2025 Mazda CX-30 Review and Test Drive

Turbocharged power, driving fun, and interior quality make the 2025 CX-30 Turbo an enticing subcompact SUV.

Jim Resnick | 

Apr 21, 2025 | 6 min read

Jim Resnick

As the smallest vehicle in Mazda's SUV lineup, the 2025 CX-30 is positioned for efficiency and affordability. But what you might not guess is that it also provides plenty of driving fun, in addition to quality that I found a credible rival to luxury models.

The 2025 Mazda CX-30 comes in eight trim levels: S, Select Sport, Preferred, Carbon Edition, Premium, Carbon Turbo, Turbo Premium, and Turbo Premium Plus. Prices start in the mid-$20,000s and climb to the high $30,000s, including the destination charge to ship it to your dealership from the assembly plant in Salamanca, Mexico.

For this CX-30 review, I tested the Turbo Premium Plus in Arizona. It had extra-cost paint and a rear bumper guard, bringing the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $38,955, including the $1,420 destination charge. Mazda provided the CX-30 for this test.

Jim Resnick

Is the 2025 Mazda CX-30 a Good SUV?

The Mazda CX-30 has minor shortcomings but is a thoroughly enjoyable and practical small SUV. It did all the SUV-ish things I asked, from making an airport run to handling life's daily schlep. Rear-seat room is modest, but the CX-30 Turbo provides real driving fun, which — in my experience — many SUVs don't. The Turbo trims could be considered expensive, though, and my test vehicle's price at the upper end of the $30,000s puts it in the same financial ballpark as luxury competitors such as the Acura ADX, Alfa Romeo Tonale, and Lexus UX.

Jim Resnick

The CX-30 Looks Good Inside and Out

The 2025 CX-30 keeps Mazda's typically crisp, tailored look despite its size. My only criticism is the black wheel-arch trim, which seems too big on a vehicle this small.

The CX-30's interior looks and feels more expensive than the price tag suggests, particularly in the more affordable versions. From what I saw, the test vehicle's design, materials, and quality met the standards for a luxury-branded model. In addition, the gauges are clear, precise, and downright luminous at night.

Despite the goodness inside, I had a couple of complaints. For example, the center console infotainment dial needs more heft, and the climate control markings are tricky to decipher quickly — they're small and in a position that makes them hard to use.

Jim Resnick

While there's adequate front-seat room, I found the driver's seat is short on thigh support, creating premature fatigue on longer drives. Rear-seat legroom could be more generous, too. For example, Honda's competitor, the HR-V, offers 37.7 inches of rear legroom, compared with the CX-30's 36.3 inches.

The CX-30 is also down on cargo space, at 20.2 cubic-feet compared with the HR-V at 24.5 cu-ft. The good news? It still swallowed my big bass guitar speaker cabinet, amplifier, and other musical effluvia without lowering the rear seats, allowing me to funkifize and jazz-erate on three separate performances. So, Mazda supports the arts.

Jim Resnick

The CX-30 Comes With the Tech You Need

The broad brush of technology paints a wide swath over the CX-30, from the test vehicle's turbocharged engine and standard all-wheel drive (AWD) to the infotainment and safety systems.

The test model's 10.3-inch infotainment screen is clear and has good contrast. In a recent change, it also offers touchscreen operation of the standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.

Several fixed prompts allow voice control of the native Mazda Connect infotainment, but even when using the recommended suggestions, I flummoxed the system repeatedly. Most CX-30s have Alexa Built-in, so if you have an account, you can sign in and use that, or use Siri or Google Assistant via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and bypass Mazda Connect altogether.

Jim Resnick

The CX-30 has all the advanced driver-assistance system features I expect as standard equipment. The Turbo Premium Plus models add a surround-view camera and Mazda's Cruising and Traffic Support (CTS) system.

On freeways, the CTS worked well, though it braked too hard when other vehicles cut into the gap ahead. Also, it had trouble negotiating curves on desert highways.

If you cannot avoid a collision, know that the CX-30 enjoys a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It also gets a five-star overall crashworthiness rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Jim Resnick

Mazda's CX-30 Has the Heart of a Sporty Hatchback

I drove the CX-30 Turbo for a week and about 700 miles through rain and sun, loaded with people, luggage, and musical equipment, and it never squeaked, rattled, or protested in any way. Plus it was fun, which I don't say of most small SUVs.

Credit goes to the CX-30 Turbo's engine, which feels like it has the power of a hot hatch. It cranks out 227 horsepower and a massive 310 pound-feet of torque. That's significantly more than the CX-30 Turbo's rival the Hyundai Kona N Line, which, at 190 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, makes 37 horsepower and a whopping 115 lb-ft less than the Mazda.

If you read the fine print, you'll learn that using 93 octane fuel unleashes 250 horsepower and 320 lb-ft from the Mazda's turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Most buyers probably won't care much, but car nerds can rejoice.

All that torque combined with subcompact proportions means the CX-30 Turbo's AWD can dig in and sprint the Mazda forward rapidly. Shifts from the six-speed automatic transmission are a touch softer than one might find with a sports car, but velocity builds quickly.

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Once up to freeway speed, the CX-30 Turbo glides along quietly, with outstanding stability and little wind noise or road harshness, unless you're on a rough surface. A few luxury vehicles I've driven recently haven't equaled the CX-30's poise.

The CX-30 Turbo hits twisty roads well, but with a slightly lower degree of joy and ease than it handles straighter highways. It leans in corners more than a hot hatch, and steering response lags comparatively, but for a small SUV, it's far more adroit than many rivals I've been in. And this feels right to me — in my opinion, comfortable ride quality is a greater priority for small SUV buyers than sports-car-like handling.

Others in the subcompact SUV class offer better fuel economy than the CX-30 Turbo. Still, the less powerful turbocharged Kona N Line posts an EPA rating of 26 mpg in combined driving, right in the same neighborhood as the CX-30 Turbo's 25 mpg. On my 73-mile loop of mixed highway, suburban, and urban driving in and around Phoenix, the CX-30 Turbo returned 25.5 mpg, a bit better than expected.

Also, don't forget: If fuel economy is your priority, you can choose a non-turbo 191-hp CX-30, which yields 29 mpg.

Jim Resnick

The 2025 Mazda CX-30 can tackle virtually all tasks asked of a small SUV. At worst, it might carry an asterisk beside cargo space and rear seat legroom. Considering that the CX-30 Turbo can almost perform double duty as a hot hatch, the minor negatives don't outweigh the joyous positives. The CX-30 Turbo is a winner.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Jim Resnick

From racing exotic sports cars, to ranking new cars, to peeling back layers of cover up in an exhaust emissions scandal, Jim has chronicled the automotive sector for decades. Jim has also worked inside the corporate headquarters of three carmakers, and therefore understands how the automotive sausage is really made. But Jim’s affinity for vehicles takes a back seat to finding the truth and the cultural implications of modern transportation. He has also lectured at universities to engineering and policy students and faculty on the industry’s relationship with legislation in the wake of the diesel exhaust emissions scandal several years ago. Put simply, Jim reports on autos, mobility, tech, car culture, and the traffic jam of topics within.