my van doesn't seem to like it and my mpg takes a big hit.
Superb car. Only downside is that in the UK, the road tax is £180 a year. Why?
Sorry Ped - think you have misunderstood how the consumption dials work in a PHEV - the more you use the petrol the higher the miles/kWh will increase so the reason it’s 3.8 at the end is because it’s been on the petrol a fair bit hence why under 40mpg. Do like the car and it has a use case if only have to do the odd long journey but I think I land more where JayEmm has with this one
It a normal PHEV I agree, if it gave you the figure that is. That’s not how this PHEV works though as the petrol engine never powers the wheels so the kWh/Mile figure (Miles/kwh) is totally independent of petrol consumption.
I still think there will be a connection - I would run it in ev mode only and compare the mile/kWh figure as then it won’t be potentially tainted by the REX element - it should do well for a PHEV but wouldn’t expect more than 2.5 miles/kWh in reality
The original twin rotor RX7 Turbo Bat mobile. Was only a 1.3 .but around 260 bhp .
We need it here in the US!
Same drivetrain as my Honda HRV, but the Honda has a 4 cylinder Atkinson Cycle engine. Love the electric drive and 60+ mpg. Took me a while to choose the Honda, but a year in I am delighted with it. I am sure the Mazda is just the same. Good vehicles for the transition to EV journey. 👍😎❤️
I was given one of these as a company car, had it for two weeks and swapped it for an eNiro. The Mazda is well screwed together, and it drives very well in EV mode. Trouble is the EV mode doesn't last long enough and when the battery is depleted the rotary engine fires up and sounds horrendous, think early 2000s Prius and you won't be far off, it drones away at a constant and annoying pitch. It is also incredibly thirsty, on a run of 230 miles the first 40 of which were just using the battery it averaged 32mpg.
Yeah, this isn't really a car to put tons of miles on, its made to handle your daily commute exclusively in ev mode then have the engine be available if you go on a trip. If you are trying to put >50mi a day on it just get a parallel hybrid
My (massive) Passat GTE with a 1.4 litre petrol engine and 10kW battery weighs about 1800 Kg. Given the size, I'm surprised the MX30 R-EV isn't a bit lighter, but I guess it's the bigger battery capacity. Interesting idea though. Not sure what the efficiency losses are charging the battery with the engine as opposed to driving the wheels?
I love the idea of this thing. This is the way PHEVs always should have been. However, those performance numbers would make this car frustrating to use in several of the major metro areas here in the states. There have been times when I needed to push our Prius past 90 to deal with traffic. A bit better 0-60 time would be helpful too, and I think Toyota has recognized this, since the new Prius does it in 7.2s. My preferences maybe.
Also my preference...I hate the dial control in my CX-5. I don't think it's any more safe than a touchscreen, and it's less convenient than having real buttons. It is wasting space in the center console. On this one at least, it's less likely to have drink spilled into it.
I love the dial.
I am guessing that oil changes etc on the rotary are are few and far between Peter. Great video, nice to see a different perspective.
Bring it to the US and I'll buy it. Just what I'm looking for.
Thanks again for another interesting piece on a very interesting car. I absolutely love the concept and I've been saying for a while that my ideal car would be exactly what this Mazda provides: a self charging electric car with around 50 miles of EV only range. But....
And there have to be 3 buts:
1. The weight! 1.8 tons! It's a tiny car with a small battery which weighs the same as my S4 diesel. Lordy, what have they built it from?
2. The efficiency! It's not all that great, is it? I'm guessing the battery range was being supplemented by the engine providing some electrical power directly to the motors. Your end battery efficiency was so much better after engine use than when it was on battery only. And that petrol consumption is terrible for a generator. A generator should run very efficiently in a set optimised rev range. I'd have expected 80+ mpg from a 70hp motor in those conditions. Btw, on the run you did, I'd expect my S4 to do around 45mpg.
3. Size. An occasional 4 (uncomfortable) seater is not an adequate compromise to reduce weight and gain efficiency, particularly when neither weight not overall efficiency are anything to get excited about.
Lovely looking car, interesting take on the plug-in hybrid concept but ultimately it's a compromise that currently doesn't seem to work fully.
I'm still waiting for that EV or hybrid Holy Grail and until then I'll be sticking to my "dirty" diesel. Sorry about that everyone.
Look up Edison trucks, they are using this hybrid concept. Electric drivetrain is so superior.
Now if we could make the batteries out of non toxic materials.....Very nice EV /ICE combo.
They aren't supposed to be edible
Sodium ion batteries and Sodium Solid State are on their way :)
Cool to see a review of this. Never released this rotary version in the States. It's like a little Ferrari Purosangue with that door.
It looks amazing! Mazda goes its own way again!
It does!
As always great job and well put together.i very much understand the mazda mx30 phev by your explanation.
Thanks! 👍
really a nice car , and a wery impressive review thank you, make you think if this should be my next car 🙂
Mazda makes great cars. This looks like an interesting variation on the Chevy Volt/Bolt.
Really interesting review.Looks like a great car.
Thanks! 👍
I just hope Mazda rethinks the 3 with this tech. I ADORE the MX-30 concept and it makes complete sense for the kind of driving we do on our second car (mostly runabout kids taxi, but occasionally I go on a longer trip to the airport for a business trip). I'd be in EV most of the time but have the capability to do longer journeys.
However, the MX-30 is just too small to drop and collect kids/teens. I want a Mazda 3 R-EV!
I have had mine for 5 months. Shares the garage with a Supra. Couple of points.
The top spec car is just over £35k. Compare that to the Astra you ran at the same time. And the 0 to 62 figure.
The car isn’t the most efficient in petrol terms but I do 95% of my journeys in EV mode and it’s very cheap to run, averaging over 3miles per kw.
If it fits your usage profile it’s a great car. But if you do lots of long journeys there are more efficient choices.
Lastly. The drive and dynamics for a non performance car are great.
👍
Inspired copy 10 years after the BMW i3 - except the i3 REx weighs 1300kg, does 100miles on battery and 9Litres charges the battery for another 100 miles (and obviously quickly refilled)
79mpg and 3m/kwh are brilliant figures on their own, but the Mazda consumes both at the same time, so as good as it might suggest. Having said that a small light charging motor in an EV is a probably the most efficient hybrid.
For comparison the I3 does 4 - 5 miles/kwh depending on temperature and speed. Rather better; no?
Quite right. There are diesel cars that will do 80mpg so not that ground braking.
Speed sign recognition is an assistance, you can't rely on it to get out of a speeding fine Pete, you need to use your own eyes as well! Greta video though and I really like the sound of this car as a daily proposition.
As an advanced driver I couldn’t agree more 👍