SPONSOR SHOUTOUT: I used a selection of prams from our review sponsor Silver Cross. Their range of prams fit nicely in the boot with either the bassinet attachment or the seats. Varying amounts of shopping fit in the boot with the prams. Silver Cross Australia has a great website where you can view their range of prams and see which will suit your family! If you find BabyDrive helpful, please support us by supporting our sponsors!
Mazda has added to its small five-seater SUV offerings with the new Mazda CX-30, which is bigger than the CX-3 and smaller than the CX-5. This is one rather cool looking family car, especially in ‘Machine Grey'! So it will be interesting to see if it does well in our BabyDrive testing and how it compares for families shopping for a small SUV!
The interior of the CX-30 has the easily recognisable Mazda feels but more minimal, especially in this lower-spec Evolve model. A lot of the buttons or dials you would expect to find on the dash are hidden away within the media screen.
Storage inside the cabin is compact but very practical, especially in the front, holding everything you'd want with door bins that hold large refillable water bottles, good size cup holders and phone tray, a glove box that holds an iPad, wallet and the manual and a generous sized central console box for such a small SUV.
In the back storage is minimal too but equally as practical.
There are air vents in the back of the central console box which are good for keeping the rear passengers cool and often absent in this size of car (as well as plenty of bigger ones).
Although the CX-30 is a very small SUV, these rear vents are needed as the front vents are slim and those alone would not easily reach the rear passengers.
We found the size of the Mazda CX-30 to be a major consideration. The ceiling is low and the legroom minimal. It feels very small when you start adding child seats.
I could fit two child seats in the back of the CX-30, not that you would expect to fit three full-size child seats in the back. The two fitted well with space for the fold-down cup folders between them and I can just squeeze between the two child seats but my shoulders are very squashed! There are top tether anchorages in the back of all three rear seats, which gives you the flexibility to put a child seat in the central position and a passenger either side. The ISOFix points are in the two outer seats, they are within plastic guides and easy to connect to.
Legroom is another consideration in the Mazda CX-30. With a rear-facing child seat installed, I could just sit in front of it in the driver's seat but no one over 165cm would fit. With a forward-facing child seat installed we could just fit a 182cm person in the front passenger seat.
The CX-30 has quite a low roofline, so swinging a heavy toddler into her child seat and leaning in to fasten their harness can mean a few bumped heads in this low car.
Space in the boot of the Mazda CX-30 is compact too but surprisingly holds all sizes of pram (but some types do only go in with the parcel shelf removed). I could fit the Silver CrossWave double pram, with either the bassinet and seat or two seats.
The Mazda CX-30 has the new media system which has CarPlay and Android Auto.
I found the updated system easy to navigate using the rotary dial in the central console which felt more intuitive than in other models.
A great feature in the CX-30 is the sat-nav guidance volume can be adjusted on the steering wheel volume controls which is fantastic!
I find on most journeys when I use sat nav I only need directions for the last part of the journey. I know how to get to the area I am going and then it’s just the exact address I need help with. Because I need to input the address before I head off I found myself on most occasions when you can’t mute the sat nav voice having to listen to all the directions, which disturbs your concentration, any conversation in the car at the time or more importantly my sleeping baby! So being able to mute the sat nav voice until you reach the part where you actually need it is gold!
There is also a very clear rear seatbelt removal visual in the ceiling in the front, so you know exactly who has unplugged while you are driving!
The aircon controls I'm glad to say are still on the central dash making them easy to use and adjust while driving.
Overall I found the Mazda CX-30 to be a nippy little car to drive. Visibility is a problem for me, I found the driver's wing mirror obscured my view to the front right and I really can't see back past the side pillars and have to rely heavily on the blindspot monitoring to see if anyone was beside me.
The minimal dash and Mazda's signature modern interior make the CX-30 a nice car for a small family with one or two children, especially if parking is a problem then it is practical too. I do find the CX-30 feels very much like a hatch in shape rather than an SUV and you just need to consider the legroom and where anyone taller than 165cm is going to sit with rear-facing child seats installed.
The Mazda CX-30 scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating. It has seven airbags as standard dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting curtain airbags and a driver knee airbag.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How good is the storage in the Mazda CX-30? How big is the boot of the Mazda CX-30?
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The Duet twin stroller fits nicely in the boot with no shopping bags beside it, but you do have space on top.
SPONSOR SHOUTOUT: I used a selection of prams from our review sponsor Silver Cross. Their range of prams fit nicely in the boot with either the bassinet attachment or the seats. Varying amounts of shopping fit in the boot with the prams. Silver Cross Australia has a great website where you can view their range of prams and see which will suit your family! If you find BabyDrive helpful, please support us by supporting our sponsors!
