Is the 2024 Mazda CX-30 Turbo a BETTER luxury SUV than a BMW X1?

The CX-30 is Mazda's smallest SUV available in the USA. On the outside you will discover 18in wheels, chrome style grill trim and extra high fender cladding. On the inside you will be greeted by a leather interior, 10.25in infotainment screen and HUD. Under the hood is a 2.5L turbocharged inline-4 that is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Is the 2024 Mazda CX-30 Turbo a BETTER luxury SUV than a BMW X1?
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videography: Steven Flood 🎥

[thekoz]

This is one of the most underrated fun car that gets overlooked.

[davidp]

Mazda: a car manufacturer that brings the quality at a (usually) reasonable price.

[SME]

Love Mazdas design language but good lord that cladding is to much

[mickeybrumfield]

It would look better without the cladding.

[Juhsentuh]

I really like the cx30 but that cladding on the side just makes it look like a toy. Love Mazda tho!

[rickjames]

I really like Mazda but those huge chunks of plastic down the sides and rear of this one, are deal breakers for me.

[crushbaseball]

My friend is shopping for a 2024 Mazda CX-5 Carbon Turbo, I would like to see a review of that if you get more Mazdas to review

[cwclarkephotos]

I love the timeless designs from Mazda but the cladding is a no go.

[George-uxzz]

You can make coffee in the holes on the engine cover Joe. 😂😂

[johnhopkins]

Nice Job Joe!! I love mazda! I have a 2018 mazda 6 grand touring turbo. Best car I ever had.

[jaredelson]

Sold my 2024 Trax Activ(nice for the price, but just too gutless for me, plus a wet timing belt 3 cylinder turbo scares me long term) Picked up a 2024 CX30 Turbo. I LOVE my CX30, if you like a touch of luxury, great handling, zippyness and reliability, check one out. I will be keeping my CX30 for 10+ years.

[Bowhuntersgoxzx]

The huge cladding around the wheel wells and door bottoms and bumpers all looks cheap and is a (Monster Zonk), might be ok for the base trim or off road version but the top trim it should be body colored metal. Super miss on the cladding. Everything else (engine pwr and mpg's and handling and interior seem nice).

[Fyahking]

I would love this to go with my Kona n and dodge hornet. Yes, that cladding gots to go!

[jdub]

🥊 J O L T’ N JOE keeps bringing the business! 👍

[DKJ-]

I own 2022 premium plus turbo. Fun & Zippy. 2 cracked windshields & 2 flat tires within 6 months. Got all 4 tires replaced now.
Turbos use up gas & has a small gas tank. Beautiful paint but thin coat & shows up white if it’s scratched. Looking forward to a cx30 hybrid. It’s a perfect solution.

[jdarms]

I have one of these and I like it just fine. I have owned many cars including German sports sedans, sporty coupes, and a track project MX5. Now I'm just looking for utility, reliability, some quickness when needed, and light off road capability. The CX30 turbo manages to tick these boxes. Personally I would avoid the non-turbo.

My dealership experiences have been pretty good; Mazda is trying to do the near luxury thing. I think they've reached a nice middle ground.

The gas tank is my biggest problem; plan to refill frequently.

The cladding was a big drawback, it works fine when I'm scrambling down a graded gravel road to get to a put in or trail head - you hear those "pops" when rocks are hitting and shrug it off. With just two people you can get all your gear in the back (seats down) and whatever bikes/kayaks/snowboards/Thule box up on the cross bars. You can easily install the cross bars yourself...that should go without saying.

The rear suspension is basic.
There is hardly any room in back for normal sized people. I drive around with the rear seats down pretty much permanently. If I had a family, forget it.
My "big dude" friends don't fit really well in the front either...think 6'2" 240 and up.

In daily traffic the turbo version is sneaky quick and catches a lot of people by surprise - especially full-sized trucks who take it personally when some little subcompact squeezes them out on a merge or beats them off the line. Relax bro. Stop compensating. You chose to drive all that mass - own it.

The gas mileage is pretty trash, ngl. You have to really stay off the throttle to keep things near the stated mpg and even then...

"It's just a Mazda" so I can easily rationalize beating the crap out of it unlike a more "luxury" brand.

I cross shopped the Crosstrek which was gutless but still cool. If Subaru made a WRX wagon still that would be a killer comparison. If I had to choose a car I probably most often think "what if" about instead of the CX-30 turbo, it would be the CX-50 turbo. IMO Mazda interiors are superior. The Mazda "cleans up nice" during my professional week if I have a co-worker on board, but does the outdoor stuff acceptably well too.

Great review as usual. As an east coast transplant on the west coast for nearly 40 years, I always enjoy your east coast, "call it like you see it" candor Mr. Raiti.

Nutter Butters for the win.

[juanguzman]

Thank for beautiful video and information 😊

[dukeofkool]

Being in the market for a new CUV, the cladding is what has kept me from choosing this ride.

[BigTrip]

I just got a 2022 CX-30 Turbo in the premium trim and I absolutely love it! The features on this vehicle are mind blowing to me.

[captanmark]

Id wait till it gets a major redesign, too much cladding for my liking.