Deciding on the CX-30 Against Other Cars

AuraNova

Reflection of Elegance
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Florida
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'20 Blue CX-30
When I was looking for a new car, I did kind of want to peer into the current crossover craze a little, although it wasn't my first choice. I felt later on I needed something higher up than the Cruze I used to have and feel that it would last me well into the next decade. I was looking more seriously at the Mercedes GLA, Kia Seltos, and Audi Q3 for a few months before I realized the CX-30 existed. From reading reviews and then some, I realized I was going to enjoy it more than the other three. I believe was I completely right.

So what other cars were you considering before you decided the CX-30 was for you?
 
We considered the Q3 because I am a long-time Audi owner and still own a '17 A4 that I love but after comparing the CX-30 interior with the Q3 the Audi was out of the running.
 
@AuraNova Great idea for a thread topic! 👍

We considered the Q3 because I am a long-time Audi owner and still own a '17 A4 that I love but after comparing the CX-30 interior with the Q3 the Audi was out of the running.
Wow, so the CX-30 interior is that good in comparison? Aren't Audi's known for their interiors?
 
Aesthetics and build quality certainly played a big part in deciding on the 30.
By any objective standard, the car is a good-looking piece of kit, and the interior is outstanding. It’s clear from that alone that Mazda is pitching the car straight at the likes of Audi and BMW. And I say that having come from several Audis and BMWs. To follow up on what @AuraNova said, I strongly suspect that Mazda benchmarked Audi (especially A3/Q3) for cabin feel and control/instrument layout - it just feels very Audi.
The other major decider was running costs, particularly service and maintenance. I’m mostly retired now (thank you, COVID), and Herself will be officially tossing in the towel this time next year. While we can pretty much afford whatever car/s we want, the idea of shelling out substantial sums of money for the privilege of frankly outrageous Audi/BMW/Mercedes service costs and parts prices (here in Oz, anyway) was a big disincentive. Particularly when we could have a car that took the fight right up to the established Euro prestige brands, but only cost half as much (actually, LESS than half) to maintain. And, yes, nerd that am, I actually ran the numbers.
 
When you plan to own a luxury brand of vehicle don't just consider the initial purchase cost. You need to factor in the maintenance cost, which usually runs 2-3X higher than a 2nd-tier brand like Mazda. In addition, Mazda is likely to give you less troubles down the road.

I used to own a BMW. They don't call it break-my-wallet (BMW) for no reason. I got to know every service advisor's name. Budgeted $2k/yr for fixing, got stranded on roadside three times, 20 counts of issues (after which I lost count)...Sold it after 8 yrs.
 
I was looking at:

- Skoda Kamiq/Scala Monte Carlo
- Mazda 6
- Peugeot 2008 GT
- VW Arteon/Passat/Tiguan
- Ford Focus Active X Estate/Puma

All of these with equipment trims matching GT Style price point. After a weekend with the Mazda, build quality, driving dynamics were deciding factor and I love the front!
 
We just leased the wife a 2021 CX-30 Premium in the Polymetal Gray Metallic. The final contenders were the CX-30, Honda HR-V Premium and Hyundai Kona. They were all comparably priced.

She was coming from her third Acura ILX., but after fighting the Chicago snow for years we decided it was time for an AWD vehicle. The Mazda had a head start as I've been leasing CX-5's since they first came out and she likes driving my 2020 GT PP.

In the end the HR-V was a nice car but the interior wasn't nearly as upscale as the Mazda's for about the same money. The Kona is a nice car too but was not really the right fit for someone in their 60's. The Polymetal Gray Metallic with white interior and brown accents really won her over cosmetically.

Overall she's happy with the car, but some of the quirks are certainly annoying. That goofy automatic parking brake is a PITA. They need a software update to be able to turn it off permanently. The lane departure / centering system was more aggressive in the Acura, which is the same as the Honda's. That can be a mixed bag for sure, but she did like it better than the 30's rather mild assist. She's still trying to master the infotainment system's knob driven interface, but I think it'll work out OK.

It would have been nice if it had included the cargo cover, that ran another 150 clams.

I like driving it as much as my CX-5. I like the bigger car, it suits my needs better, and it certainly has a few nicer features but the smaller 30 is great in city traffic. I do really like the memory mirrors with the tilt down feature on the 30, it makes city parking a bit easier.

As a value comparison goes between the three cars the CX-30 was the clear winner for us.
 
Glad you and your wife are enjoying the new car!

What exactly about the automatic parking brake is troublesome? We had a member here a while ago who might have had a similar complaint with the automatic parking brake on his new Mazda3.
 
"The Polymetal Gray Metallic with white interior and brown accents really won her over cosmetically."
We looked @ exactly this combo when we were deciding. It was a 2020 and didn't have the interest rate of the 2021. If it had, my wife would have talked me into the white interior. It is beautiful. Like you, we live in the northern US and keeping the white interior clean might have been a long term issue. We went with the Mica blue with a black interior and blue accents. Brand new, the P gray looked a bit better. Either combo worked for us.
 
