Mazda CX-30's Rotary Range Extender Goes Into A Holding Pattern

I have always thought the VOLT was an awesome idea, just in the wrong package as they should have made a VOLT equal Equinox version.

Mazda MX30 is WEAK in everything I have read as a pure electric, from the motor choice to the small battery pack. A range extender version would be awesome, but the ROTORY is the WRONG ENGINE! It had it's time, but it is an old in efficient engine that needs to be left in the history books. Mazda would do better with their SkyActive small engine as a generator to create electricity. It would also be simpler to maintain and lower cost I believe over retooling to build the rotary engines where were oil pigs and emission problems big time.

Saw two of the CX-30's today on the road sold by Doug's Mazda here in Lynnwood Washington. One was white and the other was their jewel red metallic or what ever color it is called, pretty. 

Over all not impressed as the one thing that stood out was their Komodo Dragon style with the extreme windshield rake that means medium to tall people smack their head getting in and out. My wife pointed out the extreme blind spot in the back that she did not like. Had to explain for roll over protection pretty much all new CUV/SUVs have that now.

Then on our 40 min road trip to drop off some things at family, she became ultra focused on the rear pillar blind spot and wow talk about hating on auto's!

We'll I have to say that Mazda will probably sell a few of the BEV CX-30 even with the negative reviews coming out of Europe and will continue to sell a few CX-30 ICE here but not impressed at all seeing them on the road. The proportions are just all wrong on this weird size auto. 

If you'll smack your head in almost anything, a sub compact should be expected. You'll probably only fit comfortably in a G Wagen as there's 8ft of head room in them but, they're relatively narrow. 

15 hours ago, ccap41 said:

If you'll smack your head in almost anything, a sub compact should be expected. You'll probably only fit comfortably in a G Wagen as there's 8ft of head room in them but, they're relatively narrow. 

I can easily get into just about any full size SUV, but even a few years back when I took the family to the Big Island and due to a mess on the auto rental side they put me in a Mazda CX9. That was the worst SUV ever for me and my wife who is only 5'8" tall as she like me smacked her head getting in and out due to the extreme slope of the windshield.

Tesla also does this stupid extreme slope and you have to bend your head in crazy ways to get in and out of their auto's. Worst design ever just for stupid air flow to get a smidge better range out of the batter pack.

Agree I can fit just fine in a G Wagon but then they are narrow. My wife and I hit elbows in that SUV.

Always good to be aware of one's surroundings. I'm 5'8" and I've gotten into my friend's CX-5 and never smacked my head multiple times... and that's 20" shorter overall than the -9. 🤔

Bumping elbows...

1 hour ago, David said:

Agree I can fit just fine in a G Wagon but then they are narrow. My wife and I hit elbows in that SUV.

Common David...knock it off!!!

Stop the nonsense. Please. 

When one is driving, one is not flailing his elbows around, banging on the drums like a chimpanzee (money for nothing) while the passenger is reciprocating said primate actions at the same time for elbows to be colliding at an unmeasurable rate for the G Wagen to be intolerable no matter what height said primates are.    (sorry for calling you and your wife a primate/chimpanzee but a point has to be made...)  

And about the CX9...

*sigh*

Your wife, even at 5ft8 inches tall, she aint you.   The CX9 is perfectly fine for lesser hooomans than yourself to fit in comfortably. Technically, at your size and girth, you are not the average hooooman.  But your wife is average size. She is not supersized...   She might be a tad taller than the average female, ESPECIALLY the average Asian female, but at 5ft8, she is well within the average height of a human.  The CX9 is a big enough vehicle that even if the rake of the windshield has more incline  than your average boxier CUV, that it shouldnt be a problem...

I know you will say that it is...and we will have to agree to disagree, but Im prepared to repeat to you what Balthy said:

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Always good to be aware of one's surroundings. I'm 5'8" and I've gotten into my friend's CX-5 and never smacked my head multiple times... and that's 20" shorter overall than the -9. 🤔

7 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

Bumping elbows...

Common David...knock it off!!!

Stop the nonsense. Please. 

