Hello and welcome to your daily Charge Smart blog! Today, we'll be digging in to why Mazda has tuned their EVs to drive like an ICE car .
Above: The Mazda MX-30 SUV
Let's talk about the Mazda MX-30, it’s an SUV though Mazda’s MX cars have traditionally been the sporty stuff. However, the MX-30 has stirred up some controversy for all the wrong reasons. Mazda have now been the topic of discussion as they not only limited the range of their first EV but have also lowered the motor’s torque to make it feel more like an ICE car rather than an EV. To give you an indication, the MX-30 will do 0-100 in 9 seconds, quick enough for an SUV but way off the pace of other EVs. That's strange!
Mazda has gone ahead with plans to produce the MX-30, their first EV but one can’t help but think that it feels a little forced. In a shocking reveal, Mazda told the world that their new car was only fitted with a tiny 35.5kWhr batter. That’s smaller than a Nissan Leaf! Mazda then topped up that statement with another bombshell where they said that they would never, I repeat never offer an EV with a bigger battery. Though, what they will offer you is an option to have your MX-30 fitted with a range extending rotary engine, that will be their hybrid option for the new EV.
Above: Mazda could be bringing back the rotary through the MX-30
Mazda seem to be as keen as ever to resurrect their rotary engine through the MX-30 as their marketing efforts with the MX-30 pure EV have been rather subdued compared to the rotary. You’d expect the Japanese automaker to be making a whole lot of noise about this car since it is their first EV, they also have another reason to make some noise. They will be working with Toyota on the development of future EVs. But, we’ve barely heard anything from them so far. Let’s see how they go but you’ve got to wonder if the MX-30 is the wrong way to bring the rotary engine back. They’ve never been about fuel efficiency so why couple it with an electric motor and batteries?! Who knows!