The Silver Cross Wave tandem pram fits nicely in the boot with the bassinet and seat or with two seats, with the parcel shelf removed, but no shopping bags fit beside it.
The Silver Cross Coast single pram with the bassinet…
… or seat, fits in the boot of the Mazda CX-30 with no shopping bags alongside it.
The Silver Cross Pioneer single pram, with the seat…
… or bassinet, fits in the boot of the Mazda CX-30 nicely with no shopping bags alongside it.
The Silver Cross Jet compact stroller fits in the boot easily with six shopping bags beside it.
Or if you remove the parcel shelf you could transport a small or medium-sized dog.
The boot of the Mazda CX-30 is nice and even and flat. Good for transporting dogs and perfect for an emergency nappy change! The parcel shelf is solid and easy to remove but you need to leave it behind as there is nowhere to store it.
Storage inside the CX-30 is compact and practical.
In the front there are two cup holders, they are well sized to hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup. In front of them is a phone charging well with a single USB.
The central console storage box is surprisingly big in the CX-30 and the lid doubles as a well-positioned armrest.
The glove box in the CX-30 is a good size to hold the manual along with an iPad and my wallet.
The door pockets in the front of the CX-30 will hold a large refillable water bottle which is fantastic for a small car and there are little wells in the door handles.
By the driver's right knee there is a little coin drawer.
And there is a lined glasses case in the ceiling too. It's great to still see this as I am noticing that a lot of cars are not keeping glasses cases in the ceiling these days, which is such a shame as it leaves nowhere to put them where they won't get damaged. In fact the cheaper CX-30 Pure base model doesn't have the sunglasses holder!
In the back, there is a single map pocket, on the back of the front passenger seat only. It will hold but not conceal an iPad.
There is a fold-down armrest in the central seatback, with two cup holders, which are well sized for a reusable or disposable coffee cup.
The door bins in the back of the Mazda CX-30 will also hold a large refillable water bottle.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the Mazda CX-30? How good is the media system in the Mazda CX-30?
The parking sensors in the CX-30 are similar to those in the CX-3 and CX-5 and are very BabyDrive friendly! Situated by the driver's right knee, is a button so you can turn the parking sensors off and you don't need to worry about them at all if you are driving bubs to sleep!
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
Also situated in this panel of buttons is the auto engine cut out switch, it’s called i-stop in Mazdas, and I find it is great to be able to turn that off as well so it doesn't disturb sleeping bubs.
I find this function really disturbing for sleeping babies, you have just got your baby to sleep in the car and you stop at lights and the engine turns off sometimes they will stay asleep but when the engine shudders to a start again it shakes baby awake and all your efforts are ruined!! Even coming to a stop at lights with the engine running can be enough to wake a sleeping child so turning the engine off and on again will definitely do it! I have driven routes I know have roundabouts rather than lights just to avoid coming to a stop for any length of time!!
The indicator volume in the CX-30 is quite quiet so I didn’t find it affected my daughter while she was sleeping.
The Mazda CX-30 has the new Mazda media system. It is simple and does have CarPlay and Android Auto.
It is navigated using a rotary dial down in the central console not touching the media screen. I found this new system more intuitive than the previous system when using the rotary dial while driving.
One great feature in the MX-30 is the ability to control the sat-nav guidance volume from the steering wheel volume controls.
Opening and closing the doors and windows of the CX-30 did not seem to be particularly baby waking in volume.
There is a great rear seatbelt removal light panel on the central in the front, which lets you know exactly which rear seatbelts in the car are removed whilst driving.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the Mazda CX-30?
There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats, they are within plastic guides and nice and easy to connect to. Easier than in the CX-3 for example where they were not in plastic guides.
There are top tether anchor points on the backs of all three rear seats, which are within plastic guides and clearly labelled and I found them easy to access through the boot.
I could only fit two child seats in the back of the Mazda CX-30. With the two child seats installed in the outer positions, I could just squeeze between them but I was very squashed!
Legroom is definitely a consideration in the CX-30. I could just sit in front of a rear-facing child seat in the driver's seat and I'm 162cm so no one over 165cm, in my opinion, would fit.
With forward-facing child seats, however, we could fit a 182cm person in the front passenger seat.
Headroom is another consideration. Although the CX-30 is an SUV, it feels like a hatch in terms of roof height and posting bub into their seats from outside the car is quite tricky.
From inside I found it slightly easier because the ceiling is a little higher than the door frame.
Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
With only one child seat installed, there is enough room for feeding bub in the back.
The rear seats are woven fabric in the model I tested and have contrast central panels. This makes it harder to keep them clean with children’s mess and spills.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the Mazda CX-30 as a family car?
The front seats of the Mazda CX-30 are comfortable to sit in but I could not wear a ponytail because the headrests are not adjustable!
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
Being the second-cheapest Evolve model, the seats have woven upholstery throughout with contrast central panels. This does make them hard to keep clean with children's crumbs and spills as it really gets into that weave.
In the back, the seats are comfortable too.
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
I found the cruise control to be pretty accurate during motorway driving as well as at lower speeds on undulating roads. The cruise control buttons are situated on the right-hand side of the steering wheel and they are simple to use.
In front of the steering wheel is a digital display showing the distance to empty on the fuel gauge in km, which I find really useful, especially now I'm a mum.
The distance to empty display becomes extra important as a mum because getting fuel with a baby is a whole new world of difficult. If they are screaming in the car you definitely do not want your journey prolonged with a fuel stop! If they are asleep the turning off of the engine, doors opening and locking and unlocking, then re-opening the doors and closing, starting the engine again, beepers going off because you haven’t got your seatbelt on when you start the car or because you blink in the wrong direction, do you take them out of the car when you go in to pay? If you do will you get them back in the seat again or will they have a complete meltdown and you’ll be stuck on the fuel station forecourt with a screaming baby!! Hopefully you are starting to gather the anxiety that what was once a simple fuel stop can be for a mum!!!!
For this reason the distance to empty display can let you know if you have enough fuel to make it home with bub and then go out and get fuel another time when you will not have to take bub with you.
There are four air-con vents across the front dashboard; two slim ones in front of the front passenger and a larger vent either side of the steering wheel.
Thankfully there are aircon vents in the back of the central console box for the rear passengers. Although the Mazda CX-30 is a small car I still think in the Australian climate rear vents are necessary to keep little passengers cool and help prevent travel sickness. You can reach back to direct the vents from the front seats.
The dash of the Mazda CX-30 is very minimal and most of the usual buttons and controls have been moved into the media system, giving a clean look. However, the climate controls are still on the dash which is great as it makes them easy to use while driving along.
I found visibility as the driver of the CX-30 was quite compromised by the position of the wing-mirror and I couldn't see much out of the passenger side windows when reversing if I had a front and rear passenger in the car. I also found I couldn't see back past the side pillar on the driver's side and relied heavily on the blind spot monitoring system when changing lanes on the motorway.
Being a small car you do know where the extremities of the CX-30 are but I found I relied heavily on the camera to guide me when I had child seats or passengers in the car.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we get big cars or Utes as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Mazda CX-30 although only a small SUV was tricky to reverse park too with child seats and passengers onboard!
For rear-facing passengers in the back, the windows are quite shallow so the view is quite limited. Forward-facing passengers will be able to see out better. The triangular third-row windows also help rear-facing passengers seat a bit more sky and let a bit more light into the car.
The handles above the rear doors in the back are useful for hanging a baby toy from to keep bubs entertained on journies.
I have found the CX-30 an enjoyable and nippy little car to drive around town and out on the open roads however it did have a cramped feeling.
We drove the second-from-bottom Evolve spec model Mazda CX-30 and the interior was classic, simple and clean.
It had contrast navy blue leather panel detail on the central console…
… and around the door panels. Which added a bit of interest and made it more tactile.
Scoring an amazing 99% (37.6 out of 38) for adult occupant protection. Scoring 88% (43.2 out of 49) for Child Occupant Protection.
In child occupant protection crash testing, the CX-30 scored 15.20out of 16 in the dynamic front test, 8.00 out of 8 for the dynamic side crash test, 12 out of 12 for child restraint installation testing and 8.00 out of 13 for onboard features.
ANCAP said of the child occupancy testing:
In the frontal offset test, protection of the neck of the 10 year dummy was MARGINAL and the 6 year dummy ADEQUATE, while the protection offered to all other critical body regions was GOOD.
In the side impact test, protection of all critical body areas was GOOD for both child dummies, and maximum points were scored.
The Mazda CX-30 is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages for rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed GOOD results and the Mazda CX-30 scored full points for this assessment.
The Mazda CX-30 has seven airbags as standard and seat belt reminders for front and all rear seating positions:
Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtains) and a driver knee airbag are standard.
Adaptive headlights and fatigue detection do not come as standard on the base ‘Pure' model of the Mazda CX-30.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
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About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.
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