While some drivers will still prefer the easy nature of a turbocharged petrol engine, Mazda’s upgraded mild-hybrid e-SkyActiv X powertrain has its perks. Linear and responsive, it rewards drivers who want to use its sweet manual gearbox to enjoy its surprisingly wide power band. The CX-30 has poised handling to match it, but this is a smaller SUV with less rear passenger and boot space than some rivals, which holds it back from the best in the class.

Mazda is a manufacturer that likes to do things differently, so while virtually all of its rivals have turned to turbocharging, Mazda’s innovative SkyActiv X technology shuns it. Instead, it uses clever compression-controlled spark ignition to borrow some of the best aspects of a diesel engine, with all the advantages of a high-revving petrol.

Mazda’s attention to detail also shines through in the mild-hybrid system’s integration, because painstaking software tuning has been carried out to ensure the torque injections of the mild-hybrid hardware are imperceptible for the driver!

the rest? in our showroom..