Mazda CX-30 SUV Skyactiv-X 180ps 2WD Sport Lux 5d Owner Review

This was the first new car I purchased, spent a long time thinking about it and was genuinely impressed with the all round styling and performance in the first couple of months.

Then all the issues started...

I'm not a fan of flash cars and previously owned a base model 2009 Astra. That is still the best car I've ever owned, the Mazda was no where near as reliable or well built.

Engine wise the Mazda was great and pulled well. The driving experience was great and you can hit A road bends right at 60mph without a twitch. Everything else though was appalling.

The boot is a good size but putting the seats down is too much off a faff, yes I did check when I purchased but you never really know until you get into using it. Passanger door open, remove seat belt from clip, remove headrest... way too slow for this class of car.

The windows are tiny, probably why it's so safe but I'm 6'1" and I had to pretty much get out of the seat to check location of curb when parking. Yes, the mirrors where in the right position for driving.

It was in the garage pretty much every 2months in the 20months (29k on clock) I owned this car. Appalling build quality but no engine issues at all. The list of warranty claims:

3k on clock, noticed a tiny spot on the nearside front wing where the paint had rubbed off right on the corner of the wing. What? The consensus with the mechanic in the family was that this was wind rush and the paint was thin on this corner. Mazda had no explanation, but gladly took the car back and resprayed the whole wing. Their bodyshop subby did a great job. Paint coming off a brand new £28k car? Hmm.

10k on clock, reversing out of space at night I noticed a wierd sensation in my hand from the steering wheel. Stopped the car, looked at my hand and noticed the leatherette had just started peeling off the steering wheel at a phenomenal rate. Shocking. I was obviously surprised and rather angry as this looked horrendous. I initially convinced myself it was my issue and thought it was maybe related to all the handsanitiser used during the pandemic. Despite this, a quick Google search put my mind at rest, numerous fellow CX-30 sufferers had had this issue across the pond. Again, Mazda replaced with no questions asked or explanation. Mazda clearly knew about this issue as they responded to the dealer within 2hours.

15k on the clock, the tow eye cover on the rear bumper dropped out when driving down the road. I drove back and it had gone forever. Mazda dealer wouldn't supply a free replacement, £13 later for a 30p moulding the issue was resolved.

23k on the clock, a horrible noise is heard when opening the boot. Back to the dealer, tailgate latch is faulty and requires replacement. Supply Chain issues meant I had to wait for 3 weeks and put up with a loud bang and grinding noise every time I used the boot. Again, fixed FOC without a quibble, the dealer said the latch had actually cracked. Not great quality that.

The most frustrating thing about all of this was having to constantly go back to the dealer and get these issues resolved and take time out of my working day to get things sorted. It is not OK to have to take a brand new car back to the dealer every couple of months to get poor build quality issues resolved. Also the dealer never apologised or acted surprised. I suppose that isn't Mazda's issue. I know new cars first off the line will have known issues and will be resolved in the life cycle of the car, but this many issues is not acceptable at any level of quality or cost.

Finally, the CX-30s last hurrah, the day I traded it in the electric mirrors stopped unfolding properly and had to be pushed out by hand. Some other poor fellows issue now.

I just found the whole experience of owning this car painful and frustrating as it was a lovely car to drive but that was it's only good point. The build quality of the non mechanical parts was shocking, the interior handles would bend and flex if put under any slight pressure. The roof lining was hollow and felt like cardboard, probably is. The glove box was not sealed and you could drop things into an abyss behind the dash, you could also see all the dash wires at this point. This car has a thin veneer of Quality, it looks great but is actually pretty poor. I'll go back to owning nonsense, second hand cars that don't pretend to be something they are not e.g. GM built Vauxhauls or other such boring but robust vehicles.

I'll never drive a Mazda again or recommend this pain to anyone. Actually my neighbour had a new Mazda3, got it just after me and only kept it a year...says it all. Sorry Mazda you really aren't appealing to the expectant Millennial DINKs

Fortunately, I traded this in for 70% of the price paid... one more good point I suppose but that's only because you can't get new cars easily in 2021.

A weight was lifted when I waved this car good bye.