What exactly about the automatic parking brake is troublesome? We had a member here a while ago who might have had a similar complaint with the automatic parking brake on his new Mazda3.
It's the fact that it always turns on when you shut off the car. It's supposed to turn off automatically but that doesn't always seem to work, and the beeping noise until it's turned off is truly annoying., There's a section in the manual about it with a list of things (seat belt on etc.) that when complete turn it off, but the wife has learned to just push the release when she gets in the car.

It's a pretty common subject of annoyance though, there are threads here about it.

It reminds of the older cars when you had to always push the accept button before the GPS would show up.
 
It's the fact that it always turns on when you shut off the car. It's supposed to turn off automatically but that doesn't always seem to work, and the beeping noise until it's turned off is truly annoying., There's a section in the manual about it with a list of things (seat belt on etc.) that when complete turn it off, but the wife has learned to just push the release when she gets in the car.

It's a pretty common subject of annoyance though, there are threads here about it.

It reminds of the older cars when you had to always push the accept button before the GPS would show up.

If the automatic parking brake doesn't always seem to turn off, even after ensuring the criteria is being followed and it should be turning off automatically, that is something that the dealer should fix/investigate.
 
If the automatic parking brake doesn't always seem to turn off, even after ensuring the criteria is being followed and it should be turning off automatically, that is something that the dealer should fix/investigate.
I agree. I just don't drive it enough to have really investigated it, but will when I have some time to play around with it.
 
My original choices was either a CX-5 or a Porsche Panamera. Really. I had a Panamera in Germany several years ago and enjoyed it A LOT. When I discovered the CX-30 and started reading about them (they weren't for sale here yet) I switched gears. I still liked the idea of the larger CX-5 but the quality of the CX-30 interior was intriguing - something every reviewer commented about. In the end the size of the CX-30 was for me - I like the intimate feeling. After getting the CX-30 (it will be one year old in two days) I was WAY more impressed with the entire package than I anticipated. Compared to the Panamera (not at all in the same category) I can't imagine being happier with the much, much more expensive car - my loaded Premium CX-30 stickered for about 1/3rd of a very basic Panamera but after negotiating and rebates I paid less than a quarter a Porsche equipped the way I wanted would have cost. I still can't believe how nice my CX-30 is and what it cost. I've told quite a few people if I wrecked and totaled the CX-30 that I'd go back and buy an identical car. I might go ahead and get the turbo this time though. (y) [I still think about buying a Panamera... It looks like I live at a car lot...🤪]
 
With all the comparisons in this thread between the CX-30 and Audi I thought I'd show some Photoshopping I did. I have a friend who's had several Audi sedans and SUVs over the years - I thought I'd play with him a little. I'm not very good at editing photos but these aren't too bad. 🙃
 

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We traded a '17 CX-5 for our '20 CX-30. We loved the CX-5 but each time I drove it I felt like I was sitting "on" the seat rather than sitting "in" it. It felt very hard and high. I also just personally like the streamlined interior of the CX-30 vs. the chunky looking CX-5 interior. Just a personal opinion. The Bose system in the CX-30 is great. I understand Mazda has upgraded the infotainment system on the current CX-5. It was horrible in the '17 model. We would have gone for the CX-5 Signature but the brown leather looks black. It is clearly brown in the CX-30. Again, just personal preferences.
 
We just leased the wife a 2021 CX-30 Premium in the Polymetal Gray Metallic. The final contenders were the CX-30, Honda HR-V Premium and Hyundai Kona. They were all comparably priced.

She was coming from her third Acura ILX., but after fighting the Chicago snow for years we decided it was time for an AWD vehicle. The Mazda had a head start as I've been leasing CX-5's since they first came out and she likes driving my 2020 GT PP.

In the end the HR-V was a nice car but the interior wasn't nearly as upscale as the Mazda's for about the same money. The Kona is a nice car too but was not really the right fit for someone in their 60's. The Polymetal Gray Metallic with white interior and brown accents really won her over cosmetically.

Overall she's happy with the car, but some of the quirks are certainly annoying. That goofy automatic parking brake is a PITA. They need a software update to be able to turn it off permanently. The lane departure / centering system was more aggressive in the Acura, which is the same as the Honda's. That can be a mixed bag for sure, but she did like it better than the 30's rather mild assist. She's still trying to master the infotainment system's knob driven interface, but I think it'll work out OK.

It would have been nice if it had included the cargo cover, that ran another 150 clams.

I like driving it as much as my CX-5. I like the bigger car, it suits my needs better, and it certainly has a few nicer features but the smaller 30 is great in city traffic. I do really like the memory mirrors with the tilt down feature on the 30, it makes city parking a bit easier.

As a value comparison goes between the three cars the CX-30 was the clear winner for us.
My dealer threw in the cargo cover gratis when I complained that I bought the "premium" version and that item should automatically come with the cover. He did not disagree.
 
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