When one is driving, one is not flailing his elbows around, banging on the drums like a chimpanzee (money for nothing) while the passenger is reciprocating said primate actions at the same time for elbows to be colliding at an unmeasurable rate for the G Wagen to be intolerable no matter what height said primates are.    (sorry for calling you and your wife a primate/chimpanzee but a point has to be made...)  

And about the CX9...

*sigh*

Your wife, even at 5ft8 inches tall, she aint you.   The CX9 is perfectly fine for lesser hooomans than yourself to fit in comfortably. Technically, at your size and girth, you are not the average hooooman.  But your wife is average size. She is not supersized...   She might be a tad taller than the average female, ESPECIALLY the average Asian female, but at 5ft8, she is well within the average height of a human.  The CX9 is a big enough vehicle that even if the rake of the windshield has more incline  than your average boxier CUV, that it shouldnt be a problem...

I know you will say that it is...and we will have to agree to disagree, but Im prepared to repeat to you what Balthy said:

 

 

Yes we will agree to disagree here my friend. Mazda has cut so many corners to survive and the CX9 had a flexible seat adjustment for the driver side, but the front passenger side was a hard fixed seat that had my knees into the dash. Sat there once and never again, always did the driving on that vacation. Mazda seems to always cut corners that just are not worth it.

Yes I am the oversized Chimp in this relationship, but then my wife does not like bumping elbows with me as I 1 hand drive, so we rub. Call it what you will but after 3 decades of marriage always in full size SUVs where you have your own space, call me spoiled, but I just cannot see having to fold up to fit in any size auto by anyone.

Yes, knowing ones surroundings is important especially if you own the auto, but on vacation for a few weeks, when one never has to think about bending and twisting ones head to get into and out of an auto, the rack SUCKS and SHOULD NOT have to be that way for ALL HOOOOMANs!  

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

Always good to be aware of one's surroundings. I'm 5'8" and I've gotten into my friend's CX-5 and never smacked my head multiple times... and that's 20" shorter overall than the -9. 🤔

Maybe your the type of hooooman to quote @oldshurst442 that has a short body, longer legs so you naturally do not come anywhere close to hitting, but I have seen way too many tall people smack themselves getting into auto's with extreme rack windshields.

I firmly believe that a CX9 does NOT have a fixed front passenger seat, because it does not. 

47 minutes ago, David said:

but I have seen way too many tall people smack themselves getting into auto's with extreme rack windshields.

Out here recording yourself so you can watch it over and over because you're completely full of ish here. 

10 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I firmly believe that a CX9 does NOT have a fixed front passenger seat, because it does not. 

Out here recording yourself so you can watch it over and over because you're completely full of ish here. 

Not full of shit, looked up and verified that 2016 the year I took the family to Kona that the CX9 did have a manual front seat for the passenger and a fully electric multi-directional seat for the driver. Today you can get both front seats with the multi-directional electric seat. 

Even in your screen grab, it indicates a manual set seat that just slides front to back. Without the electric option, it is a fixed set seat with minimal adjustment.

Manual =/= fixed. 

1 hour ago, David said:

Maybe your the type of hooooman to quote @oldshurst442 that has a short body, longer legs so you naturally do not come anywhere close to hitting, but I have seen way too many tall people smack themselves getting into auto's with extreme rack windshields.

I’m not a mutant. Sorry, but anyone who smacks their head on a car’s A-pillar/roof MULTIPLE times in the same day, simply is being careless.

Maybe it was the tall people's first day being tall, @balthazar. GIVE THEM A BREAK! It should never be their own fault for being a clumsy fool. It's the automakers' fault for not making every vehicle boxy with a drag coefficient of 0.40. 

I have to say: what a pure joy it is to get in my crew cab; I can body slam myself in, pinwheel style, and not hit anything!

The BMW i3 tried the range extender idea, didn't work.  Adding a gas burning engine onto an EV is a dumb idea.  Better to put more R&D into batteries.

The Volt did the same(didn't name it a "range extender" but it was a damn good product. It was priced too high(because they had to) but it was still a great overall product. 

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

The Volt did the same(didn't name it a "range extender" but it was a damn good product. It was priced too high(because they had to) but it was still a great overall product. 

Agree, GM should have moved forward with putting the VOLT 2.0 power train into a CUV. They would have been printing money big time.