Leaderboard

Mazda rolled the new MX-30 electric vehicle at the Tokyo Motor Show today. The MX-30 is a new take on the Kodo design language and one of its most interesting features is the clamshell doors. This vehicle will be the brand's first battery electric vehicle, but it is unlikely to make it to the U.S. in this form. What we're looking at here is a European model. The MX-30 is powered by a single motor driving the front wheels and a 35.5 kWh battery pack under the floorboards. That battery size is rather small compared to some other EVs (The Chevy Bolt EV is 60 kWh for example) and range is limited to about 130 miles. Power rings up a 141 horsepower and 195 lb.-ft of torque. Mazda has tuned the MX-30 differently than other EVs. Rather than strong torque off the line, power builds more gradually and regenerative braking is less grabby than others. Mazda even pipes artificial engine noise into the cabin to give the sensory effect of acceleration. Mazda called the new powertrain e-Skyactive. There are rumors that an MX-30 will appear at the Los Angeles Auto Show with a rotary powered regenerator, a vehicle much more interesting to the North American buying public, but for now, we just sit and wait for pricing to be announced to this